Oct 9, 2017, 10:07 am
Last edit by: JDiver
FT Expert Hotel Reviews Issues
Please report your Expert Hotel Review issues here.
FAQ: Why did FlyerTalk add them"Expert Hotel Review" feature?
The (FlyerTalk) website has rolled out a new hotel guide in which its members rate and review hotels from around the world. FlyerTalk “soft-launched” its Expert Hotel Reviews feature earlier this fall, but is now talking about the effort publicly for the first time.
What’s behind the effort to add hotel reviews? Tarr (Jeremy Tarr, FlyerTalk's editorial director) says such information has long been posted to FlyerTalk over the years, but it typically has come in users’ “trip reports” that have sprung out of the site's frequent-flier focused origins.
“FlyerTalk has a ton of information from a lot of expert travelers who have flown all over the world and stayed at shocking numbers of hotels,” Tarr says. “A lot of that information is often buried in the forums. We wanted to organize it into something that it is much more accessible to a broader audience.”
USA Today, 21 Nov 2016 - link
What’s behind the effort to add hotel reviews? Tarr (Jeremy Tarr, FlyerTalk's editorial director) says such information has long been posted to FlyerTalk over the years, but it typically has come in users’ “trip reports” that have sprung out of the site's frequent-flier focused origins.
“FlyerTalk has a ton of information from a lot of expert travelers who have flown all over the world and stayed at shocking numbers of hotels,” Tarr says. “A lot of that information is often buried in the forums. We wanted to organize it into something that it is much more accessible to a broader audience.”
USA Today, 21 Nov 2016 - link
Issues with FlyerTalk Expert Hotel Reviews? Report them here!
May 9, 2019, 11:51 am
#197
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
May 10, 2019, 11:43 am
#198
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
Glitch STILL turns on email notifications!!!!
Hello again,
So once more, submitting Expert Reviews on threads to which I already was subscribed (without notifications of any kind) has again turned on email notifications for some odd reason. This is a glitch that I'd reported numerous times over the years, and yet it still happens.
As of now, I am receiving email notifications since submitting Expert Reviews for all the threads in the past few days.
This glitch needs to be fixed once and for all. It's very annoying! As one who has submitted more Expert Reviews than anyone else on FlyerTalk, I would know.
Thanks.
So once more, submitting Expert Reviews on threads to which I already was subscribed (without notifications of any kind) has again turned on email notifications for some odd reason. This is a glitch that I'd reported numerous times over the years, and yet it still happens.
As of now, I am receiving email notifications since submitting Expert Reviews for all the threads in the past few days.
This glitch needs to be fixed once and for all. It's very annoying! As one who has submitted more Expert Reviews than anyone else on FlyerTalk, I would know.
Thanks.
May 10, 2019, 11:49 am
#199
No longer with Internet Brands
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: DL DM 1.6MM, Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 5,343
Submitting Expert Reviews on threads to which I already was subscribed (without notifications of any kind) has again turned on email notifications for some odd reason. This is a glitch that I'd reported numerous times over the years, and yet it still happens.
As of now, I am receiving email notifications since submitting Expert Reviews for all the threads in the past few days.
May 10, 2019, 11:57 am
#200
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
St Regis San Francisco...same!
Ventanas Big Sur...same!
Las Alcobas Napa Valley...same!
I haven't gotten any notifications yet, but I bet I will the moment someone posts to the Santa Barbara luxury hotels overview thread...because the last post was my Expert Review! Same with the Bacara Santa Barbara Ritz Carlton thread! Same with Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay!
SOMEHOW, submitting an Expert Review resets the notification settings and defaults you back to email notifications--even for threads to which we previously were subscribed and with no notifications selected. It's been true since the start of Expert Reviews...and I'd notified IS so many times already I can't even count.
May 11, 2019, 3:15 pm
#201
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
May 11, 2019, 3:42 pm
#202
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Southern California, USA
Programs: Marriott Ambassador and LTT, UA Plat/LT Gold, AA Gold
Posts: 8,764
I rescind that obviously false claim and send kudos (and apologies) to you, Sir! I was informed when I hit 25 SPG that I had more reviews than anyone and was the only 25 reviewer...so assumed wrongly I still had the lead. My bad!
May 11, 2019, 7:48 pm
#203
Join Date: Dec 2013
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Well for Marriott/Starwood specifically I think you must be close to 100 and I don't think anybody else is even close to that many for that hotel chain. It would be great to have the 100 review badge and I think you'll be first to earn it just like you did for the 25 badge! ^ Enjoy reading your reviews as usual Sir
Jul 29, 2019, 9:23 am
#204
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
Sounds like some progress was made recently? Some reviews which used to fall in no-man's land are now on the map, although not always at the correct spot on the map.
