Webervations/BedandBreakfast.com

[Banana]

I don't use Webervations so take this for whatever it is worth to you...the program has been in place for a YEAR and the email just went out 2 days ago informing you of it? What bothers me is that this was going on with a seemingly large number of B&B owners not knowing about it, or not understanding exactly what was happening.
So, a year has gone by where innkeepers who didn't know may possibly have been sending out a duplicate-sounding email asking the guests to provide a review. And, as we all know, NO ONE wants to be inundated with emails to write a review.
I guess I haven't seen anything to the contrary...ie- 'WOW I am so happy Webervations is contacting my guests to tell them to leave a review.'
I would be peeved that guest emails are being captured and used by another company other than the one (mine) the guest THOUGHT they were dealing with. And, does the email purport to be coming from the inn or Webervations? If from the inn, I'd be doubly peeved as they are sending emails in my name that I knew nothing about. You do not know the content of the email, how it sounds, what the guest is told, etc.
As Jeanne said, these things MUST be opt-in, not opt-out. My take on that is that Webervations has been spamming your guests for as long as this program has been in place..

I'm not positive Mort but it sounds like it's been in place for a year for Rezovations users, and is just now going into effect for those still using Webervations.
.

That's the way I read it also. Rezo customers for a year, Web customers just recently

 

[Morticia]

I don't use Webervations so take this for whatever it is worth to you...the program has been in place for a YEAR and the email just went out 2 days ago informing you of it? What bothers me is that this was going on with a seemingly large number of B&B owners not knowing about it, or not understanding exactly what was happening.
So, a year has gone by where innkeepers who didn't know may possibly have been sending out a duplicate-sounding email asking the guests to provide a review. And, as we all know, NO ONE wants to be inundated with emails to write a review.
I guess I haven't seen anything to the contrary...ie- 'WOW I am so happy Webervations is contacting my guests to tell them to leave a review.'
I would be peeved that guest emails are being captured and used by another company other than the one (mine) the guest THOUGHT they were dealing with. And, does the email purport to be coming from the inn or Webervations? If from the inn, I'd be doubly peeved as they are sending emails in my name that I knew nothing about. You do not know the content of the email, how it sounds, what the guest is told, etc.
As Jeanne said, these things MUST be opt-in, not opt-out. My take on that is that Webervations has been spamming your guests for as long as this program has been in place..

I'm not positive Mort but it sounds like it's been in place for a year for Rezovations users, and is just now going into effect for those still using Webervations.
.

I'm not positive Mort but it sounds like it's been in place for a year for Rezovations users, and is just now going into effect for those still using Webervations.

So it probably just went into effect this week. Still, should have been an opt-in, not an 'email us and we'll remove it.'

 

[Don Draper]

I don't use Webervations so take this for whatever it is worth to you...the program has been in place for a YEAR and the email just went out 2 days ago informing you of it? What bothers me is that this was going on with a seemingly large number of B&B owners not knowing about it, or not understanding exactly what was happening.
So, a year has gone by where innkeepers who didn't know may possibly have been sending out a duplicate-sounding email asking the guests to provide a review. And, as we all know, NO ONE wants to be inundated with emails to write a review.
I guess I haven't seen anything to the contrary...ie- 'WOW I am so happy Webervations is contacting my guests to tell them to leave a review.'
I would be peeved that guest emails are being captured and used by another company other than the one (mine) the guest THOUGHT they were dealing with. And, does the email purport to be coming from the inn or Webervations? If from the inn, I'd be doubly peeved as they are sending emails in my name that I knew nothing about. You do not know the content of the email, how it sounds, what the guest is told, etc.
As Jeanne said, these things MUST be opt-in, not opt-out. My take on that is that Webervations has been spamming your guests for as long as this program has been in place..

I'm not positive Mort but it sounds like it's been in place for a year for Rezovations users, and is just now going into effect for those still using Webervations.
.

I'm not positive Mort but it sounds like it's been in place for a year for Rezovations users, and is just now going into effect for those still using Webervations.

So it probably just went into effect this week. Still, should have been an opt-in, not an 'email us and we'll remove it.'
.

Absolutely, especially when some of us never even got the email. I'm so glad I saw this thread.

 

[JBloggs]

The real reason we get pathetic email addresses that knock back our confirmations...HOTMAIL AND AOL! People hate spam. Now innkeepers are the spammers or selling to a 3rd party? The thing is, with the term Webervations we had enough guests question THAT, as the email never said FROM THE INN YOU JUST BOOKED, it just said Reservation or Webervations in the subject line.
It is all about trust. My 2 cents on this same subject that comes around every few months.

 

[swirt]

Does their automated review reminder thank the guest for staying at "xyz" B&B ?.................or is it just a review reminder?
If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Understandable.....that perhaps less than desireable guests would be receiving a request to review and that the inkeeper would have to be more diligent in reviewing the reviews ........but you would do that anyway.
If the Webv / b&b.cm review reminder includes a thank you for staying.......that would be a good thing...............if it currently does not include a thank you............perhaps it should.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.

 

[swirt]

Before John posts it: this is from the second half of an email sent from Webervation on 7/27. Yes, it is there and yes, it can be removed. Check your email - there is also a widget that shows the bandb.com reviews during checkout.
'We've heard from innkeepers that they are often uncomfortable soliciting reviews. We've also heard from consumers that they are sometimes uncomfortable clicking on review links from properties due to privacy concerns. But studies show that properties with numerous reviews perform better than properties with few or no reviews. Travelers like to read feedback from other guests before making their decision about where to stay, so when there are lots of reviews, they're able to make a more informed decision and convert. Plus, every month your property gets a review on BedandBreakfast.com, you get a $5 credit -- that means you can earn up to $60 a year!

