SINGAPORE, 26 April 2022: TripAdvisor launches Write a Review Day on 3 May to help kick start summer travel and revive the reviewing habit dramatically impacted by two years of restricted travel or lockdowns across Asia.
Its launch media release distributed Tuesday asks us if we have visited a hotel or restaurant or booked a tour or experience in the last year that we haven’t yet reviewed? If so, Tripadvisor is looking to get its community of hundreds of millions of travellers reinspired to write reviews once more.
The inaugural Write a Review Day on 3 May will launch a month-long campaign in May to get travellers back in the habit of writing reviews.
Inspiration and creativity to pen reviews went missing over the last two years due to lockdowns, uncertainty, and conflicting opinions on Covid-19.
Tripadvisor hopes it can now revive our enthusiasm to write a review for a hotel stay or a restaurant experience we enjoyed over the past year. It suggests reviews can vary between good and not so good written with the “intention of giving the still recovering tourism and hospitality industry helpful and constructive feedback”.
Even during the lockdown, there were a couple of examples in Thailand of hotel managers threatening to take reviewers to civil court or have them detained by police to face criminal charges. The thin-skinned hoteliers took umbrage at reviews they claimed were commercially damaging. However, in Thailand, it did put a damper on writing honest reviews of hotels and restaurants for fear of falling foul of draconian laws covering defamation and libel.
Perhaps that prompted TripAdvisor to attach to its Write a Review launch publicity a few tips on what makes a “great and helpful review”, emphasising the importance of being helpful and charitable.
The premise suggests the inspiration to write reviews comes from our desire to be helpful and support the commercial interests of hotels and restaurants. That’s a big ask.
TripAdvisor, in its short tutorial, suggests we have all seen the not-so-helpful reviews – “This place was great!” But why was it great? – “I didn’t like the food?” What did this person order? What didn’t they like about the food?”
Tripadvisor claims that not all reviews are created equal, backed up by findings released in the Power of Reviews study. It indicated Tripadvisor reviews were three times longer than the reviews found on leading online travel agent websites and search engines. That level of detail helps travellers to make informed decisions.
Here are Tripadvisor’s top tips for writing a great review
Give Context: Be clear and specific in describing your memory. Stick to facts and include as many details as possible allows other travellers like you to get an accurate picture of the business.
Create helpful change: Whether positive or negative, make sure your review is helpful and constructive. Recognise and value what you like and offer options and solutions for this business to improve: this is an opportunity for them to learn.
Be thankful and empathetic: Keep a courteous and friendly tone in mind and use appropriate language. It’s worth considering that there are people who put commitment and passion into what they do behind every business activity.
As part of the Write a Review Day campaign, Tripadvisor will partner with the tourism and hospitality industry associations to launch ‘The Better Review Initiative’. More than 20 associations worldwide, including the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the World Travel Organization (UNWTO), and HotellerieSuisse, have endorsed the initiative to improve travel and hospitality review content online.
Well. I don’t think that there will be many honest negative reviews of Thailand businesses. Fear of being taken to court for giving what was the truth about a 5 star not even worth none star for example, even if very true, does not encourage people to take up their pens. I booked a hotel once just after Christmas . I will not give the disgusting details, I was totally shocked, tried all nearby hotels ( airport) not a free room. So I sat at the pool,all evening and waited to get the first taxi out next morning. It was an urgent trip home due to a death in my family, I cannot explain my awful experience. On the other hand, an Indian travel agency spent a few hours on the internet and calling airlines and contacts to get me a ticket. So, faith in human nature still.