TrustYou looked at top guest review sources in 2022. Discover where the guests preferred to leave feedback globally, in EMEA, APAC, and the US.
#1 The Year of Booking.com
Booking.com was the go-to source most guests chose to leave their reviews across all the regions we analyzed. Nearly six out of ten reviews globally came from this platform.
Compared to 2021, Booking.com has significantly strengthened its position in the global market. Our analysis shows an eight-point increase, with 48% of the guest feedback coming from this platform in 2021.
Top 5 Third-Party Global Guest Review Sources in 2022. Based on a sample of 11.6 million global guest reviews (TrustYou Surveys are excluded for a more accurate representation).
With a more distributed geographical representation than the other OTAs, Booking.com saw its success coming from increased demand, the rising popularity of its mobile app, and significant growth in upselling activities, especially airline tickets.
Overall, 2022 was a fantastic year for Booking Holdings. Managing brands such as Booking.com, Agoda, Kayak, Priceline.com, and others registered a record revenue in 2022 - $17 billion, the highest-ever level reached - a 13% increase compared to 2019.
Except for Google, which registered a three point increase in review share compared to 2021, all other third-party review sources reported a slight decrease at the global level.
EMEA is historically the region where Booking.com is an undisputable leader. Seven out of ten reviews came from this OTA in 2022, representing a four-point increase compared to 2021.
Top 5 Third-Party EMEA Guest Review Sources in 2022. Based on a sample of 6.1 million EMEA guest reviews (TrustYou Surveys are excluded for a more accurate representation)
All the other third-party sources registered a slight decrease compared to 2021.
In APAC, we see tighter competition, with Booking.com and Google getting closer —however, Booking.com strengthened its position compared to 2021, climbing to the first position and registering an almost ten-point increase. Google also grew its share, but not enough to surpass Booking.com.
Top 5 Third-Party APAC Guest Review Sources in 2022. Based on a sample of 1.7 million APAC guest reviews (TrustYou Surveys are excluded for a more accurate representation).
Compared to 2021, Trip.com’s leading Chinese brand, Ctrip, recorded a slight decrease in review volume, which can be attributed to an uneven recovery in the APAC market and harsh COVID-19 restrictions in China. At the end of 2022, the group launched a travel revival plan to connect Chinese travelers with global destinations. With almost three years of harsh lockdowns, Chinese consumers are planning and dreaming big. Trip.com aims to help travelers looking for inspiration and support for destinations to better understand the new travel goals of Chinese travelers.
Like other regions, the US saw Booking.com increase its review volume in 2022 and reaffirm its position at the top. Compared to 2021, the share of reviews rose by five points. Google, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor registered a slight decrease.
Top 5 Third-Party US Guest Review Sources in 2022. Based on a sample of 2.7 million US guest reviews (TrustYou Surveys are excluded for a more accurate representation).
Expedia, which dominates the US market together with Booking.com, didn’t record any significant changes compared to 2021. When looking at the financial performance, the Expedia Group, owning and operating travel brands such as Expedia.com, Hotels.com, VRBO, Trivago, and others, reported 2022 as the most profitable year, despite all the changes brought in the business model and technology. The group shifted from performance-driven customer acquisition to loyalty-focused programs, suggesting a long-term approach to building growth.
#2 Why It Is Important to Have Reviews Displayed on Multiple Platforms
While Booking.com is the most popular platform for leaving reviews, travelers prefer to read feedback before booking accommodations on other platforms. Our recent research shows that the first stop for travelers who want to read reviews is the hotel’s website and Google.
51.4 % of travelers prefer to scan feedback directly from the source - the hotel’s website.
The second preferred platform for consulting feedback is Google - used always or often by 47.5% of respondents.
It’s important to feature reviews on both of these platforms. In this way, you help travelers in their decision-making process and increase the chances of getting booked. Use our Meta-Reviews to offer immediate and customizable review content compiled from thousands of reviews on your website. For your Google page, you can use our Push to Google feature to make your surveys visible to millions of travelers.
In 2022, globally, we saw a 4% increase in surveys pushed via Google compared to 2019 and a 55% increase from 2021. #3 TrustYou Surveys Submitted Have Almost Reached Pre-Pandemic Numbers
Global TrustYou Survey Volume reached 97% of the 2019 numbers.
Last year, we witnessed an impressive recovery registered by feedback gathered through surveys. This number is significantly higher than the overall review volume recovery, indicating that more guests are willing to leave a review using a survey sent by the hotel.
There are multiple benefits to distributing your survey. With a Post-Stay Survey, you increase the chances of getting more reviews. By asking relevant questions, you can capture insightful information from your guests. More data will help you refine the guest experience, and other travelers will be more inclined to book their next stay with you.
#4 Manage All Reviews in One Place
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stay on top of all the platforms where guests can leave their reviews. With the information in one place, you can get a complete overview of what impacts guests’ satisfaction and what improvements you can make to get higher scores. Learn more about how TrustYou can help you easily manage the guest experience from pre-stay to post-stay, improve your reputation with intelligent data, and increase your revenue with more bookings.
Check where your reviews come from using the TrustYou Guest Experience Platform
*2022 data was requested in March 2023. Due to the dynamic nature of the database with reviews and hotels being updated, the numbers may vary if data was requested at an earlier or later stage.
** the report includes rounded numbers for a clearer data representation.
*** for top review sources, a smaller sample from our database was used to reflect all third-party review sources.
Catalina Brinza
Catalina is a social media and data enthusiast. At TrustYou, she's on the mission to bring the most out of travel and hospitality data. One day, she hopes to experience Japan's culture to its fullest.
About TrustYou
TrustYou is on a mission to make guest communication and feedback simpler and more productive. All communication channels, together in one place, is the new way of doing business. Today, customers expect instant responses on their preferred communication channels. As a subset of communication, feedback is the foundation to build better products, services and companies.
TrustYou helps companies win through the power of listening and provides a Guest Experience (GX) Platform that makes listening to customers easy, powerful, and actionable. The platform unlocks the potential of guest feedback and helps to:
- Create unlimited opportunities to listen and respond to guests’ needs.
- Understand all reviews across the web and make better business decisions.
- Publish hotel reviews on the website and on Google and allow positive feedback to influence bookings.
TrustYou empowers companies to earn trust, make better decisions, and ultimately, win.
Find more information on TrustYou and our GX platform on www.trustyou.com.