What would get you to write a review of your last Timeshare vacation?

[amycurl]

Here's the thing: people thrive on feedback. So, folks are more likely to post a trip report or review here on the forums, because people will see it and give feedback in more-or-less real time. You don't get that with a review--at all.

It would be nice (I have no idea if it is possible) for there to be a button at the bottom of a post that would say, "Click here to submit this post as a resort review," and it would automatically post it as a review.

I know that I have been guilty of posting fairly extensive reviews here, but not ever getting around to posting it as a real review, and I think it's the feedback factor.

 

[DavidnRobin]

Your profile says you are a member.

That is because I haven’t signed out and then signed back in...


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[TUGBrian]

if someone has paid to be a member in the past, the user title will show forever. it basically just indicates the individual was a paid TUG member at one time or another. although id imagine most folks that still regularly visit the forums and are/were TUG members are still TUG members.

 

[silentg]

I usually write reviews, when returning home and while the trip is fresh on my mind.
It’s good to do them on all the resorts, because some places have very old reviews.
I also check Trip adviser and RCI sends us surveys to fill out so I do that too.
Silentg

 

[Panina]

if someone has paid to be a member in the past, the user title will show forever. it basically just indicates the individual was a paid TUG member at one time or another. although id imagine most folks that still regularly visit the forums and are/were TUG members are still TUG members.

Is this because of the limitations of the system?

 

[TUGBrian]

its just that the forums are completely separate from the membership...and in order for someone to NOT be displayed as a TUG member someone would physically have to remove the member code from their forum profile (after realizing their membership had expired).

Im actually ok with someone keeping the tag on their forum profile if they have supported TUG in the past even if they dont maintain their paid membership. they are still a part of the community!

 

[DavidnRobin]

its just that the forums are completely separate from the membership...and in order for someone to NOT be displayed as a TUG member someone would physically have to remove the member code from their forum profile (after realizing their membership had expired).

Im actually ok with someone keeping the tag on their forum profile if they have supported TUG in the past even if they dont maintain their paid membership. they are still a part of the community!

For me personally - I only use the forums and don’t need the other benefits of the membership (don’t need reviews or use Rental section anymore).
I would be okay with writing reviews (although I mainly only go to TSs I own), but don’t want to repeat input already on forum in effectively another site (and pay $15 to do so...).
I think TUG is great - and tell all owners to check it out. Wealth of info.


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[alwysonvac]

I was about to write a review the other day then remembered losing reviews due to system timeout. So I abandoned it thinking I should compose offline first and then copy & paste.

Does it automatically save your review while you’re composing (or can you manually save it similar to the “saved draft” feature while posting in the forums)?

 

[b2bailey]

Say what?
This is confusing.

I am not a TUG member...


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[dioxide45]

I usually write reviews, more so to save on the TUG membership fee. I am cheap, and don't want to spend the $15. I can see however where a $15 annual fee is a hurdle that is not high for many and saving that isn't enough to entice someone to write reviews. Reviews take time, lots of time. Some of mine an hour or more, but even a basic review is an investment in time. I also think the clear separation of the forums and the paid side of TUG makes the reviews an afterthought for those that frequent the forums. I rarely read reviews now since we tend to go back to the same properties and we often do research on other sites for things to do and places to eat when we venture somewhere new.

its just that the forums are completely separate from the membership...and in order for someone to NOT be displayed as a TUG member someone would physically have to remove the member code from their forum profile (after realizing their membership had expired).

Im actually ok with someone keeping the tag on their forum profile if they have supported TUG in the past even if they dont maintain their paid membership. they are still a part of the community!

I think this is something where you could perhaps get some more reviews, perhaps from more of the cheap people like me . The "TUG Member" moniker is more of a badge (of honor?) that people see every day. I see it and think this person is doing something extra to support the cause. It also provides access to the members only Sightings/Distressed forum which is an incredible resource. However, given the information provided above, I don't really understand why I continue to take the time to write reviews. Until recently, I haven't really used any of the paid benefits of TUG. I only occasionally read reviews and only recently sold a few weeks on TUG that I was able to do so for free with the ad credits. However absent of selling on TUG, I don't see any major benefit of membership outside of the "TUG Member" badge and access to the Sightings/Distressed forum. However, since I can get access to both of those for free and without having to invest my time writing reviews to maintain that badge, I might forgo the effort and cost and ride it for free as long as I can. That isn't what anyone wants to think.

I continue to be a member and maintain my membership with reviews because it, I thought, allows me to continue to access the Sightings/Distressed forum and maintain my "badge". I suspect there are many others out there that do the same because they thought the same. It seems like a disservice to me that others can ride along and potentially use this valuable service without any extra investment of time or money.

