Why Do People Bother With Tripadvisor?
Sep 8th, 2017, 08:37 AM
#162
I don't "rely on" TA but their forums are much more active for the places I visit than here on Fodor's. I use their Destination Forums... not reviews, booking, or anything else. I can get an answer 5x over before I even get one here on Fodor's.
Sep 8th, 2017, 11:53 AM
#163
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Blaire I still use TA and many other sites.. I have traveled to about 18-20 countries ( not many compared to others I know) and have used TA for at least the last 15 yrs.. so not sure what you meant by "still".. the trip reports and reviews are always pretty current.
I have booked dozens of hotels , flights, train trips etc etc .. using TA as a resource for reveiws and the forums on it for advice and information.
I also use several other websites.
I have booked dozens of hotels , flights, train trips etc etc .. using TA as a resource for reveiws and the forums on it for advice and information.
I also use several other websites.
Sep 9th, 2017, 11:11 PM
#166
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I agree with thursdaysd and suze. I use the forums a lot to seek information from other travellers. I avoid the obviously fake reviews and the useless (often from India) vacuous comments. I agree with Marlborough - " Another bugbear are those people who post simply for posting sake with nothing valuable or constructive to say, simply to increase their points." I seek out a poster who obviously has knowledge and PM them with specific questions.
The reviews of properties and restaurants, I take with a pinch of salt and do as thrusdaysd does - review them on other rating sites. TA's rating system really needs an overhaul. In one particular case a hotel we stayed at in Jaipur was rated highly and by chance I knew a relative of the owner (but not before we booked). The room we got was old and mouldy and the fly wire screen had so many holes in it that we might as well have left it open for the amount of mosquitos it let in. The food was not great and the staff tried hard but were not trained at all. Because the owner was a formal naval officer he was impressed by my father's military status and the fact that I knew a relative of his and tried to include us in family events but late at night when we would like to hit the hay after a long hot day of sightseeing.
I contacted TA and complained about the rating that had been given but they merely said it was on the number of comments made not by real knowledge of the property. They were not interested in my photographs which showed that it was not even a two star let alone a four or five star property. After that I was a lot wiser and looked at a lot of other sites to confirm whether I wanted to stay at any particular property.
In relation to photographs TA refused some of my photographs on the grounds that they do not post out of focus photographs (OK) although my photographs were not out of focus and spot on the issues they intended to highlight. Looking at other poster's photographs, the mind boggles as to TA's view of what is out of focus or relevant. When one wants to check photographs of rooms and bathrooms, one does not want to see someone's holiday snaps or their cute children, yet these are in abundance and one has to trawl through dreadful and irrelevant photographs to find what you want.
When a property closes or has an issue which means it is temporarily closed, even when TA users indicate this has happened, TA continues to allow out of date properties to surface.
I often trawl through reviews and don't just rely on current reviews but look back at what other people through at a particular time and ask them questions too.
Yes, since one cannot contact a Fodorite directly one has to rely on a poster looking at past posts to answer any questions one may have posted. Also Fodor does not provide the facility to post photographs.
The reviews of properties and restaurants, I take with a pinch of salt and do as thrusdaysd does - review them on other rating sites. TA's rating system really needs an overhaul. In one particular case a hotel we stayed at in Jaipur was rated highly and by chance I knew a relative of the owner (but not before we booked). The room we got was old and mouldy and the fly wire screen had so many holes in it that we might as well have left it open for the amount of mosquitos it let in. The food was not great and the staff tried hard but were not trained at all. Because the owner was a formal naval officer he was impressed by my father's military status and the fact that I knew a relative of his and tried to include us in family events but late at night when we would like to hit the hay after a long hot day of sightseeing.
I contacted TA and complained about the rating that had been given but they merely said it was on the number of comments made not by real knowledge of the property. They were not interested in my photographs which showed that it was not even a two star let alone a four or five star property. After that I was a lot wiser and looked at a lot of other sites to confirm whether I wanted to stay at any particular property.
In relation to photographs TA refused some of my photographs on the grounds that they do not post out of focus photographs (OK) although my photographs were not out of focus and spot on the issues they intended to highlight. Looking at other poster's photographs, the mind boggles as to TA's view of what is out of focus or relevant. When one wants to check photographs of rooms and bathrooms, one does not want to see someone's holiday snaps or their cute children, yet these are in abundance and one has to trawl through dreadful and irrelevant photographs to find what you want.
When a property closes or has an issue which means it is temporarily closed, even when TA users indicate this has happened, TA continues to allow out of date properties to surface.
I often trawl through reviews and don't just rely on current reviews but look back at what other people through at a particular time and ask them questions too.
Yes, since one cannot contact a Fodorite directly one has to rely on a poster looking at past posts to answer any questions one may have posted. Also Fodor does not provide the facility to post photographs.
Sep 10th, 2017, 04:51 AM
#167
Rasputin1: >>Yes, since one cannot contact a Fodorite directly one has to rely on a poster looking at past posts to answer any questions one may have posted<<
When Fodors changes to the new platform/format (delayed again apparently but probably w/i the next couple of months) P-M's will be possible here - though I understand one will be able to opt out.
When Fodors changes to the new platform/format (delayed again apparently but probably w/i the next couple of months) P-M's will be possible here - though I understand one will be able to opt out.
Sep 10th, 2017, 06:27 AM
#168
<forum purposes but that's not available. More importantly, it doesn't appear to do anything about actually advising people on how to get the most out of trips>
There are Destination Forums for each specific city, region, country.
