madsue wrote:

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

Kath who was HT Admin on here for many years, was also a Travel Agent. She always posted reviews on HT and I would trust her opinion 100%. :tup

As would I, Glynis But of course we all "know" Kath :D

I was using Kath as an example insomuch as, that just because you are a Travel Agent doesn't mean that you wouldn't give your own, unbiased opinion as to accommodation, when doing a review.

Aslemma wrote:

No doubt several respected members of HT work in the travel industry but, as has been said, we know them and they are not in the business of trying to sell us anything.

Would the reviewers be trying to sell us something?

Bloody hell you are a suspicious bunch! lol

Glynis said

Would the reviewers be trying to sell us something?

Maybe not, but they may have a vested interest in recommending a hotel with which their agency had a contract, particularly if it was not selling very well. It would, obviously, be up to members to make up their own minds. As I've said, I personally have no problem with TAs providing reviews, provided they are clearly shown as such, but will put far more trust on those provided by ordinary members. When the poll is finished and analysed will be the time for Chris and Phil to decide whether to go down this road. At the moment the jury is still out.

We would not work with or allow any agency that directly contracts hotels, to post reviews.

i would welcome any new reviews but as stated i think it should state if the review was by ta or tourist.
i would still not use a review of a hotel to make my mind up as everybody has different views onwhat they expect from a hotel.
the most important things in a review to me is usefull tips on the hotel and staff.

Reviews as to where is hotel is situated, accommodation and food provded and the attitude of staff are all useful, though the discrepancies I often see regarding the staff do make me wonder if, on some occaisons, it is the attitude of guests which may be called into question.

So if the reviewer reports on the factual points like hotel situation, accommodation, facilities and food provided then does it make it more trustworthy from a holiday maker than a travel agent reviewer ? Because attitude of staff versus attitude of guests is a fact that cannot be quantified , it's difficult to tell if the hotel staff are a problem or if the reviewer is nit picking because perhaps they did not get upgraded at checkin for example .
It seems that travel agents reviews might be viewed with suspicion and not trusted , yet it also seems that guests reviews cannot always be trusted because the attitude of them could be questionable ??

More reviews that are more up to date would be desirable and certainly more valuable to members and offer a choice in a competitive marketplace.

What andy66 said

There could be many members on here, that do work for TA or TO independant or not, and have not made it known that they are, and why should they anyway, and they could and probably have posted reviews already, and we all look at reviews and believe what we want to anyway don't we ?

That probably has not come across as I intended but hope you know what I mean

i cant see it being a problem really, so long as we know the source of the review. People can then make their own decions accordingly.

I tend to look for factual information anyway, stuff like such and such a member of staff was brilliant/rubbish is of no great interest to me by the time I go they may have left or had a change in attitude, or be on holiday themselves.

Anything to get the review part of the site more active and up to date must be a good thing. Members are intelligent enough to make their own judgements. Whats the use of only having one member review on a hotel if that review is 4 years old, its still not giving a variety of views as it is one persons thoughts and also everything could have changed anyway.

doe wrote:

i cant see it being a problem really, so long as we know the source of the review. People can then make their own decions accordingly.

I tend to look for factual information anyway, stuff like such and such a member of staff was brilliant/rubbish is of no great interest to me by the time I go they may have left or had a change in attitude, or be on holiday themselves.

Anything to get the review part of the site more active and up to date must be a good thing. Members are intelligent enough to make their own judgements. Whats the use of only having one member review on a hotel if that review is 4 years old, its still not giving a variety of views as it is one persons thoughts and also everything could have changed anyway.

I couldn't agree more !!! I will admit I don't post many reviews but then I do often rent villas , but I did check back to see if i did review the Audax in cala galdana where I went last year , and yes my review is there ! And the one previous to that was in 2006 , I also checked for reviews on all the other hotels listed and there was a total of 3 reviews for the whole of 2011 and then you have to go back a few years , when I just quickly checked on that site that must not be mentioned they had 16 reviews for the Audax in the last month, I'm sure that this a reasonable popular resort so there is a lack of reviews.
One of the things I like about this site is the knowledge of posters , as Miss Pink said there are people who post on here who work within the travel industry and they impart their knowledge and I dont find that it is biased in fact it is insightful .

