Accor has shown faith in TripAdvisor by partnering with the firm to list customer reviews directly on Accorhotels.com.
Accor said that by adding a TripAdvisor widget on its site, customers have greater transparency when selecting hotels. It claims to be the first major hotel group to partner with TripAdvisor on the initiative, which was soft launched in September ahead of a wider roll out this month.
The hotel giant is also encouraging customer feedback by sending emails to travellers one week after their stay, urging them to write a review.
All new content will be added to both the Accorhotels.com site and TripAdvisor.
The move comes as TripAdvisor’s business commercial director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Karen Plumb, faced a barrage of criticism at last week’s World Travel Market for allowing reviews dating back to 2003 to remain on the site (Travel Today, Friday - http://www.travelweekly.com.au/news/tripadvisor-faces-review-criticism).
Accor claims 52% of its hotels have improved their ranking against their geographic competitor set since launch.
Accor’s deputy director of direct sales in charge of e-commerce, Romain Roulleau, said the move demonstrates the group’s commitment to improving quality.