Webervations customers that are BedandBreakfast.com members will now be able to offer anyone booking on their websites the ability to receive a private, direct email from BedandBreakfast.com asking them to review a property after their stay. We're adding a check box at the end of the reservation path that asks if the guest would like to be reminded to leave a review by BedandBreakfast.com. We believe this will help to greatly increase the number of reviews for your property. If they do not want to be reminded, the guest can easily un-check the box.

Just like the review widget, If you do not want the review reminder to appear on your confirmation page, simply send an email to [email protected] and we will remove it for you.''.

Interesting - I did not have an email from bedandbreakfast.com on 7/27 - checked ALL areas including my trash folder. I did receive the 2Q Survey on that date and a Featured Auction $match email but not anything else.
Secondly, instead of automaticly placing that on the form they should have sent out the email telling of the new option to add this as an additional service to their clients.
I will be removing this (thanks for the email address) promptly. But this raises a big red flag to me that information placed in that system is easily obtained by bedandbreakfast.com and that they see no problem taking that information for their use. Who's to say that they are not obtaining email addresses for other uses without our knowledge - or the knowledge of our guests who are placing this data in the system with the feeling that it is a safe place to do so. I have requested John, by email, to reply to this post and to assure me and the others here that our reservation data is safe and secure and not being used by bedandbreakfast.com for any purpose.
.

Just to be clear, the email was from [email protected], not from bandb.com. I agree, of course - I always think these things should be opt-in, not opt-out, but none of it surprises me. I think we all have been wondering how the use of the webervations database of clients would be used to further the interests of bandb.com and this is one of the ways.
.

Just to be clear, the email was from [email protected], not from bandb.com. I agree, of course - I always think these things should be opt-in, not opt-out, but none of it surprises me. I think we all have been wondering how the use of the webervations database of clients would be used to further the interests of bandb.com and this is one of the ways.

Yep, it should have been opt-in on the part of the innkeeper, and then opt-in on the part of the user. (or at least give the innkeeper the choice to make the guest's role opt-in or opt-out.)
This logic also should apply to the travel insurance being offered.

 

[One Day]

Does their automated review reminder thank the guest for staying at "xyz" B&B ?.................or is it just a review reminder?
If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Understandable.....that perhaps less than desireable guests would be receiving a request to review and that the inkeeper would have to be more diligent in reviewing the reviews ........but you would do that anyway.
If the Webv / b&b.cm review reminder includes a thank you for staying.......that would be a good thing...............if it currently does not include a thank you............perhaps it should.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.
.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.

Right.......... agreed
if they did the review auto reminder with a thank you that appeared to be coming from a particular establishment.......that would be fine...no?
I get why they are doing what they are doing.......they are creating buzz for the b/b website, more traffic and so on for themselves.....
Surely they can make the members individualy more inclusive

 

[One Day]

I don't use Webervations so take this for whatever it is worth to you...the program has been in place for a YEAR and the email just went out 2 days ago informing you of it? What bothers me is that this was going on with a seemingly large number of B&B owners not knowing about it, or not understanding exactly what was happening.
So, a year has gone by where innkeepers who didn't know may possibly have been sending out a duplicate-sounding email asking the guests to provide a review. And, as we all know, NO ONE wants to be inundated with emails to write a review.
I guess I haven't seen anything to the contrary...ie- 'WOW I am so happy Webervations is contacting my guests to tell them to leave a review.'
I would be peeved that guest emails are being captured and used by another company other than the one (mine) the guest THOUGHT they were dealing with. And, does the email purport to be coming from the inn or Webervations? If from the inn, I'd be doubly peeved as they are sending emails in my name that I knew nothing about. You do not know the content of the email, how it sounds, what the guest is told, etc.
As Jeanne said, these things MUST be opt-in, not opt-out. My take on that is that Webervations has been spamming your guests for as long as this program has been in place..

Yeah, yeah, yeah....
First........you should be told of this before implementation.......
Opt in.......not out
have a couple customizable thank you / review templates

 

[Banana]

Does their automated review reminder thank the guest for staying at "xyz" B&B ?.................or is it just a review reminder?
If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Understandable.....that perhaps less than desireable guests would be receiving a request to review and that the inkeeper would have to be more diligent in reviewing the reviews ........but you would do that anyway.
If the Webv / b&b.cm review reminder includes a thank you for staying.......that would be a good thing...............if it currently does not include a thank you............perhaps it should.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.
.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.

Right.......... agreed
if they did the review auto reminder with a thank you that appeared to be coming from a particular establishment.......that would be fine...no?
I get why they are doing what they are doing.......they are creating buzz for the b/b website, more traffic and so on for themselves.....
Surely they can make the members individualy more inclusive
.

It would not be fine with me if the thank you & review reminder appeared as though it were coming from me. Absolutely not.

