As several posts at Tripso.com have discussed, TripAdvisor is both a popular and controversial option for travel reviews.
One of the problems with allowing anyone to post reviews is that, not only is the process subject to abuse, but people have different standards. A basic motel with clean sheets may get a rave review; a five-star resort with expensive food and drink choices can get a terrible review.
And booking sites, such as Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz, use a rating system that is capricious at best, and usually heavily tilted towards making the hotels sound as good as possible.
In fact, I am sure every Tripso reader has had the experience of either having stayed at a so-called three- or four-star place, that really isn’t up to its rating. Or of seeing an online review of a place you already know and thinking, “What were they drinking to give it that rating?”
One option is Star Service, which uses paid reviews, and is a favorite of many travel agents. But it is a subscription-only service that starts at around $249.00 a year, which is probably out of the reach of most do-it-yourself travelers. Personally, I have found it to be a great tool for my clients and very reliable, albeit not perfect. Because even with paid reviewers there are differences of opinions, and hotels can change quickly.
Now, a new entrant is joining the field, called Oyster.com
Oyster.com is starting out with four areas for review, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Miami. They plan to add New York and Las Vegas. The site employs reporters to write all reviews, pays for their own hotel nights, and does not function as a booking engine. And at the moment, they are free. In answer to the question – “How do you make money?”, their response on their site is:
Oyster.com does not currently make any money. We don’t, however, plan on that being the case forever. We are currently focused on building out additional destinations and improving our site experience so that we can acquire more customers. Over time, we believe there will be a lot of ways for us to make money while ensuring that our editorial opinions remain independent and unbiased. In the meantime, our first priority is creating a site that will help millions of people make the right decisions about where to stay.
The founders have obtained funding from venture capital companies including Bain Capital. Clearly, they have convinced some smart people that they have some hopes of making this work.
Admittedly, even if Oyster becomes successful, they will probably not cover many smaller towns and motels. Sites like Tripadvisor and online travel sites will probably still be the only source of information in those cases. But a preliminary look at the site is encouraging; it is fast, well-written, and the reviews are interesting.
As with most startups, it remains to be seen if Oyster.com can become a viable option, but for now, it’s a promising new contender in the hotel review wars.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
