| In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Auckland, New | | | | reviews on the same website I could end up booking |
| Zealand (NZ) I was on the search for | | | | on, than having to read one site and then find |
| accommodation. With so many options to choose | | | | another for the actual Auckland hotel I chose. |
| from - bed & breakfast, motels, lodges, serviced | | | | Most of the reviews I came across, had a 1 to 5 star |
| apartments and hotels (to name a few) - I eventually | | | | rating system where : |
| decided to choose Auckland hotel accommodation. | | | | 1 = poor |
| Now my issue went from: What kind of | | | | 2 = below average |
| accommodation do I want to stay in? to: Which | | | | 3 = value for money |
| provider do I choose? | | | | 4 = great value for money |
| It's fair to say that had I booked my trip through a | | | | 5 = excellent experience |
| travel agent they may well have been able to | | | | This method of rating means I could easily gain a |
| suggest the right provider for me, but in this day and | | | | general idea of the value without having to read |
| age of online travel bookings, I had no need to talk | | | | every review over the past twelve months. From |
| to a travel agent. So keeping in line with my online | | | | there, further investigation of the hotel was required, |
| flight bookings, I decided to book my accommodation | | | | which involved reading each of the reviews that |
| online too. First though I decided to find out what | | | | caught my attention. At this point it was very |
| other people were saying about Auckland hotels, to | | | | important for me to remember that one or two bad |
| see if anyone had some good suggestions for me. | | | | reviews did not necessarily reflect poor service on |
| I've heard all this talk about user reviews becoming | | | | the part of the hotel. People do have bad days, and |
| more and more popular in today's online environment, | | | | unfortunately hotels do to. But if dripping taps, poor |
| and I can now see why. It's much like talking to your | | | | showers, noisy rooms or bad service is mentioned in |
| family or friends and asking if they can recommend | | | | a number of the reviews, I considered it safe to |
| somewhere to stay, but in this event you have | | | | assume that the majority of guests are right. |
| access to a wider range of opinions. The other | | | | In the end, the one trend that showed up in the |
| advantage is that the feedback which is posted on | | | | majority of bad reviews, is that at times people |
| the site is no longer filtered by the providers so that | | | | were expecting more from the hotel than it provided. |
| you only read good reviews, instead they are a much | | | | Such complaints as "the restaurant was closed at |
| more transparent and honest assessment of the | | | | 11pm", "no room service" or "I had to carry my own |
| hotel. | | | | luggage", all show on investigation that these services |
| There are many online travel review sites available, | | | | were not offered by the Auckland hotel in the first |
| but I must say that it's important to find one which | | | | place. There is still the perception that a hotel has 24 |
| isn't just a general site allowing people to sign up and | | | | hour front desks and bar, pools, gymnasiums and spa. |
| post comments unanimously, as these are open to | | | | Where as today's demands have removed the non |
| unverified reports and even overly positive and | | | | essential offerings and services in order to provide a |
| sometimes fraudulent comments from | | | | better price to the consumer. |
| accommodation providers themselves. So my first | | | | So after reading numerous reviews and now feeling |
| step was finding a trusted Auckland hotel review site | | | | more informed than when I started, I managed to |
| s. | | | | locate an Auckland hotel which meet my needs, not |
| This came in the form of an online booking site. The | | | | only in terms of service, but in terms of location, |
| comments on these types of sites can only be | | | | price and facilities. Ultimately the reviews were one |
| posted by people who have actually booked and | | | | component of my decision and needed to be viewed |
| stayed at that particular Auckland hotel. This results | | | | alongside my own personal criteria, in order to make |
| in me being able to read honest reviews from actual | | | | my final decision. |
| guests. Not only that but it was easier to read the | | | | |