on 11 December 2009
Jay Karen, the president and CEO of the 2000-member Professional Association of Innkeepers International, acknowledges that there are mixed feelings among bed & breakfast owners over the fees for TripAdvisor’s new Business Listings, but he thinks owners should “throw $300 [the promotional rate] at this.”
For the first time, beginning Jan. 4, innkeepers and hotels can list their URLs, phone numbers and e-mails for a flat annual fee within their property displays on TripAdvisor so consumers can navigate directly to the properties’ websites.
The annual fee is $600 for properties with 10 rooms or less — meaning most B&Bs — but it is half that price for properties which sign up in by the end of January 2010.
TripAdvisor President and CEO Stephen Kaufer appeared at the PAII’s New England Innkeeping Show in Nashua, N.H., Nov. 17, on the day the Business Listings program was announced.
Karen, who has lobbied TripAdvisor since November 2008 for direct listings, thinks TripAdvisor may take in $1.5 million from the program in the first year if 3,000 of the roughly 16,000 U.S. B&Bs sign on at an average fee of $500.
And, that $1.5 million counts just U.S.-based B&Bs. TripAdvisor’s new advertising program may turn into a much larger revenue stream because it will be available to properties on all of its global websites.
Here are details about the TripAdvisor U.K. program, for instance.
Karen says there are “a lot of mixed feelings about the price tag” since most innkeepers don’t spend $600 annually to advertise with one vendor. Many will take a wait-and-see attitude toward the program, he says.
But Karen thinks it is a worthwhile program, especially at the $300 introductory rate.
Introducing URLs, phone numbers and e-mails will enable properties for the first time to eliminate the guesswork and track how much website traffic they are getting from TripAdvisor, Karen says.
Today, consumers might use an intermediary to book a property on TripAdvisor, and some may open another browser and search for the inn, but the booking may get lost along the way, Karen says.
With the direct links, “you can make a judgment about the value of TripAdvisor if you know that 30% of your traffic is from TripAdvisor,” Karen says.
TripAdvisor states that direct contact lisings will be placed, “At the top of your hotel page under your property address and above the Check Rates box. They will appear above the fold.”
But, one gripe that Karen has with the program’s implementation is that it’s his understanding that the direct contact information will not be given any special prominence within the property display on TripAdvisor.
In other words, the font is expected to look the same as the address listing here for the Quality Inn Northlake in Atlanta, Ga.
Karen would have rather seen the Business Listing say something like “Go to the website” or other terminology to give the direct contact information more punch.
Still, he thinks Business Listings will be “worthwhile” for B&Bs, especially at the introductory rate, and if the program works out well for inns and TripAdvisor, then perhaps the PAII and other inns will have more influence with TripAdvisor.
Says Karen: “My hope is that they will listen to us even more.”
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I’ve got to disagree. If everyone holds back from the TripAdvisor cash grab, they’ll be forced to rethink their approach. Why do restaurants get a free ride and the lowly b&b’s and inns get hammered?
TripAdvisor should be thinking more about the consumer than their bottom line from this tactic. Consumer wants the contact info, so give it to them.
Look at the rate they are dinging hotels with – many individual hotels will need to fork over thousands – at the bargain basement introductory rate…. come on, give these small business guys a break TripAdvisor.
I think the prices are a weak attempt by TripAdvisor to outpace the multitude social media travel outlets that are emerging now and into 2010.
Give the listings away for free, make your money elsewhere.
Todd: I agree that TripAdvisor is not thinking about the consumer in its Business Listings policy. Yup, the consumers want the contact info so they should get it. And, true, restaurants can list their contact information for free — presumably because that doesn’t hurt TripAdvisor’s hotel advertising. It usually isn’t a very smart strategy to ignore consumer needs.
TripAdvisor has moved a long way from it’s original open-to-all, unbiased ethic. With every passing takeover and acquisition, every new development, it becomes more and more like any other listing site.
How can it be regarded as unbiased when paid listings have a clear advantage over non-paid? Its hotel listings are aleady dodgy because of the “more-profit-at-all-costs” policy it has adopted of late – witness how it has dropped those chains who don’t cough up their extortionate fees.
Expect non-paying B&Bs/inns go be further demoted in the listings in the future.
Phil: Steve Kaufer publicly indicates that B&Bs that participate in Business Listings will not get preferenced higher in displays. But, yes, your concerns are well-taken. I don’t think anyone would say that TripAdvisor does not have an advertiser bias.
Still, I see that your website has a TripAdvisor widget on it, displaying TripAdvisor reviews. I think that is a smart move, giving your property more credibility from the review side of TripAdvisor.
Let’s keep a close eye on how the nonparticipants in Business Listings get treated. Your concerns are well-founded, methinks.
You’re right, Dennis, it makes sense for me to use TA to my advantage if I can, since I don’t have any choice over whether my property is listed there. I don’t use the widget, though. I prefer to keep control over what appears on my own website.
One constant fault with TripAdvisor is thier obstinate refusal to reply to genuine queries and concerns with anything other than a standard automated email. You can see my personal experience here: http://visitnormandy.wordpress.com/trip-advisor-fake-reviews/
Further, I know they have staffing issues, but it’s no excuse for a cavalier attitude to the content of reviews, as here:
http://visitnormandy.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/trip-advisor-review-policy/
It shows a lack of respect for owners and ordinary people seeking genuine advice. Their “Get the truth then go” line is having a laugh!
Phil: After reading your links, the remedial process does seem unfair and excessively bureaucratic. And, I believe Kaufer said that paying for a Business Listing doesn’t get you quicker service (and it shouldn’t). If your experience with TripAdvisor is typical, then TA should certainly get its act together in terms of servicing both owners and consumers. I wonder if the process is as slow if there is a mistake in Expedia’s or Orbitz’s ad copy on TripAdvisor. Doubt it.
