That's the question with Social Media … finishing up my last post for November (or what I think is my last post this month) is some observations about www.TripAdvisor.com, which I just joined.

A couple of days ago I wrote a post titled Consumer Generated Reviews boost Site Conversions but the other side to the door (referring back to my Thing(a) – Interesting door handle post) is that user generated reviews can create conflicting opinions.

But first, this is what the hotel says about itself:

"…In the heart of Gare de l’Est / Gare du Nord , in 5 minutes by bus from Opera and Montmartre, the Hôtel du Nord et Champagne welcomes you with its 43 rooms, single, double , triple and quadruple. In the heart of Paris, located between Opera and Montmartre, the Hôtel du Nord et Champagne welcomes you with all the services of a modern and comfortable hotel. This description is based on information provided by the hotel."

Due to the power of the internet, I know all about the hotel I booked on Expedia last week, Hotel Nord et Champagne, and why I might want to stay there (it's inexpensive and all I need is a place to sleep) but also, that some who have stayed there complained of "bed bugs", and that was one of the more recent reviews –

"….it smelt a bit mucky and of damp and looked dated and scruffy. The linen all smelt fresh though and we just wanted somewhere to put our heads down for the night near gare du nord and it is very handy for the station, so ho hum. Despite clean linen smell, we both woke up with mysterious bites the next day – YUK"

On the other hand, another reviewer, earlier this year said:

"…We found an offer on the internet for this hotel, paying 86 euros for a double room for 2 nights (french website though). We were a little worried that paying that cheap we would have a dodgy hotel, but in fact we were pleasantly surprised. The hotel and room was clean, spacious and very respectable. The staff were friendly and the TV had good reception. We had a large bathroom with a big bath, hair dryer and even a bidet!

Some people have commented that this hotel is noisy, and it is true that you can hear the rumble of the metro. However, we were on the second floor and it wasn't that loud and the metro closes at 1 am anyway. We were woken up at 5 am though, but this would have happened in any hotel with drunken people shouting in the hallway (ashamed to say they were English…). If you're looking for really nice posh hotel then this isn't it. However if you're looking for a decent clean hotel in the centre of Paris, it is a good deal."

But over a year earlier, someone else wrote:

"…Booked as a last minute deal and have been to Paris plenty of times to know that 2* places are ideal for a place to crash but was pretty displeased with my stay. Mainly due to bed bugs in my room, I was eaten alive on my one and only night, maybe a one off but not a nice experience."

So it sounds to me I have a good shot and being all bitten up if I go this hotel, but also a good chance I won't be.  

What does one do with information like that?  Bring bug spray?  Sonic devices to give potential bed bugs a headache, or just find another hotel?

I don't know, I haven't decided yet – but if good reviews bolster a sites conversion rates by at least 24% than what do inconsistent or clashing reviews do?  

In an age where it's possible for me, or anyone, to pull up this much information on a place I've never been to before – one has to wonder how anyone can afford not to pay attention to Social Media and User Generated Reviews, especially for Travel and Real Estate.

Instead of worrying about SEO, and driving traffic, people ought to be looking at this stuff, and making sure they provide experiences that visitors want to write about and say good things (because good things really happened).

On the other hand, it's a cheap hotel, maybe I can't expect much more than they offering – it's hard to say – and my experience might depend, largly on what room I get and who stayed in the room immediately before I got there.

But to the extent that it can be controlled, and monitored, the experience itself, the thing people are writing reviews about – ought to be good, because we can all read about it … all of it – and if there are better choices – people are going to pick them.

Just a thought as I end November's posts.