Perhaps striping the "TUG Member" badge from non paying members will see more people willing to write reviews to get it back and/or maintain it in the future. We know very well that people see when that "TUG Member" badge goes missing. That TUG Member badge also shows loyalty to the community (just like people who boast about their reward status with hotel and airline brands). I am certainly not saying that people who aren't TUG members don't participate in the community because there are many that do, but why should they continue to get the added benefits while others over here are putting in extra time by writing reviews. I wish not think I have been going about it wrong all this time by investing my time with reviews when I could have used that time in other ways. There certainly is no shame in showing up as a "Guest" in the forums. If you aren't willing to continue to put in the extra effort (or money) like the rest of us, why should you be able to pin that "TUG Member" badge on proudly?

ETA: Enticing people with free membership, and extensions, when they already get the added benefits of membership in the forums doesn't really get people to write reviews.

 

[b2bailey]

Aha! This is why I stopped writing. Awhile back I was travelling with only my Kindle. Wrote and 'lost' entire review. This is why I was thinking I need to use my desktop computer to do one.

I was about to write a review the other day then remembered losing reviews due to system timeout. So I abandoned it thinking I should compose offline first and then copy & paste.

Does it automatically save your review while you’re composing (or can you manually save it similar to the “saved draft” feature while posting in the forums)?

 

[TUGBrian]

the new review system actually has a countdown "timeout" timer now displayed right on the review page so you know exactly how much time you have left before the page would time out etc (and of course can copy paste elsewhere if you need to or are running out of time).

I personally still suggest typing up a REALLY lengthy review to yourself in an email, that way you can spend however long you like on it (and edit it repeatedly) etc etc to simply just copy and paste it whenever you are done.

 

[TUGBrian]

I don't see any major benefit of membership outside of the "TUG Member" badge and access to the Sightings/Distressed forum.

well that is certainly disappointing to hear

 

[PrairieGirl]

Wow, I am really surprised by the comments about not seeing the value in a TUG membership or not wanting to pay a measly $15 per year (and I'm sorry, but it really is a pittance in the big scheme of timeshare ownership). Even if you don't use the sections that require membership to access, how about remembering that there would not BE a bulletin board community for you to exchange ideas with and get information from if lots of the rest of us also took that approach. And although there is now advertising to help offset some of the costs, there certainly ARE costs associated with running this platform, not to mention the time and effort put in by many volunteers. I would pay my $15 out of respect for all that they do even if I didn't need or use the members only section.

If you don't want to be a member, fine that is your decision but unless it causes a ton of extra work/cost, I totally agree that the moniker of "member" should be removed from a profile if someone has chosen to no longer be a member.

I've been a member since we were only about 2,000 strong and can remember us all being absolutely thrilled and amazed when we hit 20,000! I've gotten far more than MY money's worth out of TUG over the years.

 

[TUGBrian]

before this takes a far left turn down the threadjack offramp....the goal of this thread was to get feedback on what would entice existing TUG members who have never submitted a review (like ever) to write one.

more than half of EVERYONE who joins TUG never submits a single review, I was just curious as to some of the more common reasons (and im sure many of them are shared by owners who submit many reviews, so that feedback is certainly valid as well!).

 

[Panina]

More members versus guests and the more likely reviews will increase.

How about a membership drive emailing registered guests and having a posting to encourage guests and lookers to join, possibly with an incentive, pay for 1 year get 1 year free. Within the email/post write someting like

“For 25 years Tug has been a platform to give current and potential timeshare owners a place to learn and share. We have always allowed guests to view and post for free and we will always continue to.

Would you consider becoming an official member of Tug for only $15 during our membership drive?” ........ and whatever else you want to convey.

 

[TUGBrian]

we do send out email reminders to members who have never submitted a review.

we also send out those reminders to members who renew and have yet to submit a review, sort of a "thank you for continuing to support TUG, have you been on a timeshare vacation recently you want to tell us about?" type deal.

all great ideas!

I certainly dont want to bash people over the head with reminders to submit reviews (figuratively of course)...as I always find that the best reviews are ones that owners submit of their own free will when they sit down and have the time to write it...vs the ones that come from suggestions or reminder emails tend to be much less detailed etc as if they felt obligated to submit something.

I certainly dont want members to feel that way under any circumstances!

