Review Friends

I have noticed a trend that people are finding travel sites using longer keyword search strings. It is not uncommon to find six or seven keyword strings that people type into Google, Bing or Yahoo to find travel sites. I believe this trend is significant in that travelers have become much more informed and knowledgeable of what they want in a holiday. The reason is two-fold.

The obvious first reason is that the Internet has provided the information to allow people to become more educated about destinations and resorts.

I also believe the second reason people are searching for more specific vacations is more sociological. People who have the discretionary income and a travel bug are repeat vacationers. These people take vacations at least once a year and many take two or three. They develop a more refined sense of their likes and dislikes in a resort or vacation.

The question for the travel industry is to how to provide the type of value-added service or price point that makes these sophisticated serial travelers repeat clients? I make this parallel because of another trend I have spotted as editor of www.ReviewResorts.com. This is the 80/20 rule when it comes to satisfied traveler reviews. Hotels or resorts that get bad reviews generally receive 80% of their reviews as complaints ending with “will not return.” While hotels and resorts that get good reviews receive 80% of their reviews as compliments and usually end with “can’t wait to return.”

I believe this 80/20 rule is just as applicable on the booking side prior to travel. So with this insight, you must ask yourself is the value I provided enough to make a return client? Just a thought.
George