It might be useful at some point to have an official statement from FT brass as to where they see the future of hotel reviews. There was recently an article about "The Decline of Flyertalk"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni/...k-article.html
I am not an FT shareholder so I have no dog in this fight but my uninformed opinion is that if I was a shareholder, I would attempt to harvest the hotel-specific info on FT because as flawed as FT is, it remains the #1 source of info about hotels. I don't think the current hotel review feature works like a well-oiled machine, so there is room for improvement in my humble opinion.
It might be useful at some point to have an official statement from FT brass as to where they see the future of hotel reviews. There was recently an article about "The Decline of Flyertalk"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni/...k-article.html
I am not an FT shareholder so I have no dog in this fight but my uninformed opinion is that if I was a shareholder, I would attempt to harvest the hotel-specific info on FT because as flawed as FT is, it remains the #1 source of info about hotels. I don't think the current hotel review feature works like a well-oiled machine, so there is room for improvement in my humble opinion.
Last edited by escape4; Aug 4, 2019 at 10:13 am
Jul 29, 2019, 9:39 am
#205
Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Internet Brands
Posts: 3,866
Sound like some progress was made recently? Some reviews which used to fall in no-man's land are now on the map, although not always at the correct spot on the map.
It might be useful at some point to have an official statement from FT brass as to where they see the future of hotel reviews. There was recently an article about "The Decline of Flyertalk"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni/...k-article.html
I am not an FT shareholder so I have no dog in this fight but my uninformed opinion is that if I was a shareholder, I would attempt to harvest the hotel-specific info on FT because as flawed as FT is, it remains the #1 source of info about hotels. I don't think the current hotel review feature works like a well-oiled machine, so there is room for improvement in my humble opinion.
It might be useful at some point to have an official statement from FT brass as to where they see the future of hotel reviews. There was recently an article about "The Decline of Flyertalk"
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/omni/...k-article.html
I am not an FT shareholder so I have no dog in this fight but my uninformed opinion is that if I was a shareholder, I would attempt to harvest the hotel-specific info on FT because as flawed as FT is, it remains the #1 source of info about hotels. I don't think the current hotel review feature works like a well-oiled machine, so there is room for improvement in my humble opinion.
).
Jan 25, 2020, 5:45 am
#206
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
Bump. It looks like the map still has significant room for improvement? Also loyalty program and/or brand is often wrong when posting a new review.
Jan 27, 2020, 8:42 am
#207
Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Internet Brands
Posts: 3,866
Can you point out what is wrong with the map and the loyalty program is wrong? As I go through the new properties, I mark their brands as apparent to me.
Jan 27, 2020, 11:23 pm
#208
Join Date: Dec 2013
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- Several properties do not appear in the correct spot. For example, zoom out to the maximum and scroll towards Canada. There is a marker exactly where the word "Canada" is and if you point to the marker, you will see a long list of hotels for that specific spot in the middle of nowhere, just north of Alberta province. Those hotels are not at the right spot.
- Similarly, still in Canada there is another marker on the west side of Hudson's Bay, it contains three hotels that do not belong there, one Halifax, one Vancouver, and one Edmonton.
- You can also spot other hotels showing incorrectly via the search function. For example if I search on "Istanbul", I will see a yellow circle with "11" in Istanbul so I assume those are correct, but there are three other markers elsewhere in various areas of Turkey.
- In each FT member individual profile, it used to be that you could click on "Map" and you could see markers where that person has been and written hotel reviews. Is this section now deactivated? I do not see markers on the map anymore.
Regarding hotel brands, here are some things I noticed:
- For many hotels, the brand seems to default to "AC Hotels by Marriott". For example, Opus XIV in Bergen Norway, Hotel Ranga in Iceland (and loyalty program for this one is missing, should be Independent / Boutique), Cabrits Resort Dominica, etc. If you select "Hotel Brand = AC in the filters, you will see lots of markers everywhere in the world, the vast majority of which are not AC hotel brand.
- In the section "Browse by Loyalty Programs and Groups", Banyan Tree and Fairmont are correctly no longer in the drop down list since they were acquired by Accor. However some individual properties are still at their old loyalty program, for example Fairmont Southampton, Fairmont Chengdu, Fairmont Istanbul, Banyan Tree Bangkok, etc. All of those should be loyalty program = Accor, rather than loyalty = Fairmont or Banyan Tree.
Thanks for looking into this!
Jan 28, 2020, 9:19 am
#209
Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Internet Brands
Posts: 3,866
I've addressed your points in bold.
Most of these issues require extensive manual detective work, research and testing. I'll have a look at all of them and consult tech, but I can't give you any kind of timeframe for resolution at this point.
Regarding the map, here is what I meant :
- Several properties do not appear in the correct spot. For example, zoom out to the maximum and scroll towards Canada. There is a marker exactly where the word "Canada" is and if you point to the marker, you will see a long list of hotels for that specific spot in the middle of nowhere, just north of Alberta province. Those hotels are not at the right spot. This could be a combination of things. There are limits to both the mapping software, alphabetic characters (more trouble with accents on letters, etc), and just human error of typing stuff in. At least one of those Istanbul reviews was while I was on leave, so I can't say for sure what's going on.
