How bloggers are changing the travel industry

If you own a blog, especially if it’s a personal one, you probably don’t realize the power of your own voice on the internet. You can use your blog as a tool for change, whether you’re doing it intentionally or not. Many bloggers across a variety of niches are discovering that the complaints and criticisms they post on their blogs are slowly changing the travel industry. Why? Because both the businesses and the consumers are paying attention.

A recent article from CNN discussed how bloggers’ complaints are noticed when they rant about bad airline policy, poor service, or bad hotels.  The article cites several example, including this one:

When Julie Yack had a bad stay at a Las Vegas hotel, she published the details on her blog. “It proved rather effective,” she told me. “The general manager called me that day, told me the hotel owners now know what a blog is, and worked hard to make things right.” That included an apology and an offer of a free two-night stay.
Source: “Pushy bloggers to travel industry: Be nice” by Christopher Elliott, from CNN.com

Why do people care what bloggers have to say? I suppose it’s because most blogs are written by regular people that the airlines, hotels, and other travel related businesses aren’t trying to impress. If you read a review of a resort or hotel from someone’s blog, you’re more likely to believe it because the blogger usually isn’t writing a marketing piece.

As for the businesses, most of them care about the bad publicity they get. After all, if someone uses Google to learn more about your hotel, you’d be concerned if potential customers find a blog post about bed bugs in your suites.

Has a blog post ever affected your decisions when planning a trip?

Posted by | Comments (8)  | April 9, 2009
Category: General


8 Responses to “How bloggers are changing the travel industry”

  1. thecouple Says:

    We tend to trust the info in personal blogs when we search the Net to make travel plans. However, the critique will depend on the expectations of the blogger as well. We need to discount that. So, when we blog about our disappointments on a certain place/stay option, we also mention about our expectations. 🙂

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  4. Richard Says:

    To be honest, I had the exact opposite reaction from a backpackers in Mozambique that I was critical of. One of the staff/owners pooped onto my blog just to flame me (https://www.richardstupart.com/2009/01/20/review-fatimas-nest-tofo/) – with the perverse result that it actually boosted the post. It’s now one of the most read recently.