HOTELMARKETING.COM

Reviews outpacing price in online travel planning

August 06, 2007 | Online Travel

In a recent survey, Yahoo Travel found that 61 percent of people now go online for vacation recommendations. Travelers are no longer just searching for a hotel based on price, they are now mainly looking for user reviews, user ratings and photos.

When it comes to travel, perhaps more so than any other industry, word-of-mouth is king. Travelers make decisions on where to stay, where to eat, and what to do based on recommendations from friends.

No surprise, then, that many of today�s niche social networking sites are built around travel: WAYN, TravelPod, TripAdvisor, IGoUGo, SideStep (thanks to the recent acquisition of TripUp), FlyerTalk - the list is tremendous.

�It�s built off the fact that travel research and travel bookings are growing online,� says Rohit Bhargava, the writer behind Influential Marketing Blog. �People like to share their expertise and experiences when it comes to travel, whether that�s finding the best deal or telling people where not to go.�

Travel marketers have responded by advertising on general and niche networks, building their own networks, and collecting feedback consumers leave on other sites.

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