Last Updated: 8/2/20 | August 2nd, 2020
A few years ago, I was in San Francisco to visit the Google Travel offices, where we spent a lot of time geeking out over travel booking data and metrics. One of the stats that stood out for me was that most consumers spend over 40 hours and look at over 20 websites researching their trip.
When I started planning my first round-the-world trip in 2005, there weren’t as many online resources. I remember a blog on backpacking Europe (basically what a girl did on her study abroad and her notes from the road), a couple of online forums, and random websites here and there.
My trip planning consisted mostly of using guidebooks.
Today, we have 100,000+ blogs, travel forums and online communities, Youtube channels, Instagram pages, apps, and sharing-economy websites, and everything in between.
You can find information for anywhere you want to go.
No destination is too obscure.
There is a figurative firehose of information online.
But, in this sea of endless information, how do you know what information and advice are accurate and trustworthy, especially when so much content is sponsored by companies?
Like you, I spend a lot of time researching destinations before I go. I read blog posts, books, trip reports, hostel reviews, buy guidebooks, and leave no stone unturned.
I love digging deep into the places I’m traveling to. It makes the trip seem real and gives me the feeling like I’m unearthing deep secrets.
Planning a trip gives you ownership of your journey. It’s an integral part of the travel experience.
But, since I’ve been looking up information online and working in the travel industry for years, I can spot the BS/paid/sponsored content really easily.
There’s a lot of bad information out there that will lead you astray.
And today I want to help you spot it.
(Note: I’m going to break down my thoughts in extreme detail, but it actually doesn’t take that long to process all this. I’ll give you some perspective at the end. It’s not as long as you think!)
Factors to Consider When Reading About Destinations
Sponsored Content
Whenever I come across an article, I scroll to the bottom to see if it is “sponsored.” Sponsored content is (a) when a blogger is given a trip or product in exchange for a review or mention (and payment) on that blogger’s website, and (b) content that is basically advertising or marketing material (think some “awesome” contest they are telling you about).
While organized press trips have occurred in the travel business for decades (and I’ve done them), sponsored content is something different.
A press trip is an unpaid experience where writers visit a destination in order to write about it. In this case, there’s no exchange of money. And, while there’s probably a little quid pro quo, I think when compared to sponsored content, it’s more honest.
A sponsored post always has an exchange of money. That’s what changes the dynamic for me. That makes it marketing (for reasons that tie together below). A person was paid specifically to write nice things.
I’ll read the article (it still might be useful) but I don’t put as much weight into the advice as I would an unsponsored post. After all, the writer was paid to write about the place and there is a natural human inclination to sugarcoat the negatives if we’ve been paid to write about a place or product.
When I see “Thanks for the free trip, (insert tourism board name). All opinions are my own” without explanation, I’m also wary. What was free? What was paid for? Did they receive money? How do I know what is true and what isn’t?
Thus, I tend to take the suggestions with a grain of salt unless I see clearly what was sponsored.
When I went to Islay, the tourism board covered a lot of my trip: “Visit Islay provided the car and accommodation and also connected me to distilleries so I could get the behind-the-scenes tours for this article. Meals, flights, and transportation to and from the island — as well as all that whisky I bought — were at my own expense. They did not pay me directly for coverage.”
This is what I look for. I want the author to be clear on what was and wasn’t paid for – because that will directly impact some of the other important things to keep an eye.
Replicable Experiences
If the writer is writing about an experience that I can’t do or a situation I can’t replicate, the advice isn’t useful to me as a reader. It’s great that someone got to do something cool like eat at a 3-star Michelin restaurant or cook dinner with Bourdain — but how does that really help me experience the place?
How will that make my trip better?
Those kinds of articles make for fun stories but nothing more. When I’m researching a destination, I don’t want a fun story. I want a helpful story.
Detailed Content
How detailed is the article? The more facts, figures, and other details they include, the more I know they know their stuff. For me, advice that is detailed, practical, and replicable is the best kind of advice. I look for blogs and content that give me insight into a destination or product like I would expect from a guidebook or magazine.
All these signals tell me “This website has quality and trustworthy content and I should use it to plan my trip.”
This is why whether or not the content is sponsored/branded/whatever term people use is so important to me because the more the writer is paying their own way and doing what I would do, it’s more likely to include the nitty-gritty facts and figures that will be useful to me as I plan my trip.
