We took a recent trip to Vegas and used reviews to plan a large part of it. We used reviews for activities, restaurants and for the shows that we saw, yet we hear other travelers frequently say that it's hard to find reviews that they can trust. No one wants to make a choice based on a bad review and have a bad experience.

It's our promise to you that by listening to Fly with Chris and Di, you will learn how to make the most out of your vacation and truly feel relaxed, organized, and proud of the time that you took away from work. In this episode, we give you all of the tips on how to find reviews that you can trust. We love reading reviews and this should be a fun episode.

 

Show Notes

[02:10] Tip Number 1 - Look at the overall rating and pay attention to how many reviewers there actually are.

[02:50] Aim for four to five stars and make sure there are plenty of reviewers.

[02:59] People usually take the time to review if either they love something or hate something. Once a restaurant review gets below four and a half stars, it means more people disliked the restaurant than liked it.

[03:24] A Vacation Rental By Owner VRBO review that Di loves. It's for a beach rental.  Every person that reviewed this property gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

[03:50] Review sites let you know when reviews are verified or sponsored. This particular property only has 79 reviews which is a decent number for a VRBO rental review. This is about 79 weeks worth of reviews.

[04:48] A good review mentions extra perks like beach gear. The owner being quick to respond is also a huge key for a great rental. Owners that go above and beyond and check in are big bonuses.

[06:35] It's important to look at the top and bottom reviews to understand the concerns that people have.

[07:16] Chris shares a bad review. The reviewer has eaten there multiple times and got sick every time. Why are they going back?

[08:00] It's important to understand if the reviewer may have some type of personal issue with a particular place. Check how many reviews they have done and review ratings on Yelp.

[09:24] Reviewers who consistently review places that they love can be great review resources. Reviewers who only have negative reviews could only review when they have a really bad experience, or they could review anytime anything irritates them.

[09:59] We look for people who review often and go into some type of detail.

[10:15] We look at and read reviews thoroughly. We try to understand the pain points that cause bad reviews. Sometimes people will give bad reviews when one little thing goes wrong.

[11:22] Read a review in detail to understand the viewers perspective and see whether it's similar to yours and other people's.

[13:24] Think about some of the best places you have been and their reviews and see what other people have said.

[13:57] Also pay attention to the dates of the reviews. If you are going in July or the busy season, read reviews from the same time of year. Also, look out for old reviews, because things could have changed.

[15:26] It's important to trust the reviews, but always verify them. Spend time reading reviews that is equivalent to the amount of money you plan on spending.

[16:41] Look at the photographs.

[18:27] Look at the apps we mentioned in episode 2 and go through those pictures. You can also use Google Maps to look at what the area looks like.

[19:20] For vacation rentals, the area is really important to think about.

 

Key things you need to evaluate:

 

1. Look at the overall rating. Compare that rating to the number of reviews.
2. Take a look at the top and the bottom reviews.
3. Read the review thoroughly.
4. Pay attention to the date.
5. Put the amount of time in your reviews compared to the amount of money you will be spending.
6. Look at the pictures and Google Maps.
7. Always trust but verify.

 

Links and Resources:

Our Favorite Free Travel Apps

VRBO

 

For pictures, tips and more, be sure to check out our Fly with Chris and Di Facebook page and signup to download a copy of The Best City for You. Please take a moment and subscribe to our podcast and leave a review. It will only get better from here. Don’t miss out on future episodes where we continue to share tips and tricks to get the most out of your vacation.