 

[JBloggs]

One Day not wanting to dredge up old stuff, but the reason innmates are more irritated with this than other stuff is there is a history of the "Do it and then most of the dumb innkeepers won't even notice" from, as K calls, them the 800 lb gorilla. Pushing their weight around.
If they had an Opt In, then only the so-called seasoned web savvy innkeepers might cotton on to it and do it, or refuse to do it, like this crowd here is saying... this way they hold all the cards.
Many of us have OPTED OUT of this directory entirely, as we have reminded them for half a dozen years WE ARE THEIR CUSTOMERS. WE ARE THEIR CLIENTS. WE, the innkeepers who pay for the listing which went skyrocketing out of bloody control.
And btw not all innkeepers send thank you emails, nor do they want to. Some ONLY want to send them to specific guests who they enjoyed or appreciated, not every single online booking. Again, the reason some are fearful for online systems, that loss of control from the innkeeper who makes it all happen! BandB.com who owns Webervations are employed BY THESE INNKEEPERS, not the other way round. There, that is it in a nutshell. You don't have YOUR EMPLOYEES doing whatever the heck they want to do! They will respond here and I will get flack for it. They are there to serve us and all that rubbish. yeah yeah actions speak louder than words.

 

[gillumhouse]

Another reason I am happy I changed to Reservationkey.com, they have a list of letter types and YOU write the letter to be sent out or not.

 

[PoppaSmurf]

I noticed the very first morning it appeared on every single Webervations page and was SO NOT HAPPY. WAY NOT COOL to not have an opt out option. And how dare they solicit our guests for Reviews? After a terse email to Support to remove ASAP, I noticed that suddenly Google Analytics was no longer tracking my Webervations hits? After three more email messages to Support, they finally fessed up and said the automatic Widget script they installed without permission, OOPS, disables GA. ????? How many folks out there are aware of that??? Why doesn't Webervations spend some time updating the outdated look, feel, and customization of their product? Am seriously considering switching Reservation systems.

 

[swirt]

Does their automated review reminder thank the guest for staying at "xyz" B&B ?.................or is it just a review reminder?
If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Understandable.....that perhaps less than desireable guests would be receiving a request to review and that the inkeeper would have to be more diligent in reviewing the reviews ........but you would do that anyway.
If the Webv / b&b.cm review reminder includes a thank you for staying.......that would be a good thing...............if it currently does not include a thank you............perhaps it should.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.
.

If it does a "thank you" and review......wouldn't that be one less thing the inkeeper would have to or want to do?
Not trying to be a smartass here, but would you allow your local gas station to send a thank you note on your behalf? A thank you note coming from bandb.com would not be equated with a thank you coming from your B&B.

Right.......... agreed
if they did the review auto reminder with a thank you that appeared to be coming from a particular establishment.......that would be fine...no?
I get why they are doing what they are doing.......they are creating buzz for the b/b website, more traffic and so on for themselves.....
Surely they can make the members individualy more inclusive
.

I get why they are doing what they are doing.......they are creating buzz for the b/b website, more traffic and so on for themselves.....
All that PLUS they are using it to get the innkeepers hooked too. IF an in has lots of reviews, then they are less likely to want to abandon the directory since doing so would make those reviews disappear. (especially since Google slurps in those reviews).
Ultimately, it is not a horrible idea, just an inconsiderate implementation.

 

[Copperhead]

I have been busy all morning was wondering about this thread. I am not a happy camper once again with B&B.com. I have been on both sides of this directory and discussions regarding it and sometimes I have been 'riding the fence' with them. Within the last year I been very pleased with my partnership with them, felt I was getting value for my $ and that their practices were - lets say - more customer oriented.
When I started using Webervations - 2005, it was not owned by B&B.com and I had no reason to think that any of my customers data would be 'sold' or used for any purposes but my own. When B&B.com purchased Webervations it never indicated anything different and quite frankly, it never dawned on me that this information was now available to another source, a source that would be interested in this data for their own purposes. For them to use this data, in any form without our approval and knowledge is an invasion of privacy of not only the guest but our business. As JB stated this is one of the reasons people have a difficult time using online booking and when they do, they use these generic (yahoo, gmail) accounts that they seldom read - becasue they do not want to get bombarded with garbage email.
What John's message said was that this was mentioned in an email a year ago, but not implemented until a few months ago for Rez. customers...and just now for Webervations customers. What I would like know is if B&B.com would remember if I sent them a letter today stating I want to join their online booking next September? Do you think they would just put me in that program next Sept.? I doubt they would remember, same is true with their email stating this change would happen.... That does not cover them on this issue! And so now I read that 3 out of 4 of us here did not get the email.... WHY?
I emailed support last night and requested they remove that verbage from my booking form AND requested a statement that states that they are NOT gathering any data from my system for their use. I have not gotten a reply, though my form has been changed. I plan to keep requesting this statement until they respond to it. I now am uncomfortable with having Webervations on my site and using it for my guest information UNTIL they assure me that my data is just that - MY DATA - FOR MY USE!!!! I do suggest that each of you with Webervations do the same!
I will post if I get a reply. Meanwhile I will be taking a very close look at Reservation Key.