Bigger Picture
I look at that content within the bigger picture of their website. If I come across an article and I like what I’m reading, sponsored or not, I click around the website a bit more. If this blogger tends to do the kind of activities I like to do, I think to myself, “OK, we have a similar travel style. This person’s advice is going to benefit me.”
If I look around a website and see they mostly pay their own way, have detailed content, and are in the trenches like the rest of us, I’m OK with the small amount of sponsored content I see because, in my mind, it will be more fair and balanced than someone who does mostly paid trips.
Website Appearance
What does their website look like? Does it look loved? Is the design from 1999, or does it look like someone keeps the site up to date? It’s like a restaurant.
While looks don’t 100% correlate to quality food, you’re more likely to go “the food is probably good here” if the restaurant looks like it wasn’t like renovated during the Nixon years.
For example, look at my site:
In 2008:
Now:
Which one would you trust more? (Exactly. The newer version.)
Are They Too Negative?
There are so many factors that go into whether or not you like a destination: the people you meet, the weather, the ease with which you got around, whether someone in your dorm snored, and so much more! When I look at someone’s opinion on a place, I look to see if they are just ranting or are truly being fair. “This place was terrible and you should never go” is a rant that should be taken with a grain of salt. Read it, file it away, but mostly ignore it.
Years ago, I went on a rant about Vietnam and swore I would never go back. Since then, I’ve grown as a writer and a person. I had to add a little blurb at the end of the article saying this was my experience but you should go and experience it yourself.
That article stays up because it’s part of the site, but I cringe when I read it. It’s not the type of article that gives an accurate picture of a place nor is it one you should use when you plan your trip. Avoid articles like that.
Timely Content
Lastly, how old is the article? When was it last updated? Travel changes so rapidly that an article that was written five years ago and hasn’t been updated since is one I don’t value. If the article hasn’t been updated within the last two years, skip it!
What to Consider When Researching a Company
Most Reviews are Negative
First, when it comes to using a company or booking website you don’t know, it’s important to remember one thing: the majority of reviews are most likely going to be negative.
Consumers use review sites to complain, not to praise. It’s almost always how some company screwed them over. While that is sometimes the case (no company is perfect 100% of the time — and it’s not just obscure companies; I’ve had friends have terrible times trying to get a refund from Expedia), most of the time it’s because someone didn’t read the fine print.
So that’s the most important thing to remember: consumer reviews always tilt negative in the travel space, so you shouldn’t be too worried if a company has too many negative reviews (the devil is in the details, not some star rating!).
Consider Why a Review is Negative
When looking at consumer reviews, I look to see why these people are having a negative experience. For example, if most of the negative reviews for a tour company talk about how their guide didn’t know anything, I begin to think, “Maybe this tour company isn’t that good.”
But if the negative reviews are mostly “THIS IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER BECAUSE MY HOTEL WAS ONLY 2 STARS AND I EXPECTED 5 STARS FOR THE $500 I PAID!” then I’ll ignore those specific negative reviews.
To me, these kinds of reviews are just rants, not helpful.
Expert Opinion
What do travel writers, magazines, and newspapers say about this company? Do they match the negative consumer reviews, or do they paint the company in a different light? If tour company X has tons of negative consumer reviews but the majority of professionals say it is good, I’ll go with the professional opinion. If there’s a disconnect between what consumers say and what the majority of experts say, I trust the experts.
Next, consider the following five points:
1. How Often a Reviewer Posts – When looking at user-generated reviews, I want to see how often a user posts (most sites show you). If someone posts just once and writes a scathing review, chances are they are trying to vent because they didn’t get what they want.
2. Beware Too-Positive Reviews – People don’t like to hurt other people’s feelings, so on a lot of the sharing-economy sites, people sugarcoat their reviews, because these hosts or guides aren’t a faceless corporation.
If some guy gave you a tour or if you stayed in someone’s house and it sucked, you’ll feel bad leaving a very negative review because you met that person and formed a (fleeting) relationship with them.
3. Beware a Lack of Details – This is how I ended up in an Airbnb that was directly above a bar. Everyone said “it was noisy,” but NYC is noisy, so I just assumed that is what they meant.
Since that horrible incident, I only trust reviews that are specific, details, and clear on what was good and what was bad. “I had a great time” or “This place was so so” doesn’t tell you anything and those reviews should be ignored.
4. Beware Paid Placements – Next, make sure the top reviews aren’t paid placements. The majority of booking sites allow companies to pay extra for higher or top “recommended” placement. All those top results? Usually paid to be there.
So do what I do: ignore the top-recommended properties, sort by price, and then figure out where to book.
