Be careful if you write negative reviews online
Hotels want to know who you are. Especially if you're reviewing them anonymously.
An increasing number of image-conscious properties have begun connecting the dots between unbylined write-ups that appear on such popular travel sites as TripAdvisor or Yelp, and your personal information, such as your loyalty program preferences.
PERKS, OR CONSEQUENCES If you write a positive review, you might get a reward from the hotel - a gift basket or discount on your next stay. Pan a property, and you could get a concerned e-mail from the general manager asking you to reconsider your review, or even a black mark against you in the chain's guest database.
John Baird, a lodging consultant in Jacksonville, Fla., says that hotels now use locations, dates and user names that appear online to triangulate a guest's identity. Once they find a likely match, the review is added to a hotel's guest preference records, next to information such as frequent-guest number, newspaper choice and preferred room type.
"If the post is positive, I can give them a gift basket when they return," he says. Negative? That can generate an e-mail inviting the guest back for a free stay or offering frequent-stayer points as an apology.
TOO MUCH INFORMATION? After hearing about one international hotel that retaliated against travelers who slammed the property, Helen O'Boyle, a Seattle-based computing consultant, is troubled by hotels that name-match. Once identified, she said, the travelers were tagged as "problem guests" in the hotel chain's reward program.
Now O'Boyle is careful not to reveal any information that might help a hotel identify her online. "If I'm writing a bad review," she says. "I fudge the dates a bit and don't mention any particular calamities that might be identifiable with what the hotel knows I experienced - just in case."
PRIVACY ONLINE On some peer-review sites, such as TripAdvisor don't forbid the posting of personally identifiable information. Unregistered visitors can access details about any user, including age range, gender and location. Registered users can send another reviewer a private message through the site.
April Robb, a spokeswoman for TripAdvisor, said the site considers any effort by a hotel to pressure a guest to remove a negative review to be "fraudulent." Whenever a hotel owner attempts to contact a guest who has posted an unflattering review, a warning appears: "TripAdvisor may penalize owners who attempt to remove reviews through inappropriate threats or coercion."
TIPS FOR WRITING REVIEWS Don't use your real name when you review a hotel and make sure your Internet handle doesn't give away anything about your identity.
Leave out your geographic location.
Wherever possible, don't answer profile questions such as "I travel with" or "My travel style."
Never, ever, include any information that could identify you in the review itself.
