r/travel • u/AutoModerator • Feb 07 '19
Discussion r/travel Topic of the Week: 'Reviews'
Hey travellers!
In this weekly travel community discussion topic we'd love to hear your thoughts about reading and writing accommodation reviews. To what extend do they guide you when choosing your hotel or room? What do you look for in reviews, and how do you indentify fake or malicious ones? Do you always leave reviews after you stayed somewhere? What do you mostly comment on?
Please share with us all your thoughts, tips and ideas about reading reviews and reviewing places.
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u/corialis total tourist Feb 07 '19
I like how TripAdvisor says where someone's from. Over time, comparing my opinions to reviews left by people from other countries or provinces, I've gotten a handle on how their expectations line up with mine and who to trust. Also, I skim many pages of reviews, not just relying on the first page.
All-inclusive travel: Americans and Quebecois have higher standards than me and tend to be pickier in their reviews. Reviewers from my province or the neighbouring ones line up with my standards in most cases. Lady from Vermont complains that the food at the buffet is bad and her 4 kids didn't like the weird fruit? Eh. Lady from Red Deer says the food is pretty much standard for a Dominican resort but the ice cream machine looked dirty? I'll be sad about not taking any ice cream, but I'll like the food.
Japanese and Korean travel: Travelers from other Eastern and Southeastern Asian countries seem to have higher expectations than me. I'll discard their reviews unless it's something egregious shared across many reviews like constantly clogged toilets. This really narrows down the number of reviews there are though. I give higher weight to younger North American, European, and Australian travelers then.
All travel: If you took the time to take pictures of the room and post them, I'll give your opinion more weight because you had to go to more effort to make the review.
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u/densitygulls Canada Feb 11 '19
I've spotted someone from the prairies... As a Manitoban pretty much anywhere else exceeds our expectations.
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u/corialis total tourist Feb 12 '19
Saskie here. I love looking up Asian places and reading posts about what to wear in winter - everyone's like, puffer jackets and thermal underwear and I'm just over here like, that's bunnyhug weather! Of course I'd boil in one of their summers.
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u/lost_traveler_nick Italy Feb 13 '19
I see similar things. If the review whines about no kettle I know they are likely British and I adjust taking that into account
If somebody that seems like a college aged group of males I don't put to much weight if they say the place is clean. Otoh a middle aged woman is more likely to have tougher standards
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u/DougA99 Feb 07 '19
What I look for is the consistency of key points, either good or bad. Noisy, dirty, smelly, bedbugs, slow service are all things that can happen once in awhile but if I see those words in multiple reviews, I move to another option. The words that I don't consider useful are yummy, hard bed, 'the best meal all week', great service.
My favourite uneducated tourist tourist phrases are: there was no kettle in the room to make tea, the lift is so tiny, the was no lift and we had to trudge up 2 flights of stairs with all of our luggage, the shower was too small to turn around in, they refused to give me my room at 11:00 am and I had been on a flight all night, they don't speak English. Some tourists should stay home!
What I do like to see is reviewers photos without reviewers smiling faces in the way. If it's a tiny shower, show me, if there's mold or falling ceiling then take a photo, if the place is difficult to find, let's see a picture of the entrance. That's exactly what I take photos of. If I'm looking for a cheap but clean room, I expect there is a reason and usually it's the complete lack of extras. I'm okay with that but chunks of mold in the bathroom, broken doors are things that are unacceptable. A picture tells me more than any description ever could. It's proof.
I like to post reviews in Tripadvisor and in Google. If its a budget place and I really like it, I may give it give stars but I always say that this is based on the cheap price and I like to state what I paid. A perfect room at a cheap price deserves 5 stars but it can't compare with a room at ten times the price that is luxurious with 5 stars. When reading reviews, I read both. Google regularly sends me an email telling me how many people have seen my photos in reviews and I appreciate that. After all, we do these things to help other travelers, not to destroy someone's business. If I have posted more than a couple of bad reviews per trip, that tells me my ability to make good decisions on where to stay or eat is faulty.
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u/kittyglitther Feb 07 '19
If they leave a one star review for something that was outside of the hotel's control I immediately don't trust them.
If it's five stars and "wow I loooved my visit!" I ignore. I like details.
It depends on what sort of trip I'm looking for too. If I were looking for a spring break/party scene and saw a lot of reviews talking about the tranquil spa-like atmosphere and the mandatory quiet hours I'd skip it. Which is why I really like details. 5 stars doesn't always mean it's right for me.
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Feb 07 '19
Average rating at first glance is helpful in that if the place is laden with terrible reviews, it's gonna be a hard pass. Similarly, if it's got 89 5-star reviews, two 4-star reviews, and that's it, it's probably great. But most places are split more regularly and warrant more investigation.
I read the first handful of 1-star reviews. Most of the time they're from people with unrealistic expectations. Then I search the reviews for keywords. "Mold", "bed bugs", "water pressure", "wifi" are my gold standard for aiding in deciding if the place is going to be a go or a pass.
