Many travel companies may already have the proper procedures in place but a new Competition & Markets Authority report has implications for both consumers and travel industry players

As anybody who works in travel marketing or social media will know, reviews play an integral part in the so-called ‘storytelling’ of a brand and today they are found everywhere.

There has been no naming and shaming yet, but the findings of a report released today by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which considers the impact of online reviews and endorsements on consumers, has implications for the travel industry.

According to the CMA report, over half of the UK’s consumers use reviews to help make a decision about a product and service, and while it acknowledges their usefulness, it also flags up some worrying issues. The findings will no doubt raise concerns for consumers but it’s not just consumers that are affected.

Across the industry, travellers, be they a guest of a hotel or homestay, a rider or flyer, are actively encouraged to post reviews about the experience. Indeed, TripAdvisor, one the most successful and influential online travel brands, has built its business on customer reviews. Recent research from Webloyalty found that nearly a quarter of British holidaymakers (23%) leave a review on TripAdvisor about their experience.

In an ideal world those reviews will be positive but sometimes they aren’t. As Catarina Randow, VP Revenue and Distribution for First Hotels pointed out in her presentation at TDS Europe titled ‘Rewiring Your Company Structure for the Digital Age’ reviews today are crucial to a hotel’s housekeeping and maintenance and mean you “can no longer hide your faults”.  And if you have a bad day and don’t respond the bad news is “you will be doomed,” she said.

Watch Catarina Randow's presentation here:

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Recognising the importance of reviews, brands are thinking creatively about how to drive positive guest feedback.  One such brand is Club Med US. At Online Marketing Strategies for Travel: 2015, keynoter Sabrina Cendral North American VP of marketing & digital at Club Med US said they had started to send push notifications – made possible by the rise of mobile - within the first hour of arrival to encourage positive reviews. Why? Because that’s when a guest’s adrenalin is highest and when they are most excited about the experience. Who wants a review after a guest has spent hours trudging through an airport, or when the fizz of that free bottle of champagne has worn off? That’s a bona fide practice and Cendral says checking the authenticity of the guest review is something they take seriously.

…publish all reviews, even negative ones, provided they are genuine and lawful, and explain the circumstances in which reviews might not be published or might be edited

Competition & Markets Authority

Bad practice

What, however, about the practice of hiding or editing negative reviews?  That’s something the CMA is not happy about. It wants companies to “publish all reviews, even negative ones, provided they are genuine and lawful, and explain the circumstances in which reviews might not be published or might be edited”.

User generated content and travel blogs have become another very popular way to raise the profiles of travel destination or endorse a brand. It’s considered good practice to hunt down the best travel bloggers and harness their skill in producing great content. This is a subtle, yet effective marketing technique as many of these writing pros also already have a large social media following. Back in 2012 Expedia, for one had already harnessed the power of some 30 bloggers and saw this as an essential part of its marketing strategy.

So it will probably come as no surprise that the CMA has uncovered suppliers paying bloggers sums of between £100 and £500 in return for a blog post about a product or service, and up to £50 for two tweets. It’s also not happy about gifts, vouchers, tickets to events and, or, hospitality outlets.

According to the CMA, 6% of people use blogs or vlogs before making purchases and the authority is worried about payments being made without this being made clear to consumers.

The other problem is what the CMA calls ‘astroturfing’ – the practice of creating fake grass roots reviews. The authority has identified firms “writing or commissioning fake negative reviews to undermine rivals, for malicious reasons, or for personal gain”.

This is a practice that is neither good for competition, nor good for consumers and a new investigation has been launched into various companies; the CMA argues the use of paid-for endorsements may be unlawful.

It’s clear that the CMA wants change and among the recommendations of the report are that review sites should:

• Be clear about how reviews are collected and checked
   
• Publish all reviews, even negative ones, provided they are genuine and lawful, and explain the circumstances in which reviews might not be published or might be edited
   
• Make sure that there is not an unreasonable delay before reviews are published
   
• Disclose any commercial relationships with businesses that appear on their site, and explain how this might affect businesses’ ratings and/or rankings
   
• Clearly identify all advertising and paid promotions, including when reviews have been paid for
   
• Have in place appropriate procedures to detect and remove fake reviews, and act promptly in response to reports of suspected fake reviews.

At a time when consumers can be reached by brands across multiple platforms and at all times of the day and night, trust has never been more important.

Breach it at your peril.

Tweet us @eyefortravel or in the comments box below tell us what you know about reviews and blogs, be they paid for, authentic, sponsored or fake and we’ll give you a free pass to an EyeforTravel event.