Trip Advisor - referrals

[JBloggs]

Well innmates we are at the 6 month mark for Trip Advisor allowing us to have a link on our listing. A good time to re-evualate (even though many are not in the full swing of guests just yet)
Would anyone like to share if they have seen an increase in bookings, an increase in referrals or guests commenting about finding them on TA?
I do not show click thru's from TA and as others have stated when we have the TA badge on our OWN website we wonder if it is the chicken and the eggs scenario. But just this morning a guest said he absolutely found us on TA and wanted to make sure I knew that the reviews and the link to the site (and liking what he saw) were the reason he booked his stay with us. He also added he ONLY plans his trips via TA, using the map features and the reviews to guide him. He can weed through PITA's and tell a lot about an Inn from TA reviews.

 

[Morticia]

I haven't checked lately but I will comment on the map feature...we're not on it. The only properties on the map are GDS properties. I am assuming he meant the 'map this hotel' button. If not, never mind the comment!

 

[EmptyNest]

Well...speaking for the guest side...I only look at TA and read reviews, then visit the site to make a final decision. If they have bad reviews and usually you can tell if they are justified..I will not be booking that place.

 

[Copperhead]

Just took the plunge in mid May...with the free PAii membership special. Nothing yet & are in our slow period so if I get anything for the next 3 months I will consider it a plus!
TA has already stated they are adding an additional 2 months (14mths) to my listing due to the problems associated with the o i l s p ill. Nice.

 

[egoodell]

Our numbers have been consistant checking analytics - we show TA as our fourth referral for the inn.
Our number 1 referral is our tour website - with over 1,000 visits. And that website is best supported by free websites. Then bbonline.
Our number 2 is direct (none) at 105 visits
Our number 3 is bedandbreakfast at 74 closely followed by
Our number 4 TripAdvisor at 64
So I am strongly considering dropping Bed and breakfast but keeping TripAdvisor when renewal time rolls around.
RIki

 

[JBloggs]

Riki that is what I did. Dropped one and took up the other. The one I dropped has not affected anything at all. Which irritates me since we have paid THE MOST BUCKS to be on there AT NOT EVEN THE HIGHEST OR MIDDLE LEVEL (I will add) since its inception, prv owners, and us for 7 years.
I put the $ into TA and a secondary city in BBONLINE.
I will say, I have before, that BBONLINE is my favorite directory, for all diff reasons, they have always been good to us. That counts for something in my book!

 

[JBloggs]

The map shows all B&B's and lodging estab and restaurants (or not if you click the icon off). none of them I am looking at have GDS

 

[egoodell]

Riki that is what I did. Dropped one and took up the other. The one I dropped has not affected anything at all. Which irritates me since we have paid THE MOST BUCKS to be on there AT NOT EVEN THE HIGHEST OR MIDDLE LEVEL (I will add) since its inception, prv owners, and us for 7 years.
I put the $ into TA and a secondary city in BBONLINE.
I will say, I have before, that BBONLINE is my favorite directory, for all diff reasons, they have always been good to us. That counts for something in my book!.

Riki that is what I did. Dropped one and took up the other. The one I dropped has not affected anything at all. Which irritates me since we have paid THE MOST BUCKS to be on there AT NOT EVEN THE HIGHEST OR MIDDLE LEVEL (I will add) since its inception, prv owners, and us for 7 years.
I put the $ into TA and a secondary city in BBONLINE.
I will say, I have before, that BBONLINE is my favorite directory, for all diff reasons, they have always been good to us. That counts for something in my book!

Good to know. That's also why I direct when asked, my guests to TA or Google Travel for reviews. I don't direct them to bandbonline because if I leave, there goes my good reviews. Hey, maybe I should direct complaints there when I get them.....?!
RIki

 

[Morticia]

The map shows all B&B's and lodging estab and restaurants (or not if you click the icon off). none of them I am looking at have GDS.

I see which map you mean. What I meant was if they click the 'map this hotel' link on the individual property's page. I'll assume I'm on that map you meant...all of us are so close together that we're all piled up in one spot on the map!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

Riki that is what I did. Dropped one and took up the other. The one I dropped has not affected anything at all. Which irritates me since we have paid THE MOST BUCKS to be on there AT NOT EVEN THE HIGHEST OR MIDDLE LEVEL (I will add) since its inception, prv owners, and us for 7 years.
I put the $ into TA and a secondary city in BBONLINE.
I will say, I have before, that BBONLINE is my favorite directory, for all diff reasons, they have always been good to us. That counts for something in my book!.

they have always been good to us. That counts for something in my book!

That counts for a lot in my book.

 

[nkeeprs]

I do have a link from TA to my site, however It is hard to find out if it works or not. When you ask guest they just say they found me on the web or TA so not for sure if they clicked on the link or not.

 

[Morticia]

I do have a link from TA to my site, however It is hard to find out if it works or not. When you ask guest they just say they found me on the web or TA so not for sure if they clicked on the link or not..

Do you have any kind of stats tracker on your website to at least see how many clicks from TA you are getting to your site?

 

[Marianne]

TA in the past had a link to websites,
Now they charge for the link and it is quite expensive.
I use trip advisor when travellling, I just note the name of the B&B and then google them and find them, so I think if I find a great place
I will end of there, we found B&B's in Italy
this way, I never travel without first going to TA

 

[JBloggs]

No, there was never a link to a B&B website on Trip Advisor before Jan 1, 2010.