That's about it. It's just a matter of some light research and common sense.
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u/jippiejee Holland Feb 18 '19
I read the first handful of 1-star reviews. Most of the time they're from people with unrealistic expectations.
I just came across one of those 1-stars when booking my room in Yogyakarta. Most people loved their stay there: "informal and pleasant oasis" etc. But this reviewer complained about the 'cheap breakfast with instant coffee'. Ffs, the place costs €8 per night for private rooms including breakfast... :')
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Feb 18 '19
Yeah I've been encountering a lot of stuff like that recently looking for places to stay in Bali. Lots of "the pool was a bit cloudy so I didn't want to swim in it" or "the bathroom was dusty" for places that are otherwise gorgeous, and $10-15 a night.
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u/jippiejee Holland Feb 18 '19
Ha, true. I just booked this room for €10 euro per night. Including breakfast... and if it's really not up to your standards, what stops you from going to any of the dozen bars and restaurants nearby? I think it looks like an awesome place whatever the coffee is like.
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Feb 18 '19
Looks great to me.
I'm playing where we stay in Bali by ear. Currently just researching options. After eight days in Sulawesi we may be in the mood for the more touristy areas of Bali, or the less... Beaches or mountains, etc. And of course there's no shortage of accommodation options.
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u/jippiejee Holland Feb 18 '19
In Ubud I enjoyed being near the main street with all the bars and restaurants at walkable distance. The more 'resorty' places are all on the outskirts of town.
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Feb 18 '19
Good to know. Researching Bali is daunting. Especially as someone who enjoys eating and drinking and socializing, but does not like hippie or (fake) spiritual types. It seems a fine line to walk between those two social scenes on this island.
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u/jippiejee Holland Feb 18 '19
Hahah, true. I didn't meet that many Eat, pray, love type of travellers though, but it always felt that everyone in my favourite hangout was a digital nomad. Using that term lightly, since most seem to be drop shipping on their shopify accounts, while counting viewers on their youtube blog. It's definitely that kind of place.
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Feb 18 '19
Yeah which is not my scene... BUT, a valuable experience to have nonetheless, so I have not altogether written it off. It seems interesting. And easy.
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u/jippiejee Holland Feb 18 '19
It's a very pleasant town with lots of daytrip options. Cycling down the vulcano back to town was my favourite, but then, it was off-season and I was the only one with my guide. So we took our time for smoke breaks and joking around. Might be different when you're in a actual group as it was supposed to be.
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u/super_salamander Earthling Feb 07 '19
Never go by average rating, always read the reviews, especially the one-star ones, and imagine what sort of person the reviewer is (it's best to also look at other reviews that person wrote, if the platform allows it). Half of the time they are ignorant and entitled fucks whose views can safely be ignored.
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u/vagrantheather United States Feb 07 '19
Reviews are important to me. I don't care if a place is highly rated with only a handful of reviews, I would rather a more moderately rated place with a thousand. Trust in numbers.
I do check for some specific issues. If people complain about bugs, cleanliness issues, or lack of close public transit, I'm less likely to go there. Bad Wi-Fi? Might avoid it. No plugs near beds? Moving down on my list.
Reviewers say "I liked that each bed had a light and a dedicated plug" - moving right to the top of my list. Not much is more irritating than not being able to charge at night because a 6 person room only has one outlet. I'm easy to please.
I give zero shits how friendly the staff is.
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u/intentional_h Feb 07 '19
I'm going on month 6 of a year of international travel. I am a total planner and really don't like "winging it." I rely heavily on reviews from accommodations. In return, I feel obligated to leave reviews. When adding a review, I try to be specific with at least one thing that could make or break someone's experience, something would have helped me in making my decision. For example, cash deposits, worn out bedding, low water pressure, and slow wifi are all things I am mentioned in reviews.
I consistently add to google maps, booking.com, and Airbnb. I agree with a previous poster that consistency is key. The outlier reviews are worth reading but take it with a grain of salt.
I usually try to read some high rated and low rated comments to weigh their input. The last thing I do is filter reviews newest to oldest to see the most recent postings. It's how you find out about new construction or a building-wide aircon outage the week before you arrive.
I personally look for good wifi, clean linens, great location. I don't care if the coffee in the room sucks, there are only 5 tv channels, or you had to wait an extra 5 minutes to check in.
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u/ThePoopierButthole England Feb 08 '19
On booking.com I tend to always set it to customer reviews over 8 and then from there I check for common or consistent problems cropping up in reviews. It usually works.
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u/khaldamo Feb 08 '19
This, plus I tend to check the pictures for rooms. I'll have a good idea if I'd like it after a quick look through those.
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u/Oracle_Fefe Feb 07 '19
Which websites do you end up using to look at reviews?