 

[Don Draper]

I have been busy all morning was wondering about this thread. I am not a happy camper once again with B&B.com. I have been on both sides of this directory and discussions regarding it and sometimes I have been 'riding the fence' with them. Within the last year I been very pleased with my partnership with them, felt I was getting value for my $ and that their practices were - lets say - more customer oriented.
When I started using Webervations - 2005, it was not owned by B&B.com and I had no reason to think that any of my customers data would be 'sold' or used for any purposes but my own. When B&B.com purchased Webervations it never indicated anything different and quite frankly, it never dawned on me that this information was now available to another source, a source that would be interested in this data for their own purposes. For them to use this data, in any form without our approval and knowledge is an invasion of privacy of not only the guest but our business. As JB stated this is one of the reasons people have a difficult time using online booking and when they do, they use these generic (yahoo, gmail) accounts that they seldom read - becasue they do not want to get bombarded with garbage email.
What John's message said was that this was mentioned in an email a year ago, but not implemented until a few months ago for Rez. customers...and just now for Webervations customers. What I would like know is if B&B.com would remember if I sent them a letter today stating I want to join their online booking next September? Do you think they would just put me in that program next Sept.? I doubt they would remember, same is true with their email stating this change would happen.... That does not cover them on this issue! And so now I read that 3 out of 4 of us here did not get the email.... WHY?
I emailed support last night and requested they remove that verbage from my booking form AND requested a statement that states that they are NOT gathering any data from my system for their use. I have not gotten a reply, though my form has been changed. I plan to keep requesting this statement until they respond to it. I now am uncomfortable with having Webervations on my site and using it for my guest information UNTIL they assure me that my data is just that - MY DATA - FOR MY USE!!!! I do suggest that each of you with Webervations do the same!
I will post if I get a reply. Meanwhile I will be taking a very close look at Reservation Key..

I know folks here will disagree with me, but this is the ultimate reason why we opted NOT to change from Webervations and go to Rezovations and use their integrated cc processing. I just had these horrible images of them being able to access my QuickBooks data. Now, I don't technologically even know if that is possible, but this company has proven to me that they are always thinking about the bottom line first, and definitely NOT customer satisfaction. They are forever and ever using this "It's easier to ask permission than forgiveness" philosophy. It stinks and I don't like it.

 

[JBanczak]

Hey gang,
Apologize for not getting here sooner. We announced this feature almost a year ago to all Webervations and RezOvation customers. We then sent an email out to each group when launched. It is optional, and can be removed easily by calling or emailing support.
I apologize for any lack of clarity in the product, and to anyone who did not get these emails. We sent them to everyone on our list, but it is a pretty regular occurrence that some things get blocked due to all the various blockers out there.
It seems there are two main issues - first - why did we do this, and what are the benefits. The second is why did we activate this for everyone, rather than make each individual inn activate it.
As for the why and benefits...
We still believe that the two biggest obstacles to mainstream consumers staying in a B&B are the impressions of B&B’s as an industry, and the ability to easily book online. We feel that this review widget will help with each of these delivering better information to the customer and making them feel more comfortable in booking online.
We got this idea from Bizarre Voice, the leading review company that powers major companies including Best Buy, Macy's, Crate and Barrel and SpaFinder. Last year they released study information showing that clients who showed trusted reviews in their checkout path saw significant increases in shopper conversion, and that is what everyone is after. The key to achieving this is to show trusted 3rd party reviews around a product in a way that delivers enough information to make consumers comfortable, without having them click off the web page.
Think of yourself making buying a product online, or even making a booking yourself at an unknown property – we all know how once it gets time to actually pay for the product or book the room and pay – we all get a wave of doubt falling over us. “Gee – I wonder if this product or place really is a good choice….” It happens on every purchase decision.
That is where a review widget comes in – by seeing the trusted third party reviews, it screams YES IT IS A GOOD PRODUCT . A consumer who is having these doubts sees that a property is confident enough in themselves to put their reviews right there – and the doubt goes away resulting in more bookings.
The important nuances are that the reviews must be seen as coming from a trusted third party like BB.com or consumers don’t believe them. This is why we put our brand there in a very small way. The other nuance is that you want to give them enough information so that they don’t feel the necessity to click off the page. We do that by providing the review balls for the major rating parameters and showing the total number of reviews. The last nuance is that you don’t want the graphic to have a strong call to attention to leave the page, but it must be usable if someone wants to verify the reviews or see more – and so we do have a link that goes directly to the properties own review page only.
That explains the review widget, or graphic. Something to note is that over a thousand properties manually put this review widget up on their sites even before it was automated, and roughly 98% of all RezOvation users have had and continue to use the same identical products we just launched.
The "review reminder" or the check-box to have BB.com remind the guest to leave a review at the property. Again we’ve had RezO customers using this for quite a while. To begin with, we hear constantly from innkeepers that they need a way to get more reviews at their property. At the same time we here time and again that innkeepers do not like to beg for reviews. I’ve been asked myself several times at conferences “can’t you guys go ask for reviews for me?” We also hear from travelers that they are sometimes weary of getting a review email directly from a property for privacy concerns. Travelers are concerned that if they follow the link from a property, the property might have information on them and the review they leave.
So we came up with the review reminder – a way that allows innkeepers to get more reviews, without looking like the people begging for reviews themselves. It enables consumers to get a review from a third-party, and feel comfortable that it is legitimate and private. Ultimately it helps BB.com members better get their review credit as well. We feel it is a win-win all around, and again – it is completely optional and can be easily removed by emailing or calling support.
The second question seems to be around why we did this as an opt-out program activating it for everyone, rather than an opt-in. The decision there was based on our history with this product on RezOvation. With roughly 98% of RezO customers using this – it didn’t seem to make sense to make 98% of customers have to go to the trouble to activate this. It would have required our support team to handle literally thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls to get it activated. Because it is technology that sits between BB.com and Rezo, it is not something that can simply have a user switch on it. So rather than flood the phones by requiring everyone to check-in to do this, it made more sense to notify everyone and allow folks to have it removed. Our experience has been that the overwhelming majority of customers find this to be a benefit. It is clear based on the comments in this form that not everyone will find this as a benefit, but given that so many do, it seems to make a lot of sense to implement it this way.
There are countless product items like this that get launched for everyone with a default, yet are adjustable on the back end. We generally launch everything one way or another and try to pick what the likelihood is that more properties will use it or not. Great example is Trip Insurance – we launched that opt-out as well. The credit card auto-delete was launched with a default setting because we had to pick one. We are launching new larger photos on Rezo, and those have to be opt-in because the majority of those booking engines are customized and may not fit them. Each product needs to be thought about independently.
I hope that helps to explain things. Ultimately these products should help drive more bookings and increase the number of reviews BB.com members get without a property having to do any extra work. But as I’ve mentioned, anyone can let us know if they would like these products shut down for any reason, and that is just fine – just let us know!

