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Oyster: A Better TripAdvisor?

How many travel sites do we need? Maybe one more.

Oyster has just launched with an ambition to get in on TripAdvisor’s hotel action. TripAdvisor is a useful site but can sometimes be maddening to use because of the wildly variable opinions of consumer-reviewers: “I loved it” can be right below “I’ll never go there again.”

Oyster has a staff of people who stay in hotels, take pictures and write reviews. So, assuming good SEO, Oyster could become a visible and more trustworthy source of hotel reviews. Right now the coverage is limited but will expand over time:

Picture 24

The travel segment is an illustration of the paradox of choice on the Internet: more information at consumers’ disposal creates options and opportunities but also big headaches because of the need to use multiple sites to verify the accuracy of reviews and prices.

This entry was posted on June 22, 2009 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Local Search, User-generated content, Verticals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Oyster: A Better TripAdvisor?”

  1. MiriamEllis Says:
    June 22, 2009 at 7:56 pm

    I’d not heard of Oyster, Greg. Thanks for pointing it out. I’ll definitely be looking at how they handle things. It will be a nice change to read negative reviews that are, at least, civil and free of spelling errors!

  2. Early Buzz About Oyster Hotel Reviews Says:
    June 22, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    […] A Better TripAdvisor? — Greg Sterling […]

  3. Shucking Pearls of Wisdom Out of Oyster.com – Professional Hotel Reviews Site Says:
    June 23, 2009 at 2:30 am

    […] for this small player to become a trusted resource in the space. As Greg Sterling says in his brief post, “assuming good SEO, Oyster could become a visible and more trustworthy source of hotel […]

  4. Oyster: A Better TripAdvisor? « Massive Business Says:
    June 23, 2009 at 4:34 am

    […] Source: Screenwerk RSS Feed […]

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