5. Are There Pictures? – Finally, when I look at booking sites, I also like to see what pictures people who have stayed there have posted. Of course, having a professional photographer take a picture vs. someone taking a picture with their phone are two very different things, but I like to at least get a sense of what the room looks like in a real-world setting.
None of these points make or break my planning on their own. I look at everything and see what the complete picture looks like. I look for patterns and averages. That is something you can’t really fake. Trust the average.
This might sound like it takes a lot of work, but it’s really just a long, drawn-out written version of what I keep in mind as I research. In reality, this list only takes a few minutes to run through in your head.
By looking at all these factors, you’ll rarely end up at a place you don’t like, using a company that screws you over, or getting inaccurate and unhelpful information.
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Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
- World Nomads (for everyone below 70)
- Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
- Medjet (for additional repatriation coverage)
Need to book your trip?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. The are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
Veronika
Hi Matt, I agree with you on most points. When it comes to press trips and such, it’s important whether the blogger in question tries to find out how anyone could replicate such the experience he/she had. If that’s impossible, I find it unnecessary to really write about, as that’s not useful at all.
Also, brands that pamper bloggers and journalists too much might then largely disappoint their ‘normal’ clients who can never reach such a service level as the ‘star’ gets.
All in all, spot on! 🙂
Stephanie Craig
This is exactly why I don’t do sponsored content. It sucks turning down paid gigs, but right now using my work to get social media consulting gigs leaves me the ability to write only about the places I want and I know my opinions aren’t bought and sold.
Neil
Great advice as always Matt. With so much information out there, it is indeed a challenge to find information that fits our idea of travel. As bloggers, we want folks to trust our content and have always been wary of sponsored content for the reasons you mention. Even Yelp and Amazon reviews these days are unfortunately suspect. We all have to learn to read in between the lines.
Janet
I agree with no sponsored content. I want my opinions untainted and the information I write about, selected from my chosen experiences (but, I’m not trying to make a living off my blog either). I also look for “local” bloggers when researching somewhere to go. Do they live there? How long did they visit? Do their interests match mine? etc. Great tips!
Meg
Hey Matt,
This was a great article. Sound advice for sure. I’m very well traveled and have done things on the fly in some street side cafe with cheap coffe and free internet (Vietnam is the first place that comes to mind actually haha) to well thought out planned itineraries. Over the years I’ve honed my system for what works for me.
However I disagree slightly in terms of writing about things that are not replicable. No travel is truly replicable and things happen when out and about. For example, I have very solid local knowledge about Indonesia. I can speak conversationally and have been to areas that no tourists go to. However, my experience is not replicable because I have a local contact and no one would ever be able to stay where I’ve stayed. But I don’t believe that makes my advice any less valid. I think it depends on how the information is presented and what’s actually being said.
I also think storytelling is worth noting. It’s definitely a little biased, as my blog focuses on giving advice through story telling. However, when I’m really delving into information about a place I’m interested in the honest experience of a blogger. I’d rather read about an experience gone wrong and what that showed him or her about that place, or a really great random small moment about a place than say a post titled “The Top Ten Ways to Have Fun in Thailand.”. I feel like there are just so many generic blogs out there that give generic, useless advice that it can get a bit frustrating. Someone that has a unique voice sticks out as more reliable than someone telling me that fried rice tastes good. Anyways, I’m done ranting 🙂
Overall I really enjoyed this article and adventure on!
Simon
Hi what’s the name of your blog? Sounds good to me, I like reading about unique experiences as well as more general stuff
NomadicMatt
By replicable I don’t mean that someone could do that exact experience 100% as all travel is unique. I simply mean that what was done could be done by someone else. For example, if the story is about this 7 star food experience where they got special access, or checked into a hotel and got free upgrades and champagne and loved the experience, then I am suspect because me, the normal traveler, couldn’t have that experience.
Kate and Kris
Great list. I look for bloggers who write about their personal experiences in a place, along with the how tos, rather than just a generic list of things to do in a town or city. Seeing how other people see a new place helps me to understand what it’s like a bit more. There are so many bloggers who don’t put any personality into their posts. Blogs from completely different countries in random orders makes me think that it’s all sponsored content and press trips and that, I trust less.
Do people have to declare if they are sponsored or afflicted or something in their blogs?
And in terms of reviews – totally! Sometimes reviewers expect strange things, I read a review of a resort in Crete where someone had said ‘there are too many fish in the sea’ and given it a low score.
