Planners Using Hotel Review Sites to Select Venues

Meeting planners are increasingly using review sites such as TripAdvisor to not only narrow down destinations and accommodations, but to actually choose a venue to book.

One article from a hotel marketing expert says:

"Just recently, I heard from several meeting planners who ...(say) they rely upon TripAdvisor with its former-guest postings to select hotels for planned events. Several stated that former-guest postings are the first criteria in their selection process."

This is obviously a sign of shrinking budgets, where all-out fam trips are no longer the norm, but I think it's also a smart way to save money no matter what the economic situation is.

The reviewers on sites like TripAdvisor, TravelPost and Oyster can be anonymous and often brutally honest. As in "real life," you'll encounter both giddily enthusiastic reviewers and impossible-to-please reviewers, so make sure you look at the average ratings before making a decision.

P.S. Check out this hilarious blog where the not-ready-for-prime-time reviews go to rest: http://tripadvisor.typepad.com/