The opportunity for guests to provide instant online feedback on their accommodation stay at a motel is about to dramatically increase.
TripAdvisor.com is the originator of on-line guest reviews and is already very popular being second only to airnz.co.nz as the most visited travel website in New Zealand. Kiwi-owned OTAs Ezibed.com and Travelbug have been quietly collecting a vast database of guest rating/reviews for some time.
Local website, Fossick.com (see previous post) have lofty plans to raise their profile and challenge TripAdvisor.
Of more imminent significance to the motel industry is that AA Tourism will soon introduce guest accommodation reviews that they have branded, "Been There Traveller Reviews" and Jasons Travel Media will closely follow with their own review platform, "Stayed, Paid and Raved."
Both AA Travel and Jasons Travel Media's introduction of guest review platforms will be many moteliers first exposure to the concept of online guest feedback. There is no doubt that travellers are willing to participate in adding guest reviews and make accommodation decisions based on the reviews of others. It would seem to be an obvious pathway for AA and Jasons to follow.
We are sure that this will become a hit with travellers that use both AA and Jasons as a major gateway to research and book motel accommodation on-line. Acceptance and apparent demand for guest reviews from the end user is all very well, but how will the motel sector view the concept of guests posting instant online accommodation reviews? Will moteliers feel threatened and will they understand the rationale behind social networking?
We will be interested to witness how Jasons and AA will be selling the guest review concept to the motel sector. This will be a daunting challenge - along the same lines that it will be a challenge for the Nats to sway the New Zealand public to warm to public asset sales. Unfortunately opinion is not often based on what is good for you - maybe we are being too cynical;-)
In our humble opinion, we believe that use of guest reviews in the motel sector is extremely positive and well overdue. Qualmark NZ have plateaued and have had little effect advancing quality and customer service within the motel sector for many years. We believe that the widespread use and acceptance of guest reviews will provide a new vibrant, dynamic edge. This will rattle the cage of the motel sector and force new thinking that will be driven by guest wants and demands.
After all, the customer is always right!
