Do you check a hotel review before booking?
A few weeks back, a friend shared with me some information on a survey about travelers and how they access hotel reviews before deciding for an accommodation to book.
It revealed that when it comes to choosing a hotel to stay Filipino business travelers are the most likely to rely on reviews, with 80% saying that these are important. The latest Travel Smart survey of Agoda.com, one of Asia’s leading hotel booking sites and part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN), showed that business travelers generally place least importance on hotel reviews, with the Filipinos as among the exception.
The survey, carried out in March 2014, asked 65,000 Agoda.com customers how important hotel reviews are to them, how many hotel reviews they generally read before they book, and if they would book at a hotel that had no reviews.
About 59% of Japanese business travelers indicated that hotel reviews do not matter to them. This point-of-view was shared by the Australian (53%), French (51%), UK (46%), and American (39%) business travelers On the other hand, those that put premium on hotel reviews like the Filipinos, are Indian (68%), Chinese (66%), Malaysian (64%) and Vietnamese (62%) business travelers.
Majority of travelers– based on countries with over 100 respondents – research hotels and compare them prior to booking. For most travelers such as couples and families, 36.9% to 40% look at more than 10 hotels before they decide on which hotel to book. In contrast, only 27% of business travelers check over 10 hotels prior to booking. All other traveler types (62%) say that hotel reviews play a significant part in determining their hotel choice, while only 57% of business travelers concur.
“Choosing a hotel is influenced heavily by word of mouth, so it’s not surprising that reviews from fellow travelers play a huge role in the decision process,” says Timothy Hughes, Agoda.com’s VP Marketing. “With over 7 million verified customer reviews to rely on, Agoda.com customers can get a great idea of what people just like them – or unlike them – think of the hotel they’re looking at.”
How about you, do you check hotel reviews before you book one? And how many reviews do you read before you make a choice?
6 thoughts on “Do you check a hotel review before booking?”
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thanks for posting helpful information to plan a trip.
Yes I do read the reviews about the hotel before booking. Aside from the Trip Advisor i would read reviews of other bloggers especially on those budget places. Big help indeed!
I find this so interesting. I always read the reviews on TripAdvisor (and sometimes other sites too) before I book a hotel. I find it is helpful to know as much as possible (location, cleanliness,etc.) before I decide where to stay. Great post!
Me, too, as I usually book hotels on my own so I make sure the reviews are good. 🙂 Thank you!
I always always check hotel reviews, even for staycations or domestic travels. And even if im just staying at a hotel bec of a free voucher. I think it’s an absolute must even just to know the best room to ask for, what I have to bring (like in case they dont have the toiletries I need), surrounding sights and cafes that I must check out, etc. It’s esp important for business trips where I want to know how I can squeeze a few hours of relaxation.
I totally agree with you Cheya! It’s better to go there prepared and not be taken by surprise, in a bad way. 🙂