Guest Author - Julia Reed Zaic
TripAdvisor.com is likely one of the most relied upon travel resources in existence on the internet. With a library of thousands of hotels that have been reviewed by travelers, some with pictures, the chances of not finding the hotel that you are curious about on their service, is slim. Even better, now it is tailored for the business traveler with its new quick link: Business Travel.
TripAdvisor.com is a helpful service for all forms of travel with 2 million ratings and reviews on more than 630,000 restaurants in over 31,000 cities, and thousands of hotels to choose from. The importance of the new Business Travel feature is that the reviews are sorted, presented and ranked according to the business traveler’s needs. As with a normal non-business travel search, your results will return in rank order (subject to availability) as to the popularity and highest marks received by TripAdvisor.com business travel reviewers. These results can then be sorted by price, location, etc.
A terrific feature of the reviews offered are the pictures posted by independent travelers. Seeing is believing. I recently chose a hotel in Europe that I found online. By all accounts, it was fabulous and reasonably priced. When I ran the hotel through the TripAdvisor.com search engine (i.e., Hotels in Paris), the property was revealed to have fairly negative reviews and pictures to back them up. It was a real eye opener.
When using the business travel search option, the reviews are more tailored for the kind of information normally sought after by the business traveler. For example, the reviews are from customers who have used the conference facilities and have had experience with the sales and catering staff on site. You can do your part to contribute to the TripAdvisor.com library of reviews by creating an account and writing your own reviews of business-friendly hotels, or simply provide your summary of significant experiences at particular hotels that stand out for whatever reason.
I conducted a sample search of hotels in New York for a hypothetical stay in mid May. There are 413 hotels on TripAdvisor.com reviewed and listed as business hotels. The properties and their rankings were presented. The Library Hotel appeared as 1st in popularity in the city, however, it is ranked 11th among business travelers. Feedback like this can also help you choose a hotel that caters to your leisure needs if you intend to turn the trip into a long weekend.
The business center also has a Discussion Board that allows you to ask questions and give or receive advice. An example of the topics that are discussed amongst TripAdvisor.com patrons are:
• Traveling with two computers
• United 777 Bus Class seat upgrade to flat bed
• How to handle jewelry stolen from your hotel room
There are also tools to help you with frequent flyer programs and getting the most from your miles, although I have not personally used that service and therefore can’t recommend the option with any basis for doing so.
Travel wisely.