 

[dioxide45]

well that is certainly disappointing to hear

I went over to the TUG membership website to see what possible benefits there were that I may be missing. It looks like perhaps just the resort ratings and reviews are what is additionally included with paid membership? I see the free advice articles, but I suspect "free" means those are open to anyone. For me, the main benefit so far is the free ad credits, but those may not mean much to others that don't buy and sell. While I try to write reviews for others, I am not a big reader of them. I do read them now and then and try to read up on reviews when I am looking at a new resort we have never been to. I am not really a review writer for other products we buy, but try to contribute to the reviews here.

For me at least, the main benefit to TUG Membership is access to the Sightings/Distressed forum. I guess the "TUG Member" badge, really isn't a benefit per say, but it seems to show that I provide something additional toward the community in addition to the efforts I put in on the boards. It seems however that the "badge" can simply be had buy paying a $15 membership one time. Or one could have taken advantage of the review promo you offered a while back where if they wrote a review you gave them a short membership for free. From that they could simply enter the BBS Member Code and then show as "TUG Member" for life.

 

[northwoodsgal]

we do send out email reminders to members who have never submitted a review.

we also send out those reminders to members who renew and have yet to submit a review, sort of a "thank you for continuing to support TUG, have you been on a timeshare vacation recently you want to tell us about?" type deal. I probably should have received one of these reminders, but haven't...

I find the reviews on TUG invaluable because they are written by timeshare travelers, not renters. We don't travel a lot, but twice now, I've gone to the Resort Review section and the timeshare I was planning on writing a review for isn't listed. Even if no information has been submitted yet, I would think the review area would have the resort listed. I know you can add it in, but the block of time (and writing mood) will have passed by.

 

[WinniWoman]

I have multiple reviews/reports on my resort stays - but I post them in the VSE forum as they are more conducive to my writing style and photo uploads.


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What is VSE?

 

[WinniWoman]

absolutely nothing wrong with writing reviews on the forums.

would you copy paste the review content on the resort review pages as well? you are also welcome to include a link to the original forum post if you so desire within the body of the review!

I know when I write reviews- which I always do- I write them in WORD and then I copy and paste on TUG and Trip Advisor.

Even though we rarely exchange, I will still write reviews on my home resorts each year, though I am sure a lot of people who never trade rarely do write reviews on every stay at the same places.

 

[qwerty]

This has always been a question I ask myself when I see that more than 50% of TUG members have never actually submitted a review of their stay.

Now I realize that many of the popular resorts have tons of reviews and a good % of folks simply dont feel their review would add anything of value that hasnt already been mentioned by another TUG member.

But surely there are folks out there who have traveled to resorts that have review awards available or havent been reviewed in many months, what prevents you from submitting that review?

Is it just a lack of time to write up a decent review?
is the review submission process too cumbersome?


what say you the community? both those that write tons of reviews and those that have never written any. What do you feel would encourage or otherwise convince TUG members to submit their first review?

I have submitted a few reviews but don't remember the exact reward.
I learned very quickly to write the review, checking for clarity and spelling, then cut and paste.
Although being timed out at first, I find leaving a review is not very complicated.
Also, I think an owner can submit a review.
P.S. Can you look at reviews on Facebook?

 

[Panina]

I know when I write reviews- which I always do- I write them in WORD and then I copy and paste on TUG and Trip Advisor.

Even though we rarely exchange, I will still write reviews on my home resorts each year, though I am sure a lot of people who never trade rarely do write reviews on every stay at the same places.

I write a review too every time I stay somewhere I previously stood whether things change or not so others know.

 

[Amadeus51]

I would like to say "members only" for posting reviews. What I love (and think is great) about TUG is the impartiality of the reviews. I have a lot of evidence that TripAdvisor is "gamed" as are many (if not most, maybe virtually all, other "sources of information"). TUG is the only place I can be sure of getting "the real deal". Opening up reviews to non-members is opening up the ability of places to "game" the information (and they will! .. TripAdvisor, at its start long ago, WAS a good source, and has now been thoroughly gamed for a long time).

I am a long time TUG member, and (embarrased to say) a non-reviewer till recently. I was prompted by an automated message from TUG on log in one day which mentioned reviews. I have since posted two reviews and now will always review at the end of a stay wherever I am.

I think most people would review, but human nature makes us think "should review, next time I am on" and make up some internal excuse to not do it now.

Given human nature being what it is, the site could be programmed to send a gentle non-obtrusive nudge on each login, along the lines "been anywhere lately you would like to comment on? with maybe carrots ("credits") attached to the message. Keep it very simple. The constant reminder will do a bit to counteract human nature.

 

[controller1]

What is VSE?

VSE = Vistana Signature Experiences (Westin, Sheraton)