Hoteliers share their top tips for promoting a TripAdvisor award

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Chosen based on the candid feedback of millions of TripAdvisor travelers, our 2012 Travelers’ Choice award winning-hotels were recognized in a number of categories, from most luxurious to best B&Bs and Inns. We recently chatted with some of the newly-awarded hotels to find out how they celebrate their win and attract guests in the process. In the video above, discover the top six ways to promote your Travelers’ Choice award – straight from the winning hoteliers themselves.  If you’ve won a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, or any other industry award, these tips will give you some great ideas to spotlight those accolades, as well!

Also see our Tip Sheet for more details on promoting your award.

Wyndham Hotel Group to feature TripAdvisor content

The world’s largest hotel company is now teaming up with the world’s largest travel site: TripAdvisor is pleased to announce a new partnership with Wyndham Hotel Group. Thanks to this agreement, TripAdvisor ratings, reviews and opinions will now be displayed on the Wyndham Rewards loyalty program site, making the process of choosing the right hotel easier for Wyndham guests. Within the year, the company plans to expand this agreement to include TripAdvisor content for 11 of its brands. A growing number of travel companies are looking to integrate user-generated content into their business using TripAdvisor. About 400 companies to date have entered into similar agreements in order to feature TripAdvisor content themselves, from hotel chains and Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) to airlines and online travel agencies.

To find out more, see the full press release.

Hotel brand La Quinta introduces mobile innovations

We’ve seen more and more evidence that hotels are starting to pay attention to the mobile lifestyle of today’s travelers. And now one brand is taking new leaps into the digital world, with innovations aimed at making it easier to choose and book a hotel room. The first brand to ever do so, La Quinta now allows you to hold a hotel room reservation via your smartphone…using only your telephone number. No other identifying information is initially required. The room will hold for up to four hours, during which period – whenever you choose – you can enter credit card information to confirm your stay.

The new mobile site also integrates TripAdvisor reviews for its hotels, letting travelers browse comments and ratings before booking. This makes La Quinta the first hotel brand to ever add TripAdvisor reviews directly to its mobile site. According to USA Today, these features will also be added to La Quinta’s regular website in the next few months.

La Quinta introduces this “Instant Hold” technology and other new mobile features here:

We’ll be watching for what other on-the-go travel innovations emerge this year for savvy travelers.

 

Hoteliers Share the Secrets to their Success with TripAdvisor

The owners and managers of four Caribbean properties recently sat down to tell us how they use TripAdvisor as a tool for their business – from marketing their accommodations to staying current with the needs of guests. Representatives from each weighed in on making TripAdvisor reviews work for them, sharing customer feedback with staff, and the role of TripAdvisor Business Listings. All very popular with travelers, these establishments were also the recipients of 2012 Travelers’ Choice Awards. In the following video, hear from the management of these four properties – Hermitage Bay, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, East Winds Inn, and The Cove Atlantis – and gain insight into their success.

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Turndown is out, WiFi is in: New survey reveals marketing opportunities for hoteliers

The results of the first-ever 360° survey from TripAdvisor were released this week, with a focus on lodging amenities from the points of view of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers and more than 600 U.S. hotel representatives. The responses reveal that where guests are concerned, amenities truly count:  

Of the travelers surveyed, 54 percent said they have canceled a lodging reservation because they found better amenities at a different property.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the most important amenities, Wi-Fi Internet access and breakfast included with booking ranked top for travelers. And according to the survey, hotel owners and managers correctly assessed the importance of these and other amenities to their guests. Turndown service was the least important according to both groups, with 87% of guests and 83% of hoteliers indicating that this luxurious extra is becoming a thing of the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But hoteliers have the opportunity to appeal to more travelers by placing further value on other amenities guests care about, like shuttle service to local attractions or the airport. 66% of travelers indicated the importance of shuttle service, vs. only 41% of hoteliers.

The advantage of room service and a hotel’s pet policies, on the other hand, was overestimated by hoteliers. Turns out travelers care only slightly more about whether an establishment will welcome their pooch than they do about turndown service.

While hotels seem to have a good sense of what is important to travelers, TripAdvisor’s 360° survey does reveal opportunities for establishments to better meet traveler needs when it comes to certain amenities. These days, it seems free Internet will get you a whole lot further than a chocolate on the pillow.

See Gadling.com’s coverage of the survey, as well as the full press release here.

Why accommodation categories are defined the way they are: Q&A with the listings team

In this second part of our Q&A with the Listings team we look at the accommodation categories and how they are defined.

Why we list properties like we do: Q&A with the TripAdvisor Listings Team

The TripAdvisor listings team determines where a property is listed geographically (region, city, town, village, etc), and in what category it belongs (hotel, B&B, specialty lodging).

We get a lot of inquiries around how properties are displayed in our listings, so we asked the team to answer some of the more frequently asked questions here. Because there was quite a lot to cover we have divided the Q&A into two parts. This first part focuses on geographic location listings questions, the next part will answer category-type questions.

How we determine what makes a “hotel” on TripAdvisor

How do we define what is a Hotel and what isn’t?
Because TripAdvisor listings are global, and every country has a different definition and expectations of what services a hotel should offer, we developed our own criteria to be consistent on a global level. Travelers want to know what to expect wherever they are in the world.

We based our criteria on the services we think international travelers expect from a hotel – and having ‘hotel’ in the name is not enough!

Our criteria for a hotel are:
• A 24-hour front desk.
• Daily housekeeping included in the room rate.
• A private bathroom for each unit.
• If there is a minimum-stay requirement, it must be no more than 3 nights.

We understand that in some places it may not, for example, be feasible for a hotel to man the front desk 24/7 and that this may be considered acceptable for a hotel in that country. For this reason we do recognize official local classifications. So, if your national or local tourism or government body has licensed your property specifically as a hotel, we will recognize it as such.

Getting recognized as a Hotel
You can get your property recategorized by emailing or faxing your license to us (Fax in the USA: 1-617-670-6306). Allow time for processing, as we may have to translate or authenticate your documentation but once that is done, your property will be moved into the hotels list.

For more tips on how to make the most of your listing on TripAdvisor visit our new A-Z Tips section on this blog.