1. everlater the social companion for world explorers
The Current State Of
User Generated Content
and
Online Travel
Presented by:
Nate Abbott
Natty Zola
http://www.everlater.com/
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2. everlater the social companion for world explorers
People spend a lot of money on travel.
• World (personal) travel spend of $3.2tr in 2008
• Expected to grow to $5.4tr by 2019
• 903bn international tourism arrivals
• Growing at 6.6% y-o-y
http://www.everlater.com/
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3. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Guide books ($$)
When people travel, they are
spending large amounts of
money on things they don’t
know about.
Online reviews
http://www.everlater.com/
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4. everlater the social companion for world explorers
14.8mm travel books were sold in 2007
11% increase over 2006
http://www.everlater.com/
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5. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Guide books Online reviews
traveler traveler
“EXPERT
REVIEWER” traveler traveler
traveler TRAVEL traveler
SITE
traveler traveler
traveler traveler
traveler traveler
traveler traveler
traveler traveler traveler
• One-to-many • Many-to-many
• Not independently verifiable • Huge variety of descriptions
• Short descriptions • Differing viewpoints and diverse opinions
• Portable • Wisdom of the crouds
...and what does this mean?
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6. everlater the social companion for world explorers
ONLINE TRAVEL EXPLOSION!!!
65% of US travelers used the internet to make travel plans
tripadvisor.com alone has ~20mm user generated reviews
http://www.everlater.com/
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7. everlater the social companion for world explorers
BUT WAIT! Are online sites really useful?
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8. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Spotty information
• User generated content is...
user generated!
• Can’t be depended upon
• Selection bias
• Bad for unpopular destinations
“Looks like we’re
sleeping on the
street tonight, Natty” Source: www.wayn.com / Hotels in Banos, Ecuador
http://www.everlater.com/
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9. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Anonymity
• Unable to make judgements
regarding similarity of
travel styles Q: Who’s right???
• Who is right and who is wrong? A: both!!!
• No social penalty for lying
Source: www.hostelworld.com / Tango Backpackers Hostel, Buenos Aires
http://www.everlater.com/
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10. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Extremism
• Incentive to publish an
“average” opinion is low
• Positive reviews are the norm
(out of 321 Marrakech hotels,
three were ranked below 2 1/2
stars Source: www.tripadvisor.com / Riad Zolah, Marrakech, Morocco
• No uniform rating system
Out of 119 reviews, 116
were positive -- nominally
a good sign, but this
is the norm!
http://www.everlater.com/
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11. everlater the social companion for world explorers
Solutions?
http://www.everlater.com/
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12. everlater the social companion for world explorers
www.everlater.com
http://www.everlater.com/
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