Thomas Cook is to launch hotel reviews on its main website as part of a plan to lure consumers away from existing accommodation sites.
The move comes as executives argue that the reliance of the travel industry on review sites such as TripAdvisor is likely to decrease in time as operators get their act together.
According to Russell Gould, Thomas Cook UK and Ireland e-commerce director, none of the existing travel industry portals have yet to do it well.
“As people like us do it properly the reliance on TripAdvisor won’t be as much,” Gould said.
“The problem with the industry is that it only wants to present positive reviews but our research shows consumers want to see both negative and positive reviews.”
Gould said Thomas Cook is planning to launch online accommodation reviews in the coming months. The platform is being created by software provider BazaarVoice.
The operator plans to combine up to a million of its paper-based reviews from customers, who have travelled with the operator in the past six months, with other online hotel reviews.
He also said he would like to build in the capability for consumers to read reviews, click on a link to see other consumers’ photos of the hotel or resort elsewhere on the internet and return to Thomas Cook to make the booking.
