Deciphering Guest Reviews

In our last post, we wrote that we are ranked #1 on TripAdvisor, but what does that all mean? Does it really mean we are the best property in our town? We know we have a great product with great service but we are not the right choice for everyone. Cape Charles is fortunate to have some wonderful accommodations and no matter where you want to travel, we would encourage travelers to take a thorough look at reviews to find the best place for them.

TripAdvisor (TA) has its own algorithm that no one really knows and that supposedly changes from time to time. It also has its own rules that can help or hinder you, depending on how you look at it. Take the Cape Charles lodging page for instance….TA defines a hotel/motel as having 24-hour front desk coverage. If you don’t have it, you are automatically put in the “B&B/Inn” category. There are a few properties listed as b&bs that are anything but. They truly are hotels or motels, so much so that it’s part of their names, but because they don’t have a 24-hour front desk, they are a b&b for TA purposes. And there are those in the hotel category that we know don’t have someone sitting at a desk 24/7 but say they have it to be put in that category. Travelers really should consider all lodging categories, because what they want might not be listed where they expect based on TA’s “rules”.

How reliable are reviews? We can tell you that our reviews are authentic reviews from real, paying guests. There are properties – we are not claiming in Cape Charles – that pay guests for a review, usually by offering a discount. There are some places that give suggestions of what to write. TA does not approve of this but there is really no way to weed those out. This is not something we do.

Guests rate a property on a scale of 1 to 5, but TA weights each review, and no one really knows how that works. Some say it has to do with how long a review has been posted, how many reviews a traveler has posted, the amount of reviews a property gets a month, and whether or not the innkeeper responds. TA does not disclose their algorithm or weighting system.

So, does 4.5/5 stars really mean a property is great? You should look at how many reviews a property has and when those reviews were posted. Depending on the size of a town, there could be a property that is highly rated, but they only have a handful of reviews or maybe haven’t had a new review in the past few years. Maybe they only have a handful but are ranked high because they are new but with positive reviews (which is our situation) or they haven’t had a review in awhile but are still high because there aren’t other accommodation choices in that town.

One thing TA used to do but took away on the full website was a recommendation rating (you can still find it on their mobile app). When you wrote a review, you would be asked whether or not you would recommend the property. There were towns were the #1 ranked place might only have a 88% recommendation rating but the place ranked #5 would have a 96% recommendation. Again, it’s that algorithm that no one outside TA understands.

And it’s the perfect example why travelers should look at details of reviews. Open up the reviews so you can read all the contents and see how properties were rated on individual criteria (cleanliness, service, value, sleep quality, location). You can see if the owner or manager responded and how. TA tells property owners that all reviews should be responded to and we try to do that (but it’s challenging to find countless ways to say “glad you enjoyed your stay”). We’ve had a number of guests tell us that they like to read our responses because it gives them a sense of our personalities and how we treat guests.

If a property has a negative review (and every property will get one), see when it was posted. Is it old and perhaps with former owners? Is it the rant of someone who would not have been satisfied no matter where they stayed? Or is it a legitimate gripe? Did the owner respond and how?

But don’t just depend on reviews. What one person loved, may not be a good fit for you. Look at websites and call properties (or email). Make sure you get your questions answered (and if you can’t, that tells you something right there). And after your trip, write reviews about your experience.