NomadicMatt
Sadly, too many people do no declare something whether something is sponsored or not! 🙁
Scot McKay
+1 for using critical thinking skills when sorting out negative reviews. If the rant is against one employee or something broken in the room, our experience is that it isn’t usually a valid assessment of the general experience of the place. Basically, we look for repeating patterns. The “bedbugs bite” reviews in particular are suspect of being sabotage unless there’s a clear pattern.
Michelle
Thank you for the great advice. You feel bad and received criticism for your view of Vietnam. You are entitled to your opinion as others are. You experienced what you did so you felt the way you did. Some places touch your heart and soul. Others do not. If someone has bad experiences, I prefer to be warned v the standard this place is perfect type of articles where the writer is sponsored.
Alina
Hey Matt, Everytime I visit your blog to learn some new tips and techniques. I am really glad you have added everything a traveler should know. Thanks for your great work. Keep it up and all the best.
Rob
As always sensible points!
By the very nature of the way we travel we need cold hard facts, fluff and sponsored sunshine blowing just won’t cut it. I would like to think this reflects in our writing (always room for improvement) because as disabled travellers inaccurate information can be the difference between a successful trip or not. We have a tight group of blogs we can trust, our go to resources and the rest are simply for entertainment. The internet is brilliant for ideas but then the work begins to test the idea and how it’ll work for us. As for review sites, when you understand they’re a magnet for keyboard warriors you know where you are in terms of accuracy.
Great post!
Jen
This is great advice. Especially since there is so much fake news out there lately. I swear I’m going to scream if one more like/share scam contest or news story comes across my Facebook feed.
I really love the part you wrote about the bigger picture. I often miss the bigger picture for the details and that’s something I’m trying to work on in my travel (and life) journey.
Julia
I was researching the opinions of travel bloggers on sponsored content and your article came across. My opinion is that bloggers should define that a content is sponsored right after the headline, so when you are reading down the line you can have in mind that it is not always their own experience.
The reason I want to write such article in my own language is that I read an article about a place I wanted to visit (hotel) and most of the content was not even close to the truth when i visited it. Very disappointing experience.
Zascha Friis
I always read other people’s opinions or reviews about a place, but one thing I’ve learned during my solo travel is, that it’s much better to just go and find things out for yourself. People are so different (thank God!), so we are bound to have different opinions and experiences of places.
NomadicMatt
I couldn’t agree more. Research, learn, but experience for yourself!
rick be
I try to read reviews of everything,too many negative ones will cause me to be looking for another place. I dislike slamming any place but like my hotel in Dubai,it had nice people & some good points,the location was just terrible. The \”stories\”I read may alter my plans,but paid ads are of no interest to me.
Emily
This is really helpful not only for knowing what to look for when planning a trip but also what to write about/how to write about places on my own blog. I like to write about my own personal experiences in a country and give specific travel tips for things I actually know about instead of generic lists about a city I’ve only visited for a few days. I accepted my first sponsored post recently as well and I’m not sure if I’d do another one. Paid trips are different though, as I think they can be helpful because, although the person is being paid, they’re still experiencing the trip!
Sally
Completely agree. It’s all about doing your research. The very few times that I’ve thrown caution to the wind, I have lived to regret it as it hasn’t turned out to be as good as I could have had if I’d bothered to do more research. I too remember my first trip away with my backpack. It was a lonely planet for us and there were no such things as smart phones back then. It probably was more fun as it was more of an adventure then, but looking back we were probably a little naive.
Sally
LQ
This is great advice! Thanks for sharing you just never know these days. Relevant information is so important. Always do your research and then some.
Tim
I gained a lot from this article. Yes, I agree with you that one should be wary of “overly positive” reviews. I am wary of photos that too well-taken. The sceptical me always asks if the website owner is earning a commission from the hotel for every guest the website recommended. Thanks for the article!
Shaun bird
Hi.
As always a great article.
I am a sceptic when i read either reviews for equipment or places and there’s an affiliate link further down about the place or product.
Continuing to follow you.
thanks
shaun
Kapil
Super article Matt. These are some of the things I like to keep n mind when making new posts – it has to be about the wheres, the whats and most importantly, the hows!
It also reminds me that my blog still looks like its from the past decade. 🙁 Need to get to work soon.
Thanks again for doing this!
Kapil
Candace
It’s hard to trust which one company is legit. On your “researching a company or making a booking”, have your opinions matched the expert opinions to be true to book the activity/stay? What other factors made you trust the expert opinion?