Customer Reviews: A Must-Read Account of Our Modern Life [ABO]

Hotels, destinations, air travel… everything becomes fodder for reviews—favorable, moderate, or unfavorable—that shape online reputations and invite the careful attention of professionals wary of their influence.

Yet, this influence is far more nuanced and positive than it may appear. Especially since AI has joined the fray!

… By barking at fake reviews and their deleterious effects on the reputation and marketing of a product, the dark side of the floods of words poured onto our screens takes precedence over their merits.

Dés lors que nous cherchons un médecin sérieux, un aspirateur efficace, un hôtel au calme, un restaurant de qualité… on s’enflamme contre leur pouvoir sans se rendre compte que ces « mots » et l’utilisation qui en est faite ont aussi de très bons côtés.

Répandus en masse avec l’arrivée du Web2.0, ces lignes signées ou non, par des anonymes ou des inconnus falsifiant leur identité ou de vrais gens ont peu à peu réussi à bouleverser nos façons de vivre, s’informer, penser et voyager.

Pour le pire mais, je vais vous surprendre, pour le meilleur ou un « semblant » de meilleur.

Autrice d’un essai intitulé « La civilisation du commentaire », Mara Goyet, fait avec nous le tour des qualités et défauts de ceux que n’on nomme aussi des « avis », des « commentaires », des opinions et dont un site comme Tripadivsor a été le pionnier. Suivez-nous :

• Une agora numérique démocratique

The first quality we can attribute to reviews is their ability to host the words of everyone, big or small, rich or poor, educated or not, etc., and to help them reach an audience. We are therefore in a democratic system and space where freedom of expression is possible. A significant asset.

• Liberté de pensée : horizontalité

As much as freedom of expression, personal liberty is truly respected. Unless there are dangerous excesses, anyone can write what they want, what they think, at any moment, without fear of censorship by some superior authority.

We are indeed in a space where information and critique are not conducted vertically but horizontally. We have moved away from a conventional system where only a few (guidebook authors, journalists, VIPs) held knowledge.

It is also worth noting that it allows anyone to pursue potential ambitions as reporters and journalists. And it also helps counter frustrations.

• Une entraide bénévole, un bouche- à-oreille revisité

The proliferation of reviews is also a generous way to provide advice to a growing community of travelers eager to obtain the “small” pieces of information that can alter their journey.

Des échanges et des liens se tissent ainsi sur l’immense toile qu’est le Web et permettent l’existence d’un bouche-à-oreille géant auquel tout le monde peut participer afin d’ améliorer la fiabilité de l’information.

• Une intelligence collective

Another quality: the reviews on certain sites are so numerous and constantly renewed that they can inform comprehensively and, if needed, constitute a counter-power capable of destabilizing a faulty site, destination, or article.

La recherche et l’analyse du commentaire deviennent ainsi une sorte d’acte citoyen qui, selon les cas, prennent de l’ampleur et peuvent porter préjudice à leurs victimes.

• Une veille sociologique permanente

Well or poorly written, exaggerated or nuanced, it is finally necessary to read the comments to gather general information about our societies.

The recurrence of criticisms levelled at a product is a way to decipher the needs and aspirations of millions of people who, without this intermediation, would not have the opportunity to express themselves and reveal “weak signals” or strong ones allowing anticipation of current and future travel trends.

Thus, it is confirmed that authenticity, safety, reliability, the kindness of hospitality, and good value for money remain the standout expectations.

It is impossible to discuss the topic without also considering the weight of AI, which can in a few seconds gather millions of comments and distill them into a few lines that can be used by both a customer and the professional who has equipped themselves with these powerful analyzers.

For the example, we present TrustYou.

A German company founded in 2008, specializing in analyzing the customer experience for hospitality, it develops an artificial intelligence platform designed to transform customer reviews, data, and automated interactions into levers for improvement and revenue for tourism establishments.

With 100,000 hotels across 100 countries and clients such as Accor, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group or Booking.com… it combines three integrated solution types:

– Customer Experience Platform (CXP) which centralizes reviews and customer surveys, analyzes sentiment with AI, and enables automated responses via Response AI.

– Customer Data Platform (CDP) : unifies customer data into “golden profiles,” manages consents, and segments audiences to boost direct reservations.

– AI Agents : 24/7 conversational assistants capable of answering requests, handling bookings, and supporting teams.

Scope and impact of TrustYou

TrustYou’s solutions are used by major hotel groups, as their “Meta-Reviews” and “TrustScores” appear on platforms such as Google and KAYAK, influencing the online reputation of thousands of hotels.

Journaliste, consultante, conférencière, Josette Sicsic observe depuis plus de 25 ans, les mutations du monde afin d’en analyser les conséquences sur le secteur du tourisme.

Après avoir développé pendant plus de 20 ans le journal Touriscopie, elle est toujours sur le pont de l’actualité où elle décode le présent pour prévoir le futur. Sur le site www.tourmag.com, rubrique Futuroscopie, elle publie plusieurs fois par semaine les articles prospectifs et analytiques.

Contact : 06 14 47 99 04

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