- Similarly, still in Canada there is another marker on the west side of Hudson's Bay, it contains three hotels that do not belong there, one Halifax, one Vancouver, and one Edmonton. See above.
- You can also spot other hotels showing incorrectly via the search function. For example if I search on "Istanbul", I will see a yellow circle with "11" in Istanbul so I assume those are correct, but there are three other markers elsewhere in various areas of Turkey. See above.
- In each FT member individual profile, it used to be that you could click on "Map" and you could see markers where that person has been and written hotel reviews. Is this section now deactivated? I do not see markers on the map anymore. Probably an issue with a site upgrade, although possibly it was causing page-loading slowness for users with a lot of hotel reviews. I'll ask tech.
Regarding hotel brands, here are some things I noticed:
- For many hotels, the brand seems to default to "AC Hotels by Marriott". For example, Opus XIV in Bergen Norway, Hotel Ranga in Iceland (and loyalty program for this one is missing, should be Independent / Boutique), Cabrits Resort Dominica, etc. If you select "Hotel Brand = AC in the filters, you will see lots of markers everywhere in the world, the vast majority of which are not AC hotel brand. Basically this has to be done manually. If it's missed or the property hasn't been placed yet, it defaults to the first program, alphabetically. Going back through every property and making sure it has the correct program is a manual process and frankly not feasible at this time. I'm the only one who works on these besides tech, who only steps in when there's a problem.
- In the section "Browse by Loyalty Programs and Groups", Banyan Tree and Fairmont are correctly no longer in the drop down list since they were acquired by Accor. However some individual properties are still at their old loyalty program, for example Fairmont Southampton, Fairmont Chengdu, Fairmont Istanbul, Banyan Tree Bangkok, etc. All of those should be loyalty program = Accor, rather than loyalty = Fairmont or Banyan Tree. Again, changing loyalty programs and hotel names is a manual process. We might be able to switch all loyalty programs so that Fairmont=Accor (I believe all Fairmont reviews now count toward Accor badges on the backend) on the front end. I'll check.
Thanks for looking into this!
- Several properties do not appear in the correct spot. For example, zoom out to the maximum and scroll towards Canada. There is a marker exactly where the word "Canada" is and if you point to the marker, you will see a long list of hotels for that specific spot in the middle of nowhere, just north of Alberta province. Those hotels are not at the right spot. This could be a combination of things. There are limits to both the mapping software, alphabetic characters (more trouble with accents on letters, etc), and just human error of typing stuff in. At least one of those Istanbul reviews was while I was on leave, so I can't say for sure what's going on.
- Similarly, still in Canada there is another marker on the west side of Hudson's Bay, it contains three hotels that do not belong there, one Halifax, one Vancouver, and one Edmonton. See above.
- You can also spot other hotels showing incorrectly via the search function. For example if I search on "Istanbul", I will see a yellow circle with "11" in Istanbul so I assume those are correct, but there are three other markers elsewhere in various areas of Turkey. See above.
- In each FT member individual profile, it used to be that you could click on "Map" and you could see markers where that person has been and written hotel reviews. Is this section now deactivated? I do not see markers on the map anymore. Probably an issue with a site upgrade, although possibly it was causing page-loading slowness for users with a lot of hotel reviews. I'll ask tech.
Regarding hotel brands, here are some things I noticed:
- For many hotels, the brand seems to default to "AC Hotels by Marriott". For example, Opus XIV in Bergen Norway, Hotel Ranga in Iceland (and loyalty program for this one is missing, should be Independent / Boutique), Cabrits Resort Dominica, etc. If you select "Hotel Brand = AC in the filters, you will see lots of markers everywhere in the world, the vast majority of which are not AC hotel brand. Basically this has to be done manually. If it's missed or the property hasn't been placed yet, it defaults to the first program, alphabetically. Going back through every property and making sure it has the correct program is a manual process and frankly not feasible at this time. I'm the only one who works on these besides tech, who only steps in when there's a problem.
- In the section "Browse by Loyalty Programs and Groups", Banyan Tree and Fairmont are correctly no longer in the drop down list since they were acquired by Accor. However some individual properties are still at their old loyalty program, for example Fairmont Southampton, Fairmont Chengdu, Fairmont Istanbul, Banyan Tree Bangkok, etc. All of those should be loyalty program = Accor, rather than loyalty = Fairmont or Banyan Tree. Again, changing loyalty programs and hotel names is a manual process. We might be able to switch all loyalty programs so that Fairmont=Accor (I believe all Fairmont reviews now count toward Accor badges on the backend) on the front end. I'll check.
Thanks for looking into this!
Jan 28, 2020, 6:17 pm
#210
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
Thanks for the follow-up! It's unfortunate a big chunk of the work is a manual process.
Last edited by escape4; Jan 28, 2020 at 6:39 pm