Travelers have spoken, and TripAdvisor has heeded their wishes. According to the 2016 TripBarometer Study, 93 percent of TripAdvisor survey respondents ranked price as the most importance influence on accommodation booking decisions.
To that end, TripAdvisor recently introduced the latest, and possibly the most disruptive, change in its repositioning from a review site to a place to plan, share and book travel experiences—and above all to get the best deals on hotels.
Now, when travelers search a destination on TripAdvisor, hotels are no longer displayed according to the Popularity Ranking; the new default ranking is called “Best Value.” The change was rolled out system-wide on May 30, 2017 along with other updates.
How does Best Value change search results?
The popularity ranking is still around, but it is now called “Traveler Ranked,” and to access it in hotel searches users must switch the sorting option at the top of the page.
The Best Value sort presents a significantly altered portrait of top hotels in a destination. For example, when I searched hotels in New York City on a given date, the Row NYC Hotel, which ranks #346 of 467 hotels on the Popularity Ranking, came up on top as the “#1 Best Value.” That’s quite a jump in visibility for a hotel with lackluster reviews.
Meanwhile, the Hotel 50 Bowery NYC, which ranks #1 in New York City on the popularity ranking, was barely on the radar, coming up as the “#32 Best Value” hotel.
What does this mean for hotels? While it’s too early to assess the full impact, one thing seems certain: if you wish to maximize visibility and booking referrals on TripAdvisor, rave reviews and a high popularity ranking are no longer enough.
What exactly does “Best Value” mean?
Over the past decade, I’ve worked with TripAdvisor and hundreds of hotels and brands around the world to help hotels build and leverage a positive online reputation. The Popularity Ranking has always been a source of mystery for hoteliers—and sometimes frustration. The new Best Value sort stands to be even more perplexing.