 

[domsmom]

Hey gang,
Apologize for not getting here sooner. We announced this feature almost a year ago to all Webervations and RezOvation customers. We then sent an email out to each group when launched. It is optional, and can be removed easily by calling or emailing support.
I apologize for any lack of clarity in the product, and to anyone who did not get these emails. We sent them to everyone on our list, but it is a pretty regular occurrence that some things get blocked due to all the various blockers out there.
It seems there are two main issues - first - why did we do this, and what are the benefits. The second is why did we activate this for everyone, rather than make each individual inn activate it.
As for the why and benefits...
We still believe that the two biggest obstacles to mainstream consumers staying in a B&B are the impressions of B&B’s as an industry, and the ability to easily book online. We feel that this review widget will help with each of these delivering better information to the customer and making them feel more comfortable in booking online.
We got this idea from Bizarre Voice, the leading review company that powers major companies including Best Buy, Macy's, Crate and Barrel and SpaFinder. Last year they released study information showing that clients who showed trusted reviews in their checkout path saw significant increases in shopper conversion, and that is what everyone is after. The key to achieving this is to show trusted 3rd party reviews around a product in a way that delivers enough information to make consumers comfortable, without having them click off the web page.
Think of yourself making buying a product online, or even making a booking yourself at an unknown property – we all know how once it gets time to actually pay for the product or book the room and pay – we all get a wave of doubt falling over us. “Gee – I wonder if this product or place really is a good choice….” It happens on every purchase decision.
That is where a review widget comes in – by seeing the trusted third party reviews, it screams YES IT IS A GOOD PRODUCT . A consumer who is having these doubts sees that a property is confident enough in themselves to put their reviews right there – and the doubt goes away resulting in more bookings.
The important nuances are that the reviews must be seen as coming from a trusted third party like BB.com or consumers don’t believe them. This is why we put our brand there in a very small way. The other nuance is that you want to give them enough information so that they don’t feel the necessity to click off the page. We do that by providing the review balls for the major rating parameters and showing the total number of reviews. The last nuance is that you don’t want the graphic to have a strong call to attention to leave the page, but it must be usable if someone wants to verify the reviews or see more – and so we do have a link that goes directly to the properties own review page only.
That explains the review widget, or graphic. Something to note is that over a thousand properties manually put this review widget up on their sites even before it was automated, and roughly 98% of all RezOvation users have had and continue to use the same identical products we just launched.
The "review reminder" or the check-box to have BB.com remind the guest to leave a review at the property. Again we’ve had RezO customers using this for quite a while. To begin with, we hear constantly from innkeepers that they need a way to get more reviews at their property. At the same time we here time and again that innkeepers do not like to beg for reviews. I’ve been asked myself several times at conferences “can’t you guys go ask for reviews for me?” We also hear from travelers that they are sometimes weary of getting a review email directly from a property for privacy concerns. Travelers are concerned that if they follow the link from a property, the property might have information on them and the review they leave.
So we came up with the review reminder – a way that allows innkeepers to get more reviews, without looking like the people begging for reviews themselves. It enables consumers to get a review from a third-party, and feel comfortable that it is legitimate and private. Ultimately it helps BB.com members better get their review credit as well. We feel it is a win-win all around, and again – it is completely optional and can be easily removed by emailing or calling support.
The second question seems to be around why we did this as an opt-out program activating it for everyone, rather than an opt-in. The decision there was based on our history with this product on RezOvation. With roughly 98% of RezO customers using this – it didn’t seem to make sense to make 98% of customers have to go to the trouble to activate this. It would have required our support team to handle literally thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls to get it activated. Because it is technology that sits between BB.com and Rezo, it is not something that can simply have a user switch on it. So rather than flood the phones by requiring everyone to check-in to do this, it made more sense to notify everyone and allow folks to have it removed. Our experience has been that the overwhelming majority of customers find this to be a benefit. It is clear based on the comments in this form that not everyone will find this as a benefit, but given that so many do, it seems to make a lot of sense to implement it this way.
There are countless product items like this that get launched for everyone with a default, yet are adjustable on the back end. We generally launch everything one way or another and try to pick what the likelihood is that more properties will use it or not. Great example is Trip Insurance – we launched that opt-out as well. The credit card auto-delete was launched with a default setting because we had to pick one. We are launching new larger photos on Rezo, and those have to be opt-in because the majority of those booking engines are customized and may not fit them. Each product needs to be thought about independently.
I hope that helps to explain things. Ultimately these products should help drive more bookings and increase the number of reviews BB.com members get without a property having to do any extra work. But as I’ve mentioned, anyone can let us know if they would like these products shut down for any reason, and that is just fine – just let us know!.

