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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Six Sigma CAN Improve Your Business

Helpful article about the need for people to understand Six Sigma. It's not just statistics its about solving problems together.
also www.6sigma.weebly.com wher I have set out some learning materials for free.

in reference to: Six Sigma CAN Improve Your Business « LETS FIND OUT (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Encourage comment on TripAdvisor

Encourage Reviews on TripAdvisor
Michelle Harrington on December 17th, 2009

tripadvisor

TripAdvisor is a free travel guide website that allows users to post opinions and reviews of travel related issues. TripAdvisor-branded sites alone make up the most popular and largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million unique monthly visitors, 15 million+ members, and more than 30 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 500,000+ hotels and attractions in the U.S. With this kind of travel market share you can easily see why TripAdvisor is important to all visitor/vacation-related businesses.
5 Things You Should Do Today (if you haven’t already)

1. Go to TripAdvisor.com and do a search for your business name.
2. Peruse the traveler reviews to see if anyone has posted a review or comment about your business. Pat yourself on the back if what you find is positive, think “opportunity for improvement” if what you find isn’t so great.
3. If there are reviews of your business click on your business name which should be a hyperlink to your business listing. If you don’t see a listing for your business, then it’s time to set one up.
4. Create a user account and listing for your business. (Follow the link for instructions). Be sure to complete all the information requested and add photos to your listing too.
5. Start encouraging your guests/patrons to share their experiences on TripAdvisor.com (click here for the down loadable flyer) or sign in to your TripAdvisor.com account and download the high resolution flyer. You can also make your own flyer (recommended) and post it prominently at your business location and email it with a note of thanks to your guests/patrons after their visit/trip to encourage reviews.

What about bad reviews?

One bad review is NOT the end of the world, but it can be harmful if ignored. If you’ve found a review of your business that is less than flattering I recommend submitting an “management response” to that review offering an apology and to share what you are doing to correct the issue. By publicly acknowledging the problem that occurred you’re letting other potential guests/patrons who read the review that customer satisfaction and your reputation is important to you. The best medicine for a bad review is to encourage more people to write reviews and over time it will become evident what customers can expect from your business.

Reviews should be monitored regularly (use a Google alert to make this easy) as this will help you to identify the areas where you can improve your customer experience.

Once you have a TripAdvisor listing and some good reviews established I recommend installing one of the TripAdvisor badges on your website, which will help to further promote your credibility and encourage future patrons to write about their experiences with your business on TripAdvisor. You can access the TripAdvisor badges once you are signed in to your account.

More Owner/Representative Resources on TripAdvisor.


My intent is to provide valuable and insightful information. If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it on the following social networks.

in reference to:

"Encourage Reviews on TripAdvisor Michelle Harrington on December 17th, 2009 TripAdvisor is a free travel guide website that allows users to post opinions and reviews of travel related issues.  TripAdvisor-branded sites alone make up the most popular and largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million unique monthly visitors, 15 million+ members, and more than 30 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 500,000+ hotels and attractions in the U.S.   With this kind of travel market share you can easily see why TripAdvisor is important to all visitor/vacation-related businesses. 5 Things You Should Do Today (if you haven’t already) Go to TripAdvisor.com and do a search for your business name. Peruse the traveler reviews to see if anyone has posted a review or comment about your business.  Pat yourself on the back if what you find is positive, think “opportunity for improvement” if what you find isn’t so great. If there are reviews of your business click on your business name which should be a hyperlink to your business listing.  If you don’t see a listing for your business, then it’s time to set one up. Create a user account and listing for your business.  (Follow the link for instructions).  Be sure to complete all the information requested and add photos to your listing too. Start encouraging your guests/patrons to share their experiences on TripAdvisor.com (click here for the down loadable flyer) or sign in to your TripAdvisor.com account and download the high resolution flyer.  You can also make your own flyer (recommended) and post it prominently at your business location and email it with a note of thanks to your guests/patrons after their visit/trip to encourage reviews. What about bad reviews? One bad review is NOT the end of the world, but it can be harmful if ignored.   If you’ve found a review of your business that is less than flattering I recommend submitting an “management response” to that review offering an apology and to share what you are doing to correct the issue.  By publicly acknowledging the problem that occurred you’re letting other potential guests/patrons who read the review that customer satisfaction and your reputation is important to you.  The best medicine for a bad review is to encourage more people to write reviews and over time it will become evident what customers can expect from your business. Reviews should be monitored regularly (use a Google alert to make this easy) as this will help you to identify the areas where you can improve your customer experience. Once you have a TripAdvisor listing and some good reviews established I recommend installing one of the TripAdvisor badges on your website, which will help to further promote your credibility and encourage future patrons to write about their experiences with your business on TripAdvisor.   You can access the TripAdvisor badges once you are signed in to your account. More Owner/Representative Resources on TripAdvisor. My intent is to provide valuable and insightful information. If you enjoyed this post, please consider sharing it on the following social networks."
- Encourage Reviews on TripAdvisor | Internet Marketing Blog (view on Google Sidewiki)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Mixed feelings on TripAdvisor Business Listings

