Many travellers prefer to book a hotel before they leave home. While this cuts down the risk of not having a bed for the night, it can increase the risk of staying in a bad hotel. If you only rely on what the hotel itself says, you may end up having a less than comfortable night.
This is where online review sites come in. Unfortunately though, online review sites have received a lot of bad press over the past year or so, with claims that many of the reviews being posted are actually fake. So, if you were looking to book a hotel in Sydney, can you really trust online hotel review sites?
Sydney Harbour Bridge – Photo by RaeAllen
Can you really trust online hotel review sites?
Know more about the review site
There are many review sites out there, reviewing everything from restaurants and hotels, to cars and financial products. The key to finding a site that’s worth reading, is finding out more about it.
When it comes to hotel review sites, there are a few really big ones. It’s generally a good idea to use one of the bigger sites, as they are usually more trustworthy, and more difficult to manipulate.
It’s also important to check for brand affiliation. Make sure the review site is not owned or affiliated with a certain hotel chain, or you may find the reviews on that site are unfairly biased. A good review site should be completely independent.
Check more than one review site
The thing to look for with hotel reviews is consistency. If a number of reviewers mention issues with cleanliness or rude staff, then it’s more likely the hotel suffers these problems.
This is another reason why it’s better to go with bigger review sites – they will generally have more reviews, and allow you to check for consistency.
It’s also worth finding out more about the process for posting a review on the site. Expedia, for example, only allows customers who have booked their trip through the site to post reviews.
This would make it less of a target for hotels wanting to make itself look better, or its competition look worse, as it would be trickier and more expensive to post fake reviews.
On the other hand, hotel review sites like TripAdvisor allow anyone to post reviews, making them much more open to fakery. Comparison between a number of review sites should help to weed out the fake reviews.
Speak to other travellers
If you are currently travelling, it can be helpful to speak to other travellers to find out more about hotels you want to stay in. If you’re not able to do this, a travel forum may be able to give you the answers you want. Compare this to what you find on review sites.
Use your common sense
The most important tool to use when searching online hotel reviews is your common sense by doing thorough research by checking out official Hotel websites like the Accor Hotels website. You can then ask yourself whether the review seems fake, or whether it seems real.
Think about the language used, and what it’s saying. Doing some more research can help you to find the right hotel, it’s just a matter of putting in the extra time.