Dear Mr. Banczak,
I appreciate your filling us in, however I find it quite interesting how big organizations, such as yourself and others ( I am experiencing it in my home town as well), make decisions on businesses behalf. The very businesses that keep you in business- without asking our opinions or thoughts on the matter.
Personally I have several good reviews. Earlier this week I posted how, although I have positive, honest reviews from past guests, I have had guests arrive and I wasn't what they expected. So though many people have been more than happy with my location, my service, my breakfast, and my comfortable beds, had these customers (who did not even stay for breakfast) been sent an automatic review request because at the time they made the reservation they clicked (or did not click) a particular button their review would most definetly been on the negative side.
You may have advised those who are on band.com after the fact, but is there any consultation before hand?
Thank goodness I saw this prior to signing up for bandb.com. It would surely hurt my business. To be taken off Google Analytics if the widget is removed and for bandb.com to utilize my guests information, this is not what I am about.

 

[JBanczak]

Hey gang,
Apologize for not getting here sooner. We announced this feature almost a year ago to all Webervations and RezOvation customers. We then sent an email out to each group when launched. It is optional, and can be removed easily by calling or emailing support.
I apologize for any lack of clarity in the product, and to anyone who did not get these emails. We sent them to everyone on our list, but it is a pretty regular occurrence that some things get blocked due to all the various blockers out there.
It seems there are two main issues - first - why did we do this, and what are the benefits. The second is why did we activate this for everyone, rather than make each individual inn activate it.
As for the why and benefits...
We still believe that the two biggest obstacles to mainstream consumers staying in a B&B are the impressions of B&B’s as an industry, and the ability to easily book online. We feel that this review widget will help with each of these delivering better information to the customer and making them feel more comfortable in booking online.
We got this idea from Bizarre Voice, the leading review company that powers major companies including Best Buy, Macy's, Crate and Barrel and SpaFinder. Last year they released study information showing that clients who showed trusted reviews in their checkout path saw significant increases in shopper conversion, and that is what everyone is after. The key to achieving this is to show trusted 3rd party reviews around a product in a way that delivers enough information to make consumers comfortable, without having them click off the web page.
Think of yourself making buying a product online, or even making a booking yourself at an unknown property – we all know how once it gets time to actually pay for the product or book the room and pay – we all get a wave of doubt falling over us. “Gee – I wonder if this product or place really is a good choice….” It happens on every purchase decision.
That is where a review widget comes in – by seeing the trusted third party reviews, it screams YES IT IS A GOOD PRODUCT . A consumer who is having these doubts sees that a property is confident enough in themselves to put their reviews right there – and the doubt goes away resulting in more bookings.
The important nuances are that the reviews must be seen as coming from a trusted third party like BB.com or consumers don’t believe them. This is why we put our brand there in a very small way. The other nuance is that you want to give them enough information so that they don’t feel the necessity to click off the page. We do that by providing the review balls for the major rating parameters and showing the total number of reviews. The last nuance is that you don’t want the graphic to have a strong call to attention to leave the page, but it must be usable if someone wants to verify the reviews or see more – and so we do have a link that goes directly to the properties own review page only.
That explains the review widget, or graphic. Something to note is that over a thousand properties manually put this review widget up on their sites even before it was automated, and roughly 98% of all RezOvation users have had and continue to use the same identical products we just launched.
The "review reminder" or the check-box to have BB.com remind the guest to leave a review at the property. Again we’ve had RezO customers using this for quite a while. To begin with, we hear constantly from innkeepers that they need a way to get more reviews at their property. At the same time we here time and again that innkeepers do not like to beg for reviews. I’ve been asked myself several times at conferences “can’t you guys go ask for reviews for me?” We also hear from travelers that they are sometimes weary of getting a review email directly from a property for privacy concerns. Travelers are concerned that if they follow the link from a property, the property might have information on them and the review they leave.
So we came up with the review reminder – a way that allows innkeepers to get more reviews, without looking like the people begging for reviews themselves. It enables consumers to get a review from a third-party, and feel comfortable that it is legitimate and private. Ultimately it helps BB.com members better get their review credit as well. We feel it is a win-win all around, and again – it is completely optional and can be easily removed by emailing or calling support.
The second question seems to be around why we did this as an opt-out program activating it for everyone, rather than an opt-in. The decision there was based on our history with this product on RezOvation. With roughly 98% of RezO customers using this – it didn’t seem to make sense to make 98% of customers have to go to the trouble to activate this. It would have required our support team to handle literally thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls to get it activated. Because it is technology that sits between BB.com and Rezo, it is not something that can simply have a user switch on it. So rather than flood the phones by requiring everyone to check-in to do this, it made more sense to notify everyone and allow folks to have it removed. Our experience has been that the overwhelming majority of customers find this to be a benefit. It is clear based on the comments in this form that not everyone will find this as a benefit, but given that so many do, it seems to make a lot of sense to implement it this way.
There are countless product items like this that get launched for everyone with a default, yet are adjustable on the back end. We generally launch everything one way or another and try to pick what the likelihood is that more properties will use it or not. Great example is Trip Insurance – we launched that opt-out as well. The credit card auto-delete was launched with a default setting because we had to pick one. We are launching new larger photos on Rezo, and those have to be opt-in because the majority of those booking engines are customized and may not fit them. Each product needs to be thought about independently.
I hope that helps to explain things. Ultimately these products should help drive more bookings and increase the number of reviews BB.com members get without a property having to do any extra work. But as I’ve mentioned, anyone can let us know if they would like these products shut down for any reason, and that is just fine – just let us know!.