Unless B&Bs participate on Hotels.com or Expedia.com it is VERY difficult to find them on Trip Advisor. Vacation Rentals (individual houses renting by the week) get their own navigation button on the left of TripAdvisor Home page even though one must “contact manager” for availability when searching. However, B&Bs/Inns do NOT have a similar navigation button and if one searches for Hotels the tab for B&Bs returns (0) unless some are on Expedia or Hotels.com. Just try to find a B&B in Virginia Beach on TripAdvisor. The only way we come up when searching for a HOTEL is if one eliminates the default travel dates and does not put anything under travel date. However check out the tab for Vacation Rentals – over 800 houses appear.
Steve: I see what you are talking about, although I was unable to search for anything without putting in dates. When I put in some January dates, your property did not appear.
As you know, Expedia, hotels.com and TripAdvisor go where the money is, and they don’t believe the money is in B&Bs…. except for in some new Business Listings, that is.
There is much I agree with above. B&Bs are still too inconspicuous, but of course that is by design. As Dennis notes, TA hasn’t made money off B&Bs in the past (at least not directly, but the B&B reviews drive traffic and eyeballs, which make TA money), so why should they put B&Bs front and center? They are a business and they’ll lead with what makes them money.
How are B&Bs supposed to achieve any leverage with TA, besides my constant pestering about several dozen issues and grievances? One way is through being a stream of revenue. I’m not saying all B&Bs should pay the $300 – $1000 per year just so we have collective leverage, but being a source of income for TA – and PAII being one of the only voices for B&Bs – will help us in our efforts. Those efforts include making sure B&Bs are not hidden behind hotels and vacation rental properties; and heretofore it’s been a hard argument make except for something like, “your customers want to see B&Bs, so don’t hide us.” Steve LaFond is correct – B&Bs are now harder to find in the Availability Search tool. That’s not good, and I will emphasize this with TA.
Kaufer did state publicly that properties that purchase or don’t purchase business listings will not get any special treatment either way (i.e. their Popularity Index will not be impacted). Of course we’ll keep an eye on this. I asked them from the beginning to make the listings free, but they’re a for-profit company that has “locked in” thousands of properties into their reviews, so it makes economic sense to make money off properties they weren’t making money off. That’s just cold economics.
I don’t know what to tell folks, except to analyze if the extra $300 or $500 in 2010 (if they sign up next month) is going to benefit their business or not. In general, I think it will. I think it’s better to try and retain the visitor that’s checking out the reviews by providing an easy link and contact info to the B&B’s web page, than hope they open a new browser tab to search for that B&B. I don’t like the price tag at all, and I’m currently still speaking with them about ways to keep the price tag low even after the promotion is over. We’ll see.
And to Phil’s comments above, innkeepers continue to deal with similar frustrations with the response and care taken with fake, fraudulent or other belligerent reviews that make it past TA’s fraud protectors. His dealings are a good example of what a lot of innkeepers still deal with, and I keep pressing and pressing for change. I hear anecdotally things have generally gotten a little better with regard to response time and getting management responses up that previously might not have made the cut, but that’s no consolation to those who still find themselves helpless when appealing to TA for help.
The development of Business Listings is both good and bad – but bad only because it come with a higher-than-expected price tag. I don’t think it’s helpful to be a “conscientious objector” and refuse to pay, because you don’t like TA or their policies. Sure, there will be folks who refuse to pay it, but I think there will be plenty who will give it a shot. It’s not as though they’re removing your listing if you don’t pay. A B&B’s page on TA will still be very valuable – business listing or not – as long as TA continues to get the traffic they do.
We’ll continue to work on getting change to the more unsavory aspects of the site. As I see it, as much as I don’t like the price tag a small B&B will have to pay if they want the link, the seven-figures I think they’ll now earn from the B&B industry will only help our cause to treat B&Bs more like they treat vacation rental properties.
Thanks for posting your thoughts on the issues, Jay. I think that the situation with USA-based B&Bs/inns is somewhat different to ours in Europe. Here, TA isn’t such a big deal – it’s hardly known in France. For example, most of our reviews are English, hardly any in other languages, even though only half our business is anglophone.
It’s not a first port of call for most European voyagers, and certainly not a big enough income generator at this point for us to even consider the outlay demanded for a “partner” listing (even at the current half-price rate).
If the fee for a listing were linked in some way to bookings generated, I might consider it – despite my misgivings about TA’s “customer service”.
Meantime I’ll continue to make it as easy as possible for folks who want to to find us on Google, by using clues in our TA listing!
There’s an easy fix for this – if tripadvisor thinks this is going to generate clicks, they should stand behind their product. I wrote an addendum to our contract stating that by using a unique landing page and google analytics, if the traffic was below a certain amount (totally in line with PPC campaigns) that we would not be charged for the service. Never, ever sign up for a marketing campaign without a guarantee of business! Even your print ads (if you’re silly enough to use print advertising) should have a unique landing page, and you should only place the ad with the caveat that if you don’t see a certain number of clicks, you get a free ad the next month…
One thing that we get asked a lot is if there’s any value in a listing for SEO purposes – so we decided to investigate and found out the following….
http://www.screenpilot.com/blog/2010/05/tripadvisor-com-do-their-business-listings-have-any-seo-value/
Hello everyone,
Maybe you will find the analysis we made useful. http://blog.miraiespana.com/tripadvisor-business-listing-analysis/
It seems that it does not work for everyone.
Thanks,
Piotr.