It is a fact that travelers' reviews of hotels, restaurants and nightlife are playing an increasingly greater role in the travel world.
IgoUgo, the travel community with some of the most experienced and savvy travelers online, has recently updated its review-submission process to make it easier for writers and readers to evaluate travel options.
The reviews complement IgoUgo's rich set of in-depth user-generated travel content, including itineraries, photos and journals. What are the highlights and advantages of the new functionality?
- Lets users start writing a review in one click. For example, if you're reading a review of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, you're only one click away from adding your own review.
- Allows users to write longer reviews than ever before.
- Reduces number of fields in a review, allowing users to write very quickly without having to input property addresses.
- Offers a quicker way to collect Go! Points redeemable for travel products and gift certificates.
- Allows users to easily add up to four photos to their reviews.
"IgoUgo makes it easier than ever before to review hotels, restaurants, activities, and nightlife to earn rewards redeemable for great travel products and gift certificates," says Peter Campion, Director of Product Management at IgoUgo. "It's definitely easier for the writers, but also easier for those who are looking for good travel advice," continues Campion. "Any user will still be able to see the profile of the member who wrote the review and choose reviewers whose profiles they trust the most."
Since quality is one of the pillars of IgoUgo's rich content, the IgoUgo editors collected tips and advice on "how to write a good review," both from the IgoUgo editorial staff and from the most active IgoUgo travel writers.
Some quotes from the members tips: - Talk as you're talking to a friend, keep your reviews conversational rather than academic.
- Take notes on your impressions of things.
- Give useful information (prices, location, opening hours) in an entertaining and thorough way.
- Relive the experience and write from the memory rather than trying to complicate the travel experience with TOO much factual information.
- Make every word count. Write in the active voice and write tightly.
Some quotes from the editors tips: - Give it personality. Factual details and tips are great, but readers usually want to know more about the person who's writing the review.
- Comparing activities to other things you have done, giving the reader a frame of reference, strengthens reviews.
- Try to draw on those particular events or details which maybe meant little to you when they happened or when you saw them, but might entice another person to visit that place or to keep reading.
- The best advice when writing a review is to try and walk a mile in the reader's shoes.
