TripAdvisor has crunched a heap of data to find out what increases the interaction between a hotelier and guests that leave reviews on the site.
The study conducted by looking at North American hotels, TripAdvisor claims, shows a link between hotels with a "greater number of reviews, photos and videos" and a notable increase in interaction with their respective pages.
Of course, there is an ulterior motive for releasing the data - TripAdvisor wants hoteliers to use the site more - but there are some interesting trends which it has pulled out.
- A small increase in the number of reviews attracts more attention from travellers - properties with as little as 11 or more reviews see a 26% increase in engagement compared to those with ten of fewer. Those with 50 or more reviews see a 27% jump.
- Hotels with 30 more photos experience 41% more engagement with users than those with ten or fewer images.
- Video matters, too. Properties with at least ONE video on their page have 34% more interaction compared to hoteliers with no video content.
- As for the site's Management Center, those using it to post responses to reviews have seen more than 10% engagement when they have posted more than on five occasions.
The upshot of all this is that TripAdvisor wants hoteliers to encourage guests to leave reviews and add more of their content to their respective pages.
"Taking these small measures can give property owners an edge over their competition," says Christine Petersen, president of TripAdvisor for Business.
Meanwhile, TripAdvisor has set up a new service whereby users can supplement their reviews after a visit by also making virtual donations to people in poverty-stricken destinations.
The idea is that TripAdvisor will invite travellers to choose a so-called borrower (members of the Kiva non-profit database) and then issue a $25 "microloan", which the user review giant is underwriting.
TripAdvisor is contributing $250,000 to the project and will not cost anything to the traveller.
Chief marketing officer Barbara Messing says:
"We’re also delighted to be able to provide our community with a way of giving back to the communities they travelled to, where even a single relatively small loan can make a life changing difference."
NB:Rating image via Shutterstock.