Source Name: TripAdvisor

Displaying Photos and Responding to Feedback Makes Restaurants Pages on TripAdvisor More Compelling to Potential Diners

TripAdvisor study reveals which factors drive higher online engagement from prospective customers on restaurant pages

Oct 13, 2014   14:39 PM 
New Delhi, Delhi, India

Today TripAdvisor announced the results of its first ever restaurant engagement study, uncovering whichfactors drive the most engagement1 from consumers researching places to eat on the website’s restaurant pages. The study analyzed data such as number of reviews, management responses, photo content and the presence of opening hours across a representative sample of restaurants to reveal which factors most encourage consumers to look for more information about a restaurant, through clicks on their TripAdvisor pages.

 

Key amongst the findings: photos are essential for restaurant businesses and higher management response rates drive up average review ratings.The study reveals that both user and manager generated content can make a restaurant’s profile far more compelling to consumers researching on TripAdvisor.

 

Factors that drive the most engagement on restaurant pages:

(ranked by level of impact on engagement)

 

1.    Overall number of photos (submitted by both users and management)

2.    Number of photos submitted by management

3.    Total number of reviews

4.    ‘Opening hours’ displayed

 

The more photos the better

Photos are essential in driving higher levels of engagement from prospective customers: diners are clearly keen to preview what kind of food they might expect to find, as well as how the restaurant looks. Just going from not showing any photos to having photos on TripAdvisor restaurant pages results in 73 percent more engagement from users.Restaurant with more than 35 pictures see an increase of 107 percent in the level of engagement (compared to restaurants with no pictures).

 

We’re open

Displaying opening hours has a significant impact – those restaurants that display their opening hours on TripAdvisor see an 11 percent increase in engagement from potential patrons.

 

Be a part of the conversation

The study shows that responding to reviews is also beneficial for restaurants, not only to ensure that they are able to get their side of the story across but also in terms of increased engagement levels from visitors to their business pages on TripAdvisor. Travellers are 12 percent more engaged on restaurant pages where the owner posts management responses.

 

Taking part in the conversation also has a positive impact on the overall rating for a restaurant on TripAdvisor; the more reviews the management responds to, the higher the average review rating.

 

Average review rating vs. rate of response for recent reviews (restaurants):

 

· 0% response rate = 3.91 average review rating

· 5%-40% response rate = 4.02 average review rating

· 40% - 75% = 4.06 average review rating

· 75%+ response rate = 4.21 average review rating

 

"The results of this study clearly demonstrate the importance of both user and manager generated content on restaurant pages," comments Severine Philardeau, VP, Global Partnerships, TripAdvisor. "Prospective diners want to know what kind of experience they can expect from a restaurant before selecting where to eat, showing more interest in businesses that have pictures and plenty of reviews to help them make their dining decision. When selecting a restaurant, 50 percent of traveler usually or always reference TripAdvisor reviews before making a decision2. Restaurant owners should be encouraging their diners to share their experience by posting reviews and pictures on TripAdvisor. Just as importantly, they need to respond to reviews, as the study shows that increasing the frequency of management responses has a measurable impact on average review ratings.

 

Methodology

For the purpose of this study, TripAdvisor analyzed data from a sample of restaurants from the 25 most reviewed cities* on the site from 7th July – 7th August, 2014. The study reveals how review ratings change based on management response rates and the level of user engagement (defined as page views per session) relative to various content factors including the number of reviews, photos, videos and rate of review responses from management.

 

*Cities included in the study sample are: London, Rome, Paris, New York City, Las Vegas, Barcelona, Orlando, Milan, Florence, Bangkok, San Francisco, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Prague, Edinburgh, Venice, Chicago, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Dublin, Marrakech, New Orleans.

 

2PhoCusWright, TripAdvisor Custom Survey, 2013

 

About TripAdvisor:

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site*, enabling travellers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching nearly 280 million unique monthly visitors**, and more than 170 million reviews and opinions covering more than 4 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 45 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors.

 

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands:

www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.lafourchette.com, www.niumba.com,  www.onetime.com,www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.comwww.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, www.virtualtourist.com, and www.kuxun.cn

 

 *Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, Q1 2014

 

 **Source: Google Analytics, average monthly unique users, Q2 2014; does not include traffic to daodao.com