Tui Reviews

Shropshire1414

More a comment than a question. Tui use Trip Advisor on their website as examples of reviews on their hotels. A recent booking of ours has recently shown a number of poor reviews. When asking Tui to look into it they said the hotel meets Tui standards and not to rely on Trip Advisor as their reviews are misleading. Why do they include them on their website then. Not looking forward to our holiday as the last and latest  8-10 reviews are not good. They have said we can book somewhere else but there would be a cost to us. Not happy

eskbanker

Reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor are no more and no less than individual punters' unmoderated opinions about places, and will be linked from sites like Tui's simply to add some extra flavour over and above the factual stuff on which your booking is actually based, so it's always important to recognise that distinction.

Neil49

So I interpret this as you saying that you would rather TUI didn't include negative comments on their website.

This would then mean that you wouldn't be aware of them and would therefore be looking forward to your holiday. 

LinLui

eskbanker said:

Reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor are no more and no less than individual punters' unmoderated opinions about places, and will be linked from sites like Tui's simply to add some extra flavour over and above the factual stuff on which your booking is actually based, so it's always important to recognise that distinction.

What makes you think that TUI's reviews are factual? 

Last year I had a booking for a hotel that I had been to before and on all occasions with TUI. It had good / decent reviews on both sites (including from me). No place makes everyone happy so you need to use reviews to make informed decisions. Last summer almost every review on TripAdvisor turned bad. Including mine. And deservedly so. In one year the hotel had deterioriated due to deliberate negligence by the owners, and was frankly unfit for purpose. TUI's reviews reflected none of this, but when I persisted in complaining I got enough compensation to book another holiday! TUI (pretty much like a lot of giant companies) don't give a damn because the majority of people will be fobbed off with their excuses, and so they only have to deal with the persistent few - their profit line is intact. 

That said, most people are more likley to complain about bad things - happy people often don't bother to review. Hence you need to take a balanced approach, TUI is no more factual, and no less factual, than any other review site.

Edited to add that when I first complained I was told on multiple occasions that the hotel met their (4 star) standards by reps and "customer service". In which case their standards included, but were not limited to, algae growing around the pool, blood stained (and other stains) mattresses, holes in the bedding, the kitchen regularly broken down so no food, toilets that did not work, and rooms not cleaned because there were no staff to do it. 

eskbanker

LinLui said:

eskbanker said:

Reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor are no more and no less than individual punters' unmoderated opinions about places, and will be linked from sites like Tui's simply to add some extra flavour over and above the factual stuff on which your booking is actually based, so it's always important to recognise that distinction.

What makes you think that TUI's reviews are factual? 

[...]

TUI is no more factual, and no less factual, than any other review site.

No, that's not what I'm saying - I wasn't referring to Tui reviews but the factual data about hotels, etc, i.e. star rating, features, facilities, etc.  These form the basis of the contract, and are actionable if not delivered, whereas reviews (from any source) are effectively just hearsay.

LinLui

eskbanker said:

LinLui said:

eskbanker said:

Reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor are no more and no less than individual punters' unmoderated opinions about places, and will be linked from sites like Tui's simply to add some extra flavour over and above the factual stuff on which your booking is actually based, so it's always important to recognise that distinction.

What makes you think that TUI's reviews are factual? 

[...]

TUI is no more factual, and no less factual, than any other review site.

No, that's not what I'm saying - I wasn't referring to Tui reviews but the factual data about hotels, etc, i.e. star rating, features, facilities, etc.  These form the basis of the contract, and are actionable if not delivered, whereas reviews (from any source) are effectively just hearsay.

Ah, I see what you meant, but it didn't seem like that. It's important to remember that TUI do not inspect the majority of hotels - the information comes from the hotel and not necessarily this year. They don't even have reps in most places now - you get an app and someone, somewhere half of the time. The hotel I just mentioned is still in TUI's brochure for this year (albeit it has been improved since last year) but several things in the brochure are not accurate (yet - the hotel is being renovated, something they don't mention is ongoing) and a number of the photo's are actually of the hotel and area from several years ago! So not entirely factual! And TUI still tried to palm off the experience as "meeting their standards" without actually ever setting foot in the hotel!

eskbanker

Well, yes, I'm not trying to claim that everything Tui includes in its descriptions is always up to date and accurate (like any other holiday company, to be fair), but just observing that it's data that they can be held accountable for, unlike reviews, which are subjective remarks made by unrelated third parties.

Pollycat

eskbanker said:

Reviews on sites such as Trip Advisor are no more and no less than individual punters' unmoderated opinions about places, and will be linked from sites like Tui's simply to add some extra flavour over and above the factual stuff on which your booking is actually based, so it's always important to recognise that distinction.

Yes.
Unmoderated and subjective.

I read reviews (all reviews, not just travel) with a very large pinch of salt.

Have you read the poor/terrible reviews to see what was wrong?
Are they valid complaints?

A 2 * self catering accommodation in a 10 room place in Greece should not be expected to provide 24 hour reception and room service.
But some people do expect that (and more).

NoodleDoodleMan

Shropshire1414 said:

More a comment than a question. Tui use Trip Advisor on their website as examples of reviews on their hotels. A recent booking of ours has recently shown a number of poor reviews. When asking Tui to look into it they said the hotel meets Tui standards and not to rely on Trip Advisor as their reviews are misleading. Why do they include them on their website then. Not looking forward to our holiday as the last and latest  8-10 reviews are not good. They have said we can book somewhere else but there would be a cost to us. Not happy

Perhaps you could identify the hotel in question ?

"They don't even have reps in most places now - you get an app and someone, somewhere half of the time."

That's not been our experience in recent years - yes, their popular hotels have more rep availability daily, however most, if not all, will have a rep visit at a set time.

The hotel we visit regularly has a more or less permanent rep presence, two last month, plus a rookie in training.

Shropshire1414

Thanks for every one’s comments. I know reviews are not always reliable but the hotel has recently been refurbished and is apparently struggling to recruit staff. It is All Inclusive 300+ bedrooms and 4 * The comments are all the same, only 1 member of staff on the bar. Lack of staff in all areas. No snacks during the day. Cutlery, crockery and glasses run out and not replaced. Food cold or running out not replenished. Drinks machines not working. Essentially not providing an All Inclusive package. The list goes on. Tui have told us they can ‘guarantee’ we will have a good time. The reviews are from different countries but all saying the same thing. My argument is if you are going to include Trip Advisor reviews on your website then they have to be taken into account. I’m sure if the reviews were excellent Tui would not say they were misleading

eskbanker

Shropshire1414 said:

My argument is if you are going to include Trip Advisor reviews on your website then they have to be taken into account.

It depends what you mean by 'taken into account' and by whom - as above, they can be useful background information to potential visitors, but a spate of negative reviews doesn't in any way give them any sort of right to cancel a stay!