I have usually done my research before I go to the travel agents and the only Independent agency I use is Hays Travel.
I never ask them about the hotel I am going to but would trust them if they did have a review site as I have used them for about 20years.

Perhaps the question that really needs to be addressed is “What is a Review”?

Information about the hotel and its facilities are easily found simply by looking at a brochure or website.

http://www.thomson.co.uk/destinations/europe/spain/costa-del-sol/torremolinos/hotels/hotel-riu-costa-lago.html

The first tells you some of what they have whilst the second is the usual copywriter blurb.

What I and others really want is your personal evaluation. Do the brochure and the blurb agree with what you found? Is it really only 100 yards from the beach or did someone not read the tape measure right?
The vibrant and fun resort sounds great, but if that means it is filled the 1830s crowd with bars and clubs galore it will not be much fun if you have a couple of 9 year olds.

The review I trust is the one you as the holidaymaker has written and not, no matter how carefully vetted, that of the professional reviewer.

If there is a commercial interest in the source of the review then it can only be viewed as a means of marketing the product or service.

fwh

You said we were a suspicious lot but I think its just we are very protective of the fact that we can say that HT has independent reviews, to the best that we can ensure they are.
What I do think would be a good idea is if we had more representatives of various places openly posting to answer queries or make comments. We do have a few and it is worthwhile I think. We can have this for reviews, where they have a right to reply to a criticism or thank reviewer, and also on the forums.

I fully agree with you fwh. We can all read the brochures but we need someone to interpret them for us from personal experience. What exactly does 'peaceful'; 'authentic'; 'friendly' mean? 'nothing to do in rhe area? '; 'no mains drainage?'; 'pushy and intrusive?;

I agree with fwh's first point , that " the question that needs to addressed is What is a review?"

Well I've just had a look at the " latest reviews" that are displayed when you come onto the site and there are 4 different hotels and I clicked onto each and the first review on each was from around may/ June 2011 and then you go back at least 2 or 3 years to the next one , it's lovely to read the reviewers " personal evaluation" and their approval/disapproval of their experience , but reading reviews that are 4 years old really has no significance , to be fair most of what they are saying is probably obsolete now .
I'm not setting out to offend or upset anyone because reviews do take a long time to do especially if you do a detailed review , but from what I see the review section needs to be more vibrant and up to date if it is to compete with other sites. perhaps Chris and Phil have this in mind , therefore why this thread is here.

The different forums provide quick answers and help to many peoples questions , and there is a wealth of knowledge, experience and professional advice that is clearly evident in many of the threads , alongside friendly, helpful and truthful responses from members , as Fiona has said, we have a few representatives who post on here like Steve from TR for example , he has been very helpful and I think some people have even fallen in love with him , and he's a travel agent!!!! , there are also airline workers who provide invaluable advice and help , do these people show commercial bias to their employers? They provide accurate and honest advice "despite" being professionally employed in the travel industry.
I think that if I was reading a professional reviewers and a holidaymakers review I would pick out the information that was relevant to me , again !!! What is most important is up to date and accurate .

Old reviews can play an important part in the process of choosing a hotel. But that is very dependent on them being continuous. Our hotel for our holiday in October can be a good example. We stayed here in 2006 – 2008 and 2010 and, as with other hotels that we have visited more than once any review I write following it will not only be up to date but I will also compare it with previous visits. This will give others a better chance of making their choice.

HT really does need not only new but updated reports. So many people come onto the site asking questions, some quite complicated or detailed. yet cannot be bothered to repay the help given by writing a short review. We are not expecting War and Peace just a few lines that add to the information that we already have.
I and others have always made our views very clear. It is the members posting information and reviews that made the site such a success. People have asked why the site finished up in the state it did. It was simply that very many were happy to take advantage, but only a few were giving anything back.

I sometimes wonder if it is worth bothering.

fwh

I think when posting a review, the hotel where you stayed should give you a code, to prove its genuine, now I have posted my review of my holiday last week, here on TA, and on HT, and there both the same, word for word

Im even posting the full review on OFL, once I have finalised eveything, and decided what pictures to use, and currently it a 6 pages