Dear Mr. Banczak,
I appreciate your filling us in, however I find it quite interesting how big organizations, such as yourself and others ( I am experiencing it in my home town as well), make decisions on businesses behalf. The very businesses that keep you in business- without asking our opinions or thoughts on the matter.
Personally I have several good reviews. Earlier this week I posted how, although I have positive, honest reviews from past guests, I have had guests arrive and I wasn't what they expected. So though many people have been more than happy with my location, my service, my breakfast, and my comfortable beds, had these customers (who did not even stay for breakfast) been sent an automatic review request because at the time they made the reservation they clicked (or did not click) a particular button their review would most definetly been on the negative side.
You may have advised those who are on band.com after the fact, but is there any consultation before hand?
Thank goodness I saw this prior to signing up for bandb.com. It would surely hurt my business. To be taken off Google Analytics if the widget is removed and for bandb.com to utilize my guests information, this is not what I am about.
.

Dear Mr. Banczak,
I appreciate your filling us in, however I find it quite interesting how big organizations, such as yourself and others ( I am experiencing it in my home town as well), make decisions on businesses behalf. The very businesses that keep you in business- without asking our opinions or thoughts on the matter.
Personally I have several good reviews. Earlier this week I posted how, although I have positive, honest reviews from past guests, I have had guests arrive and I wasn't what they expected. So though many people have been more than happy with my location, my service, my breakfast, and my comfortable beds, had these customers (who did not even stay for breakfast) been sent an automatic review request because at the time they made the reservation they clicked (or did not click) a particular button their review would most definetly been on the negative side.
You may have advised those who are on band.com after the fact, but is there any consultation before hand?
Thank goodness I saw this prior to signing up for bandb.com. It would surely hurt my business. To be taken off Google Analytics if the widget is removed and for bandb.com to utilize my guests information, this is not what I am about.

Hi Domsmom,
Yes, on pretty much every product, we talk to innkeepers before we launch. There are several innkeepers who shall remain nameless that I bounce ideas off of, and we get commentary all the time. In this case, we announced this product almost a year ago to every single customer. In that entire time I don't think I had one complaint sent to me about it, and indeed our experience with RezOvation has been very positive as well. So like I said in the other post, we made the call to activate as an opt-out, which given the high success on RezOvation seems like the right call to make. I completely understand from your point of view that you may disagree with that, and surely there will be a lot of opinions on any product we launch.
I'm not sure what you mean though about being taken off google analytics? I do not believe anything we have launched would have anything to do with that. Could you explain that in more detail so I can make sure I understand?
Also - I made a mistake in my post - this can be turned off by properties right in Webervations. You do not need to call. I didn't think this went live, but I was just told it did. You can find this in:
Property Info >> Name & Address
[Edited by swirt to get rid of weird Microsoft formatting code]

 

[domsmom]

Hey gang,
Apologize for not getting here sooner. We announced this feature almost a year ago to all Webervations and RezOvation customers. We then sent an email out to each group when launched. It is optional, and can be removed easily by calling or emailing support.
I apologize for any lack of clarity in the product, and to anyone who did not get these emails. We sent them to everyone on our list, but it is a pretty regular occurrence that some things get blocked due to all the various blockers out there.
It seems there are two main issues - first - why did we do this, and what are the benefits. The second is why did we activate this for everyone, rather than make each individual inn activate it.
As for the why and benefits...
We still believe that the two biggest obstacles to mainstream consumers staying in a B&B are the impressions of B&B’s as an industry, and the ability to easily book online. We feel that this review widget will help with each of these delivering better information to the customer and making them feel more comfortable in booking online.
We got this idea from Bizarre Voice, the leading review company that powers major companies including Best Buy, Macy's, Crate and Barrel and SpaFinder. Last year they released study information showing that clients who showed trusted reviews in their checkout path saw significant increases in shopper conversion, and that is what everyone is after. The key to achieving this is to show trusted 3rd party reviews around a product in a way that delivers enough information to make consumers comfortable, without having them click off the web page.
Think of yourself making buying a product online, or even making a booking yourself at an unknown property – we all know how once it gets time to actually pay for the product or book the room and pay – we all get a wave of doubt falling over us. “Gee – I wonder if this product or place really is a good choice….” It happens on every purchase decision.
That is where a review widget comes in – by seeing the trusted third party reviews, it screams YES IT IS A GOOD PRODUCT . A consumer who is having these doubts sees that a property is confident enough in themselves to put their reviews right there – and the doubt goes away resulting in more bookings.
The important nuances are that the reviews must be seen as coming from a trusted third party like BB.com or consumers don’t believe them. This is why we put our brand there in a very small way. The other nuance is that you want to give them enough information so that they don’t feel the necessity to click off the page. We do that by providing the review balls for the major rating parameters and showing the total number of reviews. The last nuance is that you don’t want the graphic to have a strong call to attention to leave the page, but it must be usable if someone wants to verify the reviews or see more – and so we do have a link that goes directly to the properties own review page only.
That explains the review widget, or graphic. Something to note is that over a thousand properties manually put this review widget up on their sites even before it was automated, and roughly 98% of all RezOvation users have had and continue to use the same identical products we just launched.
The "review reminder" or the check-box to have BB.com remind the guest to leave a review at the property. Again we’ve had RezO customers using this for quite a while. To begin with, we hear constantly from innkeepers that they need a way to get more reviews at their property. At the same time we here time and again that innkeepers do not like to beg for reviews. I’ve been asked myself several times at conferences “can’t you guys go ask for reviews for me?” We also hear from travelers that they are sometimes weary of getting a review email directly from a property for privacy concerns. Travelers are concerned that if they follow the link from a property, the property might have information on them and the review they leave.
So we came up with the review reminder – a way that allows innkeepers to get more reviews, without looking like the people begging for reviews themselves. It enables consumers to get a review from a third-party, and feel comfortable that it is legitimate and private. Ultimately it helps BB.com members better get their review credit as well. We feel it is a win-win all around, and again – it is completely optional and can be easily removed by emailing or calling support.
The second question seems to be around why we did this as an opt-out program activating it for everyone, rather than an opt-in. The decision there was based on our history with this product on RezOvation. With roughly 98% of RezO customers using this – it didn’t seem to make sense to make 98% of customers have to go to the trouble to activate this. It would have required our support team to handle literally thousands and thousands of emails and phone calls to get it activated. Because it is technology that sits between BB.com and Rezo, it is not something that can simply have a user switch on it. So rather than flood the phones by requiring everyone to check-in to do this, it made more sense to notify everyone and allow folks to have it removed. Our experience has been that the overwhelming majority of customers find this to be a benefit. It is clear based on the comments in this form that not everyone will find this as a benefit, but given that so many do, it seems to make a lot of sense to implement it this way.
There are countless product items like this that get launched for everyone with a default, yet are adjustable on the back end. We generally launch everything one way or another and try to pick what the likelihood is that more properties will use it or not. Great example is Trip Insurance – we launched that opt-out as well. The credit card auto-delete was launched with a default setting because we had to pick one. We are launching new larger photos on Rezo, and those have to be opt-in because the majority of those booking engines are customized and may not fit them. Each product needs to be thought about independently.
I hope that helps to explain things. Ultimately these products should help drive more bookings and increase the number of reviews BB.com members get without a property having to do any extra work. But as I’ve mentioned, anyone can let us know if they would like these products shut down for any reason, and that is just fine – just let us know!.