Mixed feelings on TripAdvisor Business Listings

TripAdvisor Survey Blog

Results of the Bed and Breakfast Tripadvisor Survey

November 27, 2009 by chefforfeng

A week long survey ended yesterday asked what B&B’s thought about the new paid listing options that Tripadvisor will be offering come January of 2010. More information here http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/tripadvisor_enters_classified_listings_business/ and http://www.tripadvisor.com/BusinessListings

The results were mainly respondents garnered off of twitter and the survey was also passed around by several state and local bed and breakfast associations. Many MANY thanks to all the B&Bs (91 respondents) that responded to the survey and also to all the people that Retweeted the survey link!

Your help was very much appreciated!

The Survey contained the following questions:

* Where is the B&B located?
* What is the the name of the B&B (this information is not listed in any of the summaries and is confidential information.)
* What is the number of rooms at the B&B?
* What is an average room price at the B&B
* Is there a restaurant at the B&B?
* With the current news that Tripadvisor is going to be charging money for enhanced listings. Will the B&B be signing up?
* Does the B&B think Tripadvisor is taking advantage of small businesses by charging a huge fee for the listings, knowing that many people rely on the reviews given by them.
* Does the B&B think Tripadvisor will give preferential treatment to businesses that pay to list their accounts.
* Please leave any additional comments the B&B thinks are relevant.
* A question about being quoted.

While I admit at least one of the questions may have been a bit leading, questions were created on the basis of many of the phone, email and DM comments I had gotten from lodging properties concerned with the new developments.

So it is interesting to see the comments B&Bs did have, the option of listing no comment to their replies was available, but as you can see from the survey many voiced how they thought about this.

I am currently running another survey until the end of January that is open to all types of lodging facilities, it has several more questions then the Bed and Breakfast survey and I tried to make questions as ambivalent as possible.

If you are a B&B and you took the last survey, it would be VERY much appreciated if you would also take this one, it also contains some questions regarding other directories and your participation would be extremely helpful.

There is also an incentive to take the survey :) , a drawing will be held if your email address is provided for a free rack card design or redesign. Please take the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RBSHKCM
In June of 2010 we will be running another survey regarding Tripadvisor’s paid listings, to gather information from lodging facilities to see whether they have listed or not listed with TA, and if they have listed, to share some of the statistics that have resulted from the paid listing.

The extended summary lists all replies with the exclusion of the B&B names. 50 pages including comments

Tripadvisor Survey B&B Extended

The summary lists location and the answers to 3 questions. 4 pages

Tripadvisor Survey B&B Brief

in reference to:

