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Are social networking sites a mixed blessing?
Online social networking sites are apparently great for the travel industry, which will be some comfort to hoteliers who have seen their properties publicly slated by disgruntled holidaymakers.
Not surprisingly, the owners of sites like tripadvisor and wayn (where are you now?), say that even negative comments and reviews can be informative for travel companies.
They also argue that people want the truth, they don’t want to be force-fed some marketing speak from a brochure.
Of course they have a point, but in these cases we are dealing with a version of the truth. It’s often about opinions and, of course, opinions are by their very nature subjective.
Let’s put aside the fact that sites have, in the past, had fraudulent postings from hoteliers desperate to paint a positive picture about their accommodation, and instead look at the genuine comments.
Some hotels have both very good and very bad reports. How can that be? Often a problem will result from some poor service which will completely colour the views of those on the receiving end.
Not surprisingly, hotels which have high standards of facilities and service will come out well; there aren’t many five-star hotels in the Far East that get universally slated.
But more modest properties may fare badly even though, in reality, they are offering good value for money.
This problem has largely been created by the travel industry, which in the past 20 years has encouraged people to think that they can get something for nothing by offering them huge discounts and ridiculous deals.
People who have paid next to nothing still often expect something rather more than nothing when they arrive in resort.
Meanwhile, the social networking sites may not be good news for individuals, if they are prone to sharing their thoughts, photos and details with the world.
A new report says they are more likely to be targeted by identity fraudsters, which is not surprising given the amount of information some people are prepared to share with complete strangers over the web.
And, as we’ve seen with the gruesome murder of a student in Portugal, if you ever find the media spotlight on you, expect to have all those photographs and intimate details shared with the world.
Comment by Jeremy Skidmore (www.jeremyskidmore.com)
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