Dear Mr. Banczak,
I appreciate your filling us in, however I find it quite interesting how big organizations, such as yourself and others ( I am experiencing it in my home town as well), make decisions on businesses behalf. The very businesses that keep you in business- without asking our opinions or thoughts on the matter.
Personally I have several good reviews. Earlier this week I posted how, although I have positive, honest reviews from past guests, I have had guests arrive and I wasn't what they expected. So though many people have been more than happy with my location, my service, my breakfast, and my comfortable beds, had these customers (who did not even stay for breakfast) been sent an automatic review request because at the time they made the reservation they clicked (or did not click) a particular button their review would most definetly been on the negative side.
You may have advised those who are on band.com after the fact, but is there any consultation before hand?
Thank goodness I saw this prior to signing up for bandb.com. It would surely hurt my business. To be taken off Google Analytics if the widget is removed and for bandb.com to utilize my guests information, this is not what I am about.
.

Dear Mr. Banczak,
I appreciate your filling us in, however I find it quite interesting how big organizations, such as yourself and others ( I am experiencing it in my home town as well), make decisions on businesses behalf. The very businesses that keep you in business- without asking our opinions or thoughts on the matter.
Personally I have several good reviews. Earlier this week I posted how, although I have positive, honest reviews from past guests, I have had guests arrive and I wasn't what they expected. So though many people have been more than happy with my location, my service, my breakfast, and my comfortable beds, had these customers (who did not even stay for breakfast) been sent an automatic review request because at the time they made the reservation they clicked (or did not click) a particular button their review would most definetly been on the negative side.
You may have advised those who are on band.com after the fact, but is there any consultation before hand?
Thank goodness I saw this prior to signing up for bandb.com. It would surely hurt my business. To be taken off Google Analytics if the widget is removed and for bandb.com to utilize my guests information, this is not what I am about.

Hi Domsmom,
Yes, on pretty much every product, we talk to innkeepers before we launch. There are several innkeepers who shall remain nameless that I bounce ideas off of, and we get commentary all the time. In this case, we announced this product almost a year ago to every single customer. In that entire time I don't think I had one complaint sent to me about it, and indeed our experience with RezOvation has been very positive as well. So like I said in the other post, we made the call to activate as an opt-out, which given the high success on RezOvation seems like the right call to make. I completely understand from your point of view that you may disagree with that, and surely there will be a lot of opinions on any product we launch.
I'm not sure what you mean though about being taken off google analytics? I do not believe anything we have launched would have anything to do with that. Could you explain that in more detail so I can make sure I understand?
Also - I made a mistake in my post - this can be turned off by properties right in Webervations. You do not need to call. I didn't think this went live, but I was just told it did. You can find this in:
Property Info >> Name & Address
[Edited by swirt to get rid of weird Microsoft formatting code]
.

Please see the response by "Poppasmurf" regarding Google Analytics. Thank you for your quick response, by the way.

 

[PoppaSmurf]

The implementation of our widget has temporarily broke our stat tracking text box where you have your Google Analytics code placed. The good news is we have had a direct interface with Google in place for some time, and this feature is still functioning properly. All that needed to be done was drop your unique user ID into the Google Analytics box on the Stats page of your Webervations account. I have done this for you. This integration should be working correctly now. Let us know if you have further questions.
If I did not notice "way off" stats missing on my GA Content Page for Webervations Hits and email Support, (who had to manually on an individual basis correct my account)---how would I or anyone else know "all that needed to be done, was..."? Is GA still "temporarily broke" or has it been corrected yet across the network?