"Results of the Bed and Breakfast Tripadvisor Survey November 27, 2009 by chefforfeng A week long survey ended yesterday asked what B&B’s thought about the new paid listing options that Tripadvisor will be offering come January of 2010. More information here http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/tripadvisor_enters_classified_listings_business/ and http://www.tripadvisor.com/BusinessListings The results were mainly respondents garnered off of twitter and the survey was also passed around by several state and local bed and breakfast associations. Many MANY thanks to all the B&Bs (91 respondents) that responded to the survey and also to all the people that Retweeted the survey link! Your help was very much appreciated! The Survey contained the following questions: Where is the B&B located? What is the the name of the B&B (this information is not listed in any of the summaries and is confidential information.) What is the number of rooms at the B&B? What is an average room price at the B&B Is there a restaurant at the B&B? With the current news that Tripadvisor is going to be charging money for enhanced listings. Will the B&B be signing up? Does the B&B think Tripadvisor is taking advantage of small businesses by charging a huge fee for the listings, knowing that many people rely on the reviews given by them. Does the B&B think Tripadvisor will give preferential treatment to businesses that pay to list their accounts. Please leave any additional comments the B&B thinks are relevant. A question about being quoted. While I admit at least one of the questions may have been a bit leading, questions were created on the basis of many of the phone, email and DM comments I had gotten from lodging properties concerned with the new developments. So it is interesting to see the comments B&Bs did have, the option of listing no comment to their replies was available, but as you can see from the survey many voiced how they thought about this. I am currently running another survey until the end of January that is open to all types of lodging facilities, it has several more questions then the Bed and Breakfast survey and I tried to make questions as ambivalent as possible. If you are a B&B and you took the last survey, it would be VERY much appreciated if you would also take this one, it also contains some questions regarding other directories and your participation would be extremely helpful. There is also an incentive to take the survey , a drawing will be held if your email address is provided for a free rack card design or redesign. Please take the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RBSHKCM In June of 2010 we will be running another survey regarding Tripadvisor’s paid listings, to gather information from lodging facilities to see whether they have listed or not listed with TA, and if they have listed, to share some of the statistics that have resulted from the paid listing. The extended summary lists all replies with the exclusion of the B&B names. 50 pages including comments Tripadvisor Survey B&B Extended The summary lists location and the answers to 3 questions. 4 pages Tripadvisor Survey B&B Brief"
- Results of the Bed and Breakfast Tripadvisor Survey « Chefforfeng's Weblog (view on Google Sidewiki)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Great TripAdvisor complaint advice

As I have explained in the past - armed with facts TripAdvisor will remove some negative comments. If however you only have a point of view - it is probably best to answer a comment directly to the person and tell the story of that response on TripAdvisor.

Follow this link through from this article http://londonhotelsinsight.com/2009/05/13/which-london-hotel-best-handles-complaints/ as it has very valuable advice too.

in reference to: How London hotels should respond to TripAdvisor reviews (view on Google Sidewiki)

Monday, December 7, 2009

Hotel News Now | Hotels News - Article

Hotel News Now | Hotels News - Article

www.theHospitality.biz

www.theHospitality.biz

Restaurant Ratings on TripAdvisr with an IPhone App.

Restaurant Ratings and Reviews have been popular for some time now, but the new TripAdvisor iPhone app, LocalPicks makes it easy for diners to post reviews and even include a photo before they even leave the restaurant.

The new version of TripAdvisor’s LocalPicks app provides a filter of nearby restaurant suggestions based on user reviews, cuisine style, distance and price.

The “Write a Review” button on the latest version of TripAdvisor’s LocalPicks app feeds handheld user reviews directly into TripAdvisor’s already burgeoning ecosystem of Traveler-generated reviews.

Like the TripAdvisor Website, the app gives users a variety of categories to rate restaurants including overall, food, service, value, atmosphere and the opportunity to answer a simple yet vital Yes/No question: Would you recommend this restaurant to a friend?

in reference to:

"Restaurant Ratings and Reviews have been popular for some time now, but the new TripAdvisor iPhone app, LocalPicks makes it easy for diners to post reviews and even include a photo before they even leave the restaurant. The new version of TripAdvisor’s LocalPicks app provides a filter of nearby restaurant suggestions based on user reviews, cuisine style, distance and price. The “Write a Review” button on the latest version of TripAdvisor’s LocalPicks app feeds handheld user reviews directly into TripAdvisor’s already burgeoning ecosystem of Traveler-generated reviews. Like the TripAdvisor Website, the app gives users a variety of categories to rate restaurants including overall, food, service, value, atmosphere and the opportunity to answer a simple yet vital Yes/No question: Would you recommend this restaurant to a friend?"
- TripAdvisor’s new LocalPicks app: Restaurant marketing is social and mobile (view on Google Sidewiki)

Impatience

My own research shows that we expect an email to be answered within 1 or maximum 2 days. Some customer service department should take note

in reference to: TalkTalk Press Centre: News & Press Releases (view on Google Sidewiki)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

