More than a quarter of all business travellers use sites such as Tripadvisor when making their choice of hotel, according to new research.

The research also showed that 21% of those surveyed felt that the advice given by their business travel agency was unreliable.

Market research agency BDRC found that 28% of a thousand business travellers surveyed actively seek advice on websites featuring consumer reviews. Of those that do, 41% decided to change their original hotel choice after reading about other travellers’ experiences. However, around 13% believe that the opinions on such review sites are “unreliable”.

Personal recommendations are still the most trusted form of advice, with 40% of respondents citing them as “very reliable”.

Matt Costin, director of hospitality research at BDRC said “These figures show that the influence that sites featuring consumer reviews and opinions have is absolutely huge… Word of mouth is now the number one marketing channel. Hotel brands need to work hard to ensure that they deliver excellent service as their guests have the potential to be their most influential marketing tool by sharing their experiences with others.

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