Tech & VC 09 Mar 2008 11:47 am
To Rate Or Not To Rate?
I haven’t been blogging much recently because I was on vacation for the past week. Part of that vacation was a trip to Sonoma (with @DrDiver) to recharge my batteries. I had a fantastic stay at a cute little B&B. I can’t say enough good things about the place.
I just got an email from the B&B thanking me for my stay and asking me to write a review on TripAdvisor. But, I’m not convinced I should do that… why would I want to write a rave review for all to find? I rather that this gem stay hidden.
It’s not like the B&B wasn’t on the internet. In fact, I found it through some combination of TripAdvisor, Yelp, 71 Miles. So, the place isn’t obscure by any means… I don’t feel like I’m harming the B&B by not writing about it on TripAdvisor. But, I don’t have any incentive to make it more popular (and thus, more expensive and harder to book in the future).
I was thinking a happy compromise would be to write a nice review on my blog. That way, a small group of people, my friends and peers, could find the place, but I wouldn’t be broadcasting the message widely.
I find this question interesting not just in this example, but in the larger picture. Why should I ever review a place online? I’m happy to write a bad review about a place that treated my poorly in order to warn other consumers, but what’s my incentive to write a good review if I really like a place?
7 Responses to “To Rate Or Not To Rate?”
on 09 Mar 2008 at 12:46 pm 1.Bjorn said …
Andrew,
Remember sharing is caring. What you give, you get many fold back.
Bjorn :-)
on 09 Mar 2008 at 12:53 pm 2.harsh shah said …
I’m heading up to Sonoma in two weeks. Care to share? :)
on 09 Mar 2008 at 3:12 pm 3.Leonid S. Knyshov said …
My opinion on it is simple – review it if you wish for the place to remain in business.
As we transition away from the current blind trust to a peer review based society, the reviews on these little sites begin to matter more. Yelp content gets syndicated to Yahoo, for example.
B&Bs especially depend on word of mouth to survive.
The likelihood of this place raising their rates based on your positive review seems to be low.
On the contrary, your review can help to lower their advertising costs.
on 09 Mar 2008 at 3:54 pm 4.Weissman said …
Andrew: what if it was a review just for a small group of your friends — a group you could define? Just something you did for . . . friendship I suppose, but the kind of stuff that happens offline all the time. Would that change the equation?
on 09 Mar 2008 at 4:55 pm 5.jeremy said …
i had this same thought the other day. ive never reviewed anything online. i think it has to do with the nature of a review. i dont want to spend time writing the review because im never going to revisit my thoughts. im not going to update it with each visit, etc. the interesting thing is that reviews add value to my life. i read tons of them. if everyone shared the same mentality i have– where would we be?
if im going to recommend something, its going to be to a close friend. never the random internet stranger, unless of course its through a blog post.
on 09 Mar 2008 at 6:11 pm 6.hank said …
Why not think of the review as a thank you, a kind of gratuity. It is a way to do something good for the business that was good to you. If the review is even worth writing, it would seem to be of greatest benefit to place it where it will be read. And if you alert the owners of your good deed, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t serve you well next time you are arranging your stay with them …
on 09 Mar 2008 at 10:42 pm 7.Andrew Parker said …
Great comments all around. I’ve been responding by email, but just wanted to add a few things:
1. The place is Cottage Inn & Spa.
2. Andrew Weissman’s comment is spot on. Not only would I want to contribute to a small network of friends, but furthermore, I would trust the recommendations that came out of that network more.