You post questions and people answer them. That how you get advice on "how to get the most out of trips".
The information isn't coming from corporate Trip Advisor in the forums, it's from your fellow posters, just like here on Fodor's.
There are Destination Forums for each specific city, region, country.
You post questions and people answer them. That how you get advice on "how to get the most out of trips".
The information isn't coming from corporate Trip Advisor in the forums, it's from your fellow posters, just like here on Fodor's.
Sep 10th, 2017, 06:40 AM
#169
"P-M's will be possible here - though I understand one will be able to opt out."
The trouble with PMs is that only one person gets the value of any answer. If I don't turn PMs off altogether, I will probably post my answers on the relevant threads.
The trouble with PMs is that only one person gets the value of any answer. If I don't turn PMs off altogether, I will probably post my answers on the relevant threads.
Sep 10th, 2017, 08:09 AM
#170
>>The trouble with PMs is that only one person gets the value of any answer.<<
I totally agree thursdaysd . . . I was just letting rasputin know one of the features he seems to like about TA will be coming here.
I totally agree thursdaysd . . . I was just letting rasputin know one of the features he seems to like about TA will be coming here.
Sep 11th, 2017, 07:57 AM
#171
I answer a lot of PMs on Trip Advisor.
They are questions that are not relevant to the general thread, or for whatever reason the person is shy about posting publicly.
I'm happy to help people one-on-one.
They are questions that are not relevant to the general thread, or for whatever reason the person is shy about posting publicly.
I'm happy to help people one-on-one.
Sep 15th, 2017, 03:29 PM
#175
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Dayenu.. its true I get more answers , and for more obscure places on trip advisor than any other forum.. more locals and expats on them is one reason I think, they know the bus schedule for Morlay etc .
Sep 17th, 2017, 09:03 PM
#178
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Goddesstogo- I think it just refers to the subsections in the forums. Like for France you can view all of the France questions, or you can go to the Paris sub forum and just view the Paris questions. If you post a Paris question in the general France forum, someone will come along to bug you to post it in the Paris sub forum. I believe the sub forums have a menu on the computer page- I usually use my mobile, which lacks several of the TA tabs.
It's one of those things I hate and like about TA. It results in too much cross posting and makes it difficult to get more interesting questions. But on the other hand, it makes it easier to find answers too- if you are hunting for Albany threads, it means you can just look at the two pages of threads this year on Albany and not sort through the gajillion pages of questions on how to buy tickets for Statue of Liberty and Hamilton.
I wish fodors allowed photo posting. But honestly I don't find the PM function or sub forums useful in trip planning. I get chatty pms on TA; those I like. I get the occasional specific question, and thank you- I'm happy to help. But it's more often stuff that is redundant or pointless. People have better chance of me responding to a thread than a PM. I forget and the notification gets buried in my email half the time.
TA is generally a better place to find nitty gritty details. And I feel like it's a place to find more of a variety of people. Fodors tends to skew towards well heeled and older. TA tends to skew more towards the bargain hunter and kid friendly. The stuff that Rasputin mentions- a lot of it is due to price and perceived value. You've got to look at the reviews to figure out if the five star reviews are coming from frequent travelers with champagne tastes, or from hicks who consider red lobster and the best western living the good life. Not sure how he expects TA to fix the rating issue. Both views are equally valid. The example he cited- I mean, I'd believe his account of the ill repair and lack of trained staff. But I could stay at the same property, and for the right price, I wouldn't care about the screens or staff, and I'd find the owner's friendliness a boon. Not a TA problem. I'm surprised they gave any criteria for photos but I don't look at review photos anyway.
It's one of those things I hate and like about TA. It results in too much cross posting and makes it difficult to get more interesting questions. But on the other hand, it makes it easier to find answers too- if you are hunting for Albany threads, it means you can just look at the two pages of threads this year on Albany and not sort through the gajillion pages of questions on how to buy tickets for Statue of Liberty and Hamilton.
I wish fodors allowed photo posting. But honestly I don't find the PM function or sub forums useful in trip planning. I get chatty pms on TA; those I like. I get the occasional specific question, and thank you- I'm happy to help. But it's more often stuff that is redundant or pointless. People have better chance of me responding to a thread than a PM. I forget and the notification gets buried in my email half the time.
TA is generally a better place to find nitty gritty details. And I feel like it's a place to find more of a variety of people. Fodors tends to skew towards well heeled and older. TA tends to skew more towards the bargain hunter and kid friendly. The stuff that Rasputin mentions- a lot of it is due to price and perceived value. You've got to look at the reviews to figure out if the five star reviews are coming from frequent travelers with champagne tastes, or from hicks who consider red lobster and the best western living the good life. Not sure how he expects TA to fix the rating issue. Both views are equally valid. The example he cited- I mean, I'd believe his account of the ill repair and lack of trained staff. But I could stay at the same property, and for the right price, I wouldn't care about the screens or staff, and I'd find the owner's friendliness a boon. Not a TA problem. I'm surprised they gave any criteria for photos but I don't look at review photos anyway.
Sep 18th, 2017, 03:48 AM
#180
goddesstogo,
Along the top of the page to the right of "things to do" are three dots. Click on those and you will see travel forums in the drop down menu. That's where all the discussions take place. Lots of good information there.
Along the top of the page to the right of "things to do" are three dots. Click on those and you will see travel forums in the drop down menu. That's where all the discussions take place. Lots of good information there.
