I was MIA the last 12 months. Busy outside the dive industry. Miss you guys! I'm back and ready to participate in discussions. Cheers! Be safe.
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Not sure if you have seen this, RSTC Europe report from 2016I was MIA the last 12 months. Busy outside the dive industry. Miss you guys! I'm back and ready to participate in discussions. Cheers! Be safe.
I think this is a great topic. We have a very small op and many of our customers have been ours for many years. They don’t tend to write reviews or share on social media. Thankfully happily use word of mouth!!!! I find social media and traveler sites both good and bad. I know of a blogger who posts crap reviews if there are no freebies in restaurants and other venues. Makes it clear what is expected up front. Just don’t see anything fair or honest but she has thousands of followers and lets them know that too. Doesn’t affect us but sets the stage. Have seen Reviews on TA that are paid for in food, activities and lodging, and some written by disgruntled employees (in the case of a great dive op, someone beating up the op after being dumped by boyfriend). Many places get thumbs up by folks who have no personal experience but chime in anyway. How as a small business who doesn’t want to muddy the water do others deal with this? Last year in Tuscany I was stunned that every guide had the mantra “mention us on TA”. I thought the guidelines say you are not supposed to push folks or worse give them discounts or incentives. How do we honestly get through the quagmire?
I think this is a great topic. We have a very small op and many of our customers have been ours for many years. They don’t tend to write reviews or share on social media. Thankfully happily use word of mouth!!!! I find social media and traveler sites both good and bad. I know of a blogger who posts crap reviews if there are no freebies in restaurants and other venues. Makes it clear what is expected up front. Just don’t see anything fair or honest but she has thousands of followers and lets them know that too. Doesn’t affect us but sets the stage. Have seen Reviews on TA that are paid for in food, activities and lodging, and some written by disgruntled employees (in the case of a great dive op, someone beating up the op after being dumped by boyfriend). Many places get thumbs up by folks who have no personal experience but chime in anyway. How as a small business who doesn’t want to muddy the water do others deal with this? Last year in Tuscany I was stunned that every guide had the mantra “mention us on TA”. I thought the guidelines say you are not supposed to push folks or worse give them discounts or incentives. How do we honestly get through the quagmire?
There is a place that I used to stay and returned many times. It was a great little place, very well run, excellently placed, except for not being beach side. It wasn't fancy but has all the modcons and was very reasonably priced. Yes, I did quit going but it was because of an allergy to some bug on that island not because I didn't want to go back.
Sorry, long lead in.
About 2 years after my last stay, I git an email from the owner asking me if I wouldn't mind posting for them on TripAdvisor. They hadn't ever been concerned about it in the past and it turned out, was starting to hurt them.
I rounded up all my friends that had stayed there on my recommendation and we helped to get their reviews fleshed out in an honest way. It was my understanding that from then in, they akways asked their guests to please leave a review.
I haven't checked in lately but I should, because I do think of them now and again. My friends that used to stay there have started having babies or getting married or fallen for other islands and I've lost a personal track of how they might be doing.
Why was it important if everyone liked staying there?
Because there was another place, very similar just down the road that had always encouraged their guests to please leave a review on TA and it had people going to stay at place B, not even knowing about Place A, until after arriving on the island. So, that's just one example.