Travelers unhappy — or happy — with hotel service can ask the hotel worker or manager to wait a minute, pick up an iPhone and quickly dash off a review for TripAdvisor.
Review submission is one of the new twists in TripAdvisor’s new iPhone app, which replaces its previous effort, Local Picks in the app store.
Previously, users were able to submit reviews through TripAdvisor’s mobile website and the app offers a similar service.
Other new features include flight metasearch for low fares, as well as using the device’s GPS capabilities to search for nearby attractions, restaurants and hotels.
The app, TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants, works for iPhone and iPod touch users in 20 countries spanning North America, Europe, South America and Asia-Pacific, TripAdvisor states. The app comes in 13 languages.
Will be interesting to observe the share of mobile reviews grow over the coming months and how the immediacy of them will change their content.
Joe: Ya, I wonder, too, if the content will change. If guests will jump on the immediacy of mobile reviews. “Hey, can I get the oceanview room? Hang tight, I’ll take my iPhone and write you a good review on TripAvisor:)”
I think these reviews are going to have to be weighed differently in the algorithm. I like to refer to these reviews as “Impulse Reviews”, where careful thought and deliberation do not play a role in the content. Although there content may be legitimate, it may be completely out of context tomorrow or even from an hour from now when the problematic guest services person has left for the day. It will be interesting though to classify them differently and perhaps use them to identify that problematic guest services person and deal with it appropriately.
Stephen Joyce, well said!!!!
Great write up. The iPhone is truly amazing and I don’t like being without it. This time last year I had jumped in a pool with my iPhone and it was dead. I had to wait 9 days before I was able to get a new one. The phone I had was a cheap go phone. I really love all the games that can be downloaded to the iPhone. The best part about the iPhone to me is the ability to check emails on the fly. Thanks for the information.