 

[Hangfive]

Don't have a TA link yet. Did get a phone solicitation from TA the other day, so they're it seems like they're putting in alittle more effort to market the listings.
What I have noticed though is that the traffic coming from the search engines with B&B's name as the search term has greatly increased while traffic from the listing sites has decreased. So I assume that a least part of that traffic is due to being seen on TA.
I'm just sitting on the fence regarding the TA listing since I am in a market with lots of B&B's and we're not in the top 10 on TA. If I were on the 1st page on TA we would have gone with the TA listing from day one.
The other thing that bugs me about the TA listing is that with my paid listing there are going to be another 100 links or so to other businesses on the same page. I tried to count all the links on one one of my competitor's paid listing page and gave up at over 80.

 

[JBloggs]

This is why it is imperative to test the waters and see how it works for you in your area with your listing. I believe the results will vary for all of us. I do feel that TA is bigger and bigger and full of new ideas of late - it is like the google of vacation planning, imo.
As a traveler, there was nothing so irritating as looking at reviews and info and not being able to click a link to view their website, this bugged me to no end. So for that reason alone, I know that the link is valuable. NOW if I am on TA planning a trip, if the Inn has no link I won't bother to google, I will just move on to the next one. I feel this is fairly normal assumption that others will do the same.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

This is why it is imperative to test the waters and see how it works for you in your area with your listing. I believe the results will vary for all of us. I do feel that TA is bigger and bigger and full of new ideas of late - it is like the google of vacation planning, imo.
As a traveler, there was nothing so irritating as looking at reviews and info and not being able to click a link to view their website, this bugged me to no end. So for that reason alone, I know that the link is valuable. NOW if I am on TA planning a trip, if the Inn has no link I won't bother to google, I will just move on to the next one. I feel this is fairly normal assumption that others will do the same..

As a traveler, there was nothing so irritating as looking at reviews and info and not being able to click a link to view their website, this bugged me to no end. So for that reason alone, I know that the link is valuable. NOW if I am on TA planning a trip, if the Inn has no link I won't bother to google, I will just move on to the next one. I feel this is fairly normal assumption that others will do the same.

Yep.
When I travel (which is quite a lot) I go to TA. Now I find that most of the inns I'm interested in have a link. If they don't, it's becoming more and more rare that I will go to the trouble of googling them.
Guests have no patience and no attention span at all. If it's not right there in front of them, it's just not there.

 

[Morticia]

Don't have a TA link yet. Did get a phone solicitation from TA the other day, so they're it seems like they're putting in alittle more effort to market the listings.
What I have noticed though is that the traffic coming from the search engines with B&B's name as the search term has greatly increased while traffic from the listing sites has decreased. So I assume that a least part of that traffic is due to being seen on TA.
I'm just sitting on the fence regarding the TA listing since I am in a market with lots of B&B's and we're not in the top 10 on TA. If I were on the 1st page on TA we would have gone with the TA listing from day one.
The other thing that bugs me about the TA listing is that with my paid listing there are going to be another 100 links or so to other businesses on the same page. I tried to count all the links on one one of my competitor's paid listing page and gave up at over 80..

I think I would agree that if you're not on the first page of the reviews, then it is probably not worth the money. UNLESS, all of the B&B's are really close in %. Like you're all 98% and it's a matter of having the link that puts your listing over the top for the guest.
My philiosophy...if I'm looking at TA and everyone is just as wonderful as the next guy, I'll look longer at the list. If it's 2-3 that are 95%+ and then it takes a rapid drop from there, or the reviews are really old, I'll stick with the top bunch.
I have ads blocked on my computer so I don't see the stuff that jumps out all over the place. Except yesterday I had to use a different computer and all of the big ads were for another state. Yes, it's annoying.

 

[EmptyNest]

Don't have a TA link yet. Did get a phone solicitation from TA the other day, so they're it seems like they're putting in alittle more effort to market the listings.
What I have noticed though is that the traffic coming from the search engines with B&B's name as the search term has greatly increased while traffic from the listing sites has decreased. So I assume that a least part of that traffic is due to being seen on TA.
I'm just sitting on the fence regarding the TA listing since I am in a market with lots of B&B's and we're not in the top 10 on TA. If I were on the 1st page on TA we would have gone with the TA listing from day one.
The other thing that bugs me about the TA listing is that with my paid listing there are going to be another 100 links or so to other businesses on the same page. I tried to count all the links on one one of my competitor's paid listing page and gave up at over 80..

Well the thing is....you don't actually have to sign up for it. If one of your guests puts in a review about your inn...you are signed up :-(

 

[Copperhead]

This is why it is imperative to test the waters and see how it works for you in your area with your listing. I believe the results will vary for all of us. I do feel that TA is bigger and bigger and full of new ideas of late - it is like the google of vacation planning, imo.
As a traveler, there was nothing so irritating as looking at reviews and info and not being able to click a link to view their website, this bugged me to no end. So for that reason alone, I know that the link is valuable. NOW if I am on TA planning a trip, if the Inn has no link I won't bother to google, I will just move on to the next one. I feel this is fairly normal assumption that others will do the same..

. NOW if I am on TA planning a trip, if the Inn has no link I won't bother to google, I will just move on to the next one. I feel this is fairly normal assumption that others will do the same.

And that is just what TA wants us to think...But they will need to be pulling in a lot to get me to renew at $600, I was reluctant at $300. There have been many on here (me included) that have complained about the cost hikes of the 800 lb gorilla with many dropping them. For me the jury is still out. As I said before, did not opt in until mid May and this is my slow season so I am not expecting much of a draw until fall.