You can challenge a review on TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor seems to know that some people go a little over the top when reviewing. So armed with facts (not just your opinion) you can make direct contact to TripAdvisor ( the link is set out below. If however you only have your own opinion to fall back on, then make a response online to the TripAdvisor site under the review - avoid a slagging off match and try to defuse the situation. Also make sure that a designated person looks after the resonses, not the office temp or the "room service department."
I have mayself given negative reviews of restaurants and I am suprised that they neither post a response, contact me or seek to get my remarks removed - perhaps hoteliers are very slightly more aware of the implcations of these reviews as I am constantly shocked at how few large Brands have any formal system for dealing with negative or indeed positive responses. Just how nice would be it to see a thank you note under a good review - a great opertunity to say something new about your product (ie thanks for your review, it was good of you to show us that you enjoyed your stay, we are always trying to improve our services and it's good to know when we are doing well.  "Why not try out our new in-room Baby sitting service on your next visit?") 

Here is the magic feedback address and follow the links through from there www.tripadvisor.com/owners look

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

TripAdvisor is changing the rules, now you pay for improved visibility

It seems TripAdvisor are adopting the Google model (similar to Google Ads). Unless hoteliers monitor how much business is incomming from this channel then they are better off gaining a generic ranking through consumer reviews.
The questions now for me to watch are, will TripAdvisor suffer from more, so called, "Black Hat" techniques, like more engineered friendly reviews and how will they deal with poorly reviewed hotels who are prepared to pay?
TripAdvisors business model was always open for a more commercialized option once Expedia wanted their ROI but now the field is open for other new review sites, with a more open model, to leverage this policy change. The financial business model will have to depend on a more "seen to be" independent method.
Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of the end for TripAdvisor as I know from my own experience I will not continue to review sites knowing that my efforts are for financial gain. My efforts have always been to improve the quality to the customer through "Voice of the Customer" feedback.
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Thursday, November 5, 2009

TripAdvisor and an improved uptake and trust

TripAdvisor would win so much more support from hoteliers if it would sort its consumer responses so they could be sorted into
1. the last 3 months reviews
2. the last 6 months reviews
3. the last years
4. the last 2 years
5. and the last 3 years
6. lastly a group of power users who have made more than 20 reviews - seasoned reviewers not those with an occasional quirky review.

Such sorting would allow users to see if today was better than yesterday and feel confident from experienced reviewers and travelors.

David Wood

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

VAGUE ILLUSION » Blog Archive » Trip Advisor - Constructive or destructive to the globe | Diigo

VAGUE ILLUSION » Blog Archive » Trip Advisor - Constructive or destructive to the globe | Diigo

Trip Advisor - big bad wolf? No such thing as failure only feedback

Are hoteliers and restaurateurs really frightened of TripAdvisor.  3 months of blog watching and reading press releases leads me to conclude that hoteliers are just waiting till it goes away. Advice that you should not have a link to the site or reviews "incase they are negative" is typical of the paranoia present.

It seems that mostly no-one uses selected and considered views to improve their products.  I have been posting good and bad reviews of restaurants and just no-one has come back to make a comment about my posts and reviews.

In 10 years of hospitality coaching only one client has asked me to monitor their reputation and to recommend remedial action where appropriate. With falling occupancy and reduced spending it is time to get real and embrace independent review sites.  Use them to improve the product and to remedy mistakes, after all we all make them and "there is no such thing as failure only feedback."
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Great holiday in Southwold now back to do some catching up before I return to Bluche

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Diana Krall and Melody Gardot - a day in with such friends!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

In Bluche, Switzerland with Les Roches until 14th of August

Friday, March 13, 2009

DoesTripAdvisor provide E-Quality?

10 dirtiest, 10 best; we can now view customer comments immediately, find the best service before we book.
Is this medium more reliable than Tourist Organisation inspection or travel and food writers?
Does it have more credibility?
Do Hoteliers or Restaurateurs take note of comments?
How do they respond to negative comments?

I guess that most Brands will be very awaire of such posts but some independents might just struggle to keep abreast of developments in the technology. And just how do they counter the comments of the vocally expert complainers.

I should be interested to read your views - be you customer or Hospitality professional.

David Wood