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u/vagrantheather United States Feb 07 '19
Hostelworld is good because reviewers must have actually stayed to leave feedback, but bad because the reviews are a pain to sort through. I check tripadvisor and Google maps.
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u/thedarknight__ Australia Feb 13 '19
Hostelworld reviewers are often generous on average, my rule is to only consider places with an average rating of 8 and a decent number of reviews.
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u/corialis total tourist Feb 07 '19
TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda. TripAdvisor usually gets more detailed reviews because a person has to go to them, whereas booking sites nag you to leave a review.
If I'm staying in another country that primarily uses another service I'll check that one too. Example: Looking for hotels in Seoul I checked the reviews from Naver Maps because Google isn't as big there.
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u/flyingfish415 Feb 08 '19
I read reviews on TripAdvisor, and will leave reviews if the place I go to doesn't already have several reviews in English.
I tend to discount negative reviews from people who seem to be intent on finding some fault with everything.
I look especially for reviews that mention specifically how far the hotel/hostel is from the bus/tram/subway. And whether the hostel is located on the 4th floor with no elevator. Also I care whether things are worn or dirty, since this won't necessarily be reflected in the hotel's own pictures.
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u/Paxtonvisuals Feb 08 '19
Always when I travel to a new hotel, I will for sure write a review on that hotel based on how the accommodation was. Before visiting I spend quite a lot of time reading relevant reviews and sort them by what countries the people giving the reviews are from. For example, people form similar countries as I am, are more likely to have similar views to me on what is 'good' or ' bad'.
So often I notice that the hotel put false information online regarding to what they offer, such as stating the have a shower, while in fact they don't. That is why I always use a third party app to book so that I can make them deal with these issues once they accuse. Often that leads to me getting refunds for the poor accommodation I might receive.
I think when you see a lot of comments made from people from the country the hotels are from, I never listen to that. Most of the time half of that is fake.
I mostly focus on how the bed feels when I sleep in it, is it to hard or too soft. Is it properly clean and do they change the towels and so on (I mark them in a small way just to check). The I pay for something I want to get what I payed for.
Often I talk about the quality of service I get as well, does the staff know things about the room and the area around it. I have found that Italian staff is usually much less curious than Latvian star for example. So I make sure that people know what they can expect when they arrive.
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Feb 08 '19
I read looking for specific things. Complaints about wifi not working or noise issues will make me close the tab for that hotel right away. Complaints about a poor breakfast or unfriendly staff don't matter much to me. Reviews that just say everything is great with no specifics are entirely useless. Poor reviews of a cheap hotel because the furnishings looked slightly worn or there was no mint on the pillow or whatever are equally worthless. There are certain things that I care more about than others, so I may choose not to visit an otherwise famous place if I was on the fence about it anyway and there are complaints mentioning things that will annoy me.
The most helpful reviews are typically in the 2-4 range as those reviewers tend to have the most nuanced perspectives.
Lots of 5-star reviews from people who have only left that one review are a strong indication of some dishonesty on the part of the hotel/car rental place (as car rental places in particular seem to be very bad for this).
I often do leave reviews, especially if a place doesn't have many. I don't really feel it's necessary for me to write a review of the Louvre or something like that unless I want to point out something specific that most reviewers haven't mentioned for the sake of future travellers like me who may come along.
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u/CBoardingGroup Feb 11 '19
I look at the reviews if unfamiliar with the place. I will only ever leave a review if it's exceptionally good or bad.
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u/arfamac Feb 12 '19
it affects my decision quite heavily. i generally read the first few newest pages and then if its pretty positive i skim for all negative ones, ive found a lot of negative ones can be the person being picky, having ridiculous expectations or generally just an angry person.
0
u/catbellytaco Feb 12 '19
Whats with so many reviews in TA listing the names of staff members whom they've interacted with. I mean, many of these are fake, yeah?
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u/lost_traveler_nick Italy Feb 13 '19
It's not the names. Some people just quickly develop relationships.
TripAdvisor allows basically anyone to post a favourable review. They have been accused of censoring the negative ones
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u/CheeseWheels38 CAN --> FRA/KAZ Feb 07 '19 edited Feb 07 '19
I usually skim though to see if there's any specific, relevant info that I might need, like parking or the fact that it's located above a loud club. If it's somewhere I don't have free roaming then I'll check to see if the Wi-Fi is decent.
If someone with only one review to their name leaves a non-specific perfect/terrible review I would assume that it's B.S. unless it fits with many other, more legit looking reviews.
I think a bigger issue is wading though all the useless comments and ratings from people who don't adjust their expectations to what they've ordered. If someone rates a cheap hotel in Paris poorly because it's small and the breakfast is overpriced then I can pretty much ignore them. This discussion reminds me of this XKCD.
Not always, I'm more likely to leave reviews if there a few recent reviews/previous reviews are no longer applicable/there is something I feel really needs to be added.