If the French capital is no longer Europe’s rudest city, we can perhaps thank the growth of online rating tools, such as TripAdviser.
Travel Web sites have been around since the 1990s, when Expedia, Travelocity, and other holiday booking sites were launched, allowing travelers to compare flight and hotel prices with the click of a mouse. With information no longer controlled by travel agents or hidden in business networks, the travel industry was revolutionized, as greater transparency helped slash prices. Today, the industry is in the throes of a new revolution, this time transforming service quality. Online rating platforms, especializing in hotels (TripAdviser), restaurants (Zagat), apartments (Airbnb), and taxis (Uber), allow travelers to exchange reviews and experiences for all to see.
Hospitality businesses are now ranked, analyzed, and compared not by industry professionals, but by the very people for whom the service is intended – the customer. This has forged a new relationship between buyer and seller. Customers have always voted with their feet; they can now explain their decision to anyone who is interested. As a result, businesses are much more accountable, often in very specific ways, which creates powerful incentives to improve service.
Businesses that attract top ratings can enjoy exponential growth, as new customers are attracted by good overall reviews and subsequently provide yet more (positive) feedback. So great is the influence of online ratings that many companies now hire digital reputation managers to ensure a favorable online identity.
The system is not always virtuous. Nefarious operators are known to pay fake review services to bolster ratings. Customers, too, can be disingenuous or worse, engage in blackmail, which occurs, as TripAdviser explains, “when a guest threatens to write a negative review unless a demand for a refund, upgrade, or other request is met.”
Fortunately, technology is countering this misuse of ratings. Algorithms can already detect fake reviews by identifying consistently positive (or negative) opinions from the same reviewer. Geolocation tracking can ensure that only customers who have actually used a service can express an opinion (as is the case with Airbnb).
Traditional relationships between consumers and producers are breaking down in other ways, too. The rise of the “sharing economy,” in which assets – such as a car, a parking space, or a spare bedroom – are shared within communities, not only generates reciprocal goodwill, but also blurs the distinction between buyer and seller.
The final holdout against the raters will be services for which customers have no choice, typically monopolies or government agencies, such as airports. Singapore’s Changi Airport is a rare exception: it solicits user ratings at every turn, via feedback screens with cheery, touch-enabled smiley-face emoticons that request travelers’ opinions on everything from the efficiency of immigration service to the cleanliness of toilets.
Needless to say, many developed economies lag behind, at least for now. But the writing is, literally, on the wall – or at least on the screen. Indeed, if you are reading this online and disagree with me, you can explain why in the comments section accompanying this commentary.
