The Innkeeping Blog

Ok, so I have to confess about something.  Everyone who knows me and PAII also knows that you would be hard-pressed to find someone more out front than moi with regard to representing the B&B industry’s interest on most matters – especially the phenomenon of online consumer reviews.  Two years ago I engaged our industry in the discussion and began “lobbying” various entities (i.e. TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc) for changes I felt were needed.  At the same time, I brought up a criticism to BedandBreakfast.com’s top brass, Eric Goldreyer and John Banczak, about their review policies.  We were actually having drinks in the historic Driskill Hotel in Austin, just blocks from their office, having pretty lengthy and serious discussion about many matters.

My criticism at the time was this:  I did not particularly like the fact that they required a guest to furnish proof of stay when wanting to post a negative review about a B&B, but didn’t necessarily require it of those wanting to write a positive review.  While I realize this was an “innkeeper friendly” policy, and noted that they aimed to please innkeepers, but felt in the long run it might be a disservice.   My concern was two fold.  First, I felt it in someway violated the “spirit” of Web 2.0.  Why treat one guest differently than another?  Web 2.0 is supposed to be this great “democratization” of web content, right?  But I was also concerned that their site would be filled almost exclusively with positive reviews, because it was more difficult to post a negative review.  Who was going to spend time digging up a receipt or other form of proof of stay?  If guests browsing the site only saw positive reviews everywhere, when they anticipated encountering a spectrum of reviews, they might not consider the review portion of BedandBreakfast.com very legitimate.

After a couple of years of hindsight and speaking or emailing with hundreds of innkeepers on the topic of online reviews, I think requiring proof of stay when wanting to post a negative review is a good policy, simply because the damage that a false negative review can cause is too detrimental.  I think the online review phenomenon is certainly a net-positive for our industry – no question about it.  But when transgressions can be prevented, they should be prevented.  Innkeepers work too hard to fall victim to fraudulent, false reviews.  Maybe I was thinking as much as a consumer as an industry representative…concerned that I wouldn’t see negative reviews that might have made it to the site if it weren’t for a restrictive procedure.

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As most PAII members and blog followers know, for nearly two years I have been meeting with TripAdvisor about the B&B industry’s issues with their web site.  With tens of millions of visitors each month, there has been no question about the importance of their system to even the smallest B&Bs around the continent and beyond.  It is in our industry’s interest that I meet with them and share our perspective on a host of issues.  I met with senior members of their team on May 20^th at their offices outside Boston, and here is my “brief” report on the issues we discussed.

Keep in mind that the issues below represent a portion of the ongoing matters we discuss.  There are some larger issues at play (i.e. not requiring proof of stay from the reviewer when an innkeeper protests a fraudulent review) that we will often discuss, but the list I try to bring to the table involves impactful issues that I think could be changed in the near or foreseeable future, if our case is compelling enough.

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Rick Wolf of The B&B Team shared with me a recent NY Times article about the online review site, Yelp. Some innkeepers are beginning to see reviews of their properties on this site. From what I can tell, and what this article explains in more details, is that Yelp gives business owners little or no opportunities to defend themsevles against any reviews. They don’t even offer an opportunity for management responses! Read the article here.

The CEO of Yelp, Jeremy Stoppelman, says his top priority is “to make sure the community (of reviewers) is protected and can share without fear of being publicly spat on.” Here is where Mr. Stoppelman is off-base. Since reviewers are anonymous, there is no risk of being publicly spat on, because no one knows who the reviewers are. The business owners are the ones who bear 100% of the chance of being publicly spat on. This imbalance is a major, unfortunate flaw in such review sites.

Stoppleman even says, “Business owners want to control their reputation, and we’re just not going to let that happen.” All I can say in response is a dumbfounded, “wow.”

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In an interview with Matt Lauer this morning, Peter Greenberg gave tips and advice on how to travel on a budget during a distressing time in our economy. Dare I use the “R” word?

You can view the interview by clicking here.

B&Bs are mentioned as an economical possibility for Sunday through Thursday lodging needs.
I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of our industry being presented as an economical alternative, but the fact is most innkeepers do have lower rates during weekdays as part of a yield management strategy. And dollar for dollar, you bet a B&B is a better choice than the big-box guys! If this spurs any business at all for even one innkeeper, fantastic!

My friends at the B&B Team have also blogged about this.

Peter Greenberg’s office contacted PAII a few weeks ago, asking for information on staying at B&Bs for a piece they are planning for their website. I will spread the word once (if) something gets posted online.

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