Welcome, Hotel Owners and Managers!
We're looking forward to introducing you to TaclobanHotels.com. We hope the information below will answer your top questions. If you have other concerns, you'll find contact information for our Hotel Relations Team at the end of this document.
Please note that we're addressing hotel owners and managers because the vast majority of our traveler reviews and customer support issues concern hotels. However, everything said here applies to attractions and restaurants as well, so please keep reading!
Below you'll find answers to our most frequently asked questions, Traveler Review inquiries, as well as other questions we get from our community of Property Owners and Managers. So be sure to keep scrolling if you have questions in any of these areas.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q: How did I get listed on TaclobanHotels.com?
A: If you have just stumbled upon TaclobanHotels.com, you might be surprised to see your property listed with us, perhaps even with reviews. Properties get listed on TaclobanHotels.com in a few different ways:
• A traveler may have submitted a review about your property.
• Our editors may have come across another reference to your hotel in an article or guidebook.
• A traveler familiar with your property may have alerted us to its existence.
Q: Can I request a listing myself?
A: Absolutely! Please click on the "Contact Us" link on the bottom of any page. We address requests for new listings in the order they are received, so it may take a few days for your property to appear on TaclobanHotels.com.
Or you can use our HOTEL-SUBMISSION-FORM, just complete the form and send it to us. Of course you can also add additional information not mentioned in our form.
goto: HOTEL-SUBMISSION-FORM
Q: Does it cost anything to be listed on your site?
A: No, it's absolutely FREE.
Q: Do I need to be listed already for someone to review my property?
A: No, as long as we get enough information from the traveler to place you in the correct location, we'll create a listing when their review comes in.
Q: How can I add a photo or description to my listing?
A: If you don't know how to scan photos and send them by email just ask for help in an internet-cafe or just send them thru postal-mail and we will be the one to scan it for you.
Q: How can I make changes to my property details?
A: To update your name, address, number of rooms or description please click on the "Contact Us" link on the bottom of any page.
Q: How can I get my listing removed from your site or not receive reviews about it?
A: Because we want to be a complete source of travel information for our members, we will not remove a listing at the management's request. If your property is permanently closed and you'd like to remove your listing, contact us.
We accept reviews for all properties that are listed on our site.
Q: I'm not permanently closed, but I'm temporarily not taking reservations because I'm repairing extensive damage from a storm, or making other repairs. Can you take my listing down?
A: No - we actually think it's important to leave your listing up, so we can help you communicate your status to travelers. E-mail us with a description of what's going on (e.g., "We are currently closed for major renovations. We plan to reopen in late August."), and we'll add it to your listing. Once the renovation has been completed, contact us again and we'll remove the note. Or, if you receive a negative review complaining about a renovation or property feature that has been fixed, you may wish to consider leaving a management response. This allows travelers to read reviews of your property, as well as your response to them. We have found it is helpful for our Traveler Community to hear the story from both perspectives.
Q: I just bought this property, and the previous owners did a lousy job running it. I'm going to change things. Can I start with a clean slate?
A: Absolutely. If the ownership of your property has changed, please send us an e-mail stating the exact date and nature of the ownership change, along with documentation of this (such as a press release). We will then remove any reviews that are irrelevant to your current status.
Q: My hotel has some bad reviews because people hated our pool. We have a brand-new pool now. Can you remove the old reviews?
A: No. Reviews for a property may only be removed due to a major brand change or ownership change (as described in the question above), and documentation of the change must be provided. We don't remove reviews just because of a change in amenities. However, we encourage you to post a management response to those reviews and give our travelers the details of your improvements. Our travelers actually think very highly of properties that respond to negative comments by making changes.
TRAVELLER REVIEWS
Q: What are traveler reviews?
A: Traveler reviews are opinions from TaclobanHotels users, real people who want to share their unbiased experiences on our open forum. We do not employ professional writers to write reviews and our staff does not visit properties to evaluate them personally.
Q: Someone e-mailed me to ask for a free hotel stay because he's writing an article for TaclobanHotels.com. Is this legit?
A: Absolutely not. Should you ever encounter someone claiming to be a professional writer or a TripAdvisor employee sent to evaluate your property for our site, please let us know. And please don't give them any special rates or favors - they are not affiliated with us and they are trying to take advantage of you!
Q: How do you choose which reviews get posted?
A: All reviews submitted (positive and negative) that meet our review criteria are posted. Any review that does not meet our posting criteria is rejected. When we reject a review, we e-mail the reviewer to explain why.
Q: How can I get more reviews?
A: Only real travelers can submit reviews. It is expressly forbidden for property ownership/management to submit reviews themselves, solicit reviews from friends and family or otherwise attempt to acquire reviews that are not the unbiased opinions of real travelers.
You may certainly encourage actual guests to write a review for your property upon their return home, but you may not offer any incentives, discounts, upgrades or any kind of special treatment on current or future stays in exchange for reviews. Any property found to be offering incentives may be subject to penalty.
Q: I collect a lot of comments on comment cards. Can I post them as reviews myself?
A: No, this is not permitted. Guests must post their own reviews.
Q: I'm sure someone is writing reviews to smear my business, and I'm sure it's a competitor or former employee. What can I do?
A: Our editors will investigate your reviews to be sure that each review meets our criteria and passes all fraud filters in place. We will remove any reviews that do not meet our requirements. In all cases, we will let you know the outcome of our investigation. Simply contact us with the dates, titles of the reviews, and any other information that may help us with the particulars of your situation.
We take accusations of review fraud very seriously and remain vigilant in preventing fraudulent reviews from appearing on Taclobanhotels.com. We're constantly refining our automatic fraud filters and editorial training. We value your help and appreciate it when you alert us to a potentially fraudulent situation.
Q: I have a very negative review. Will you remove it? I'm losing business.
A: We do not remove reviews at the request of owners or managers. We will be happy to look into the review to check that it does, in fact, meet all of our review guidelines, but we will not take it down just upon request. We recommend that you write a Management Response.
Q: Are reviewers allowed to name employees?
A: Yes, reviewers are allowed to mention names of employees. However, personal insults are never tolerated.
Q: Can I respond to a review?
A: Of course - we actually encourage it! We know there are two sides to every story, and we want to give our travelers the complete picture. Therefore, TaclobanHotels.com allows representatives of hotel, restaurant, or attraction management to respond to reviews written about their property. Management Responses will be posted on our site below the review in question.
To write a Management Response, please click on the "Contact Us" link on the bottom of any page.
Please note that TripAdvisor may contact the property to verify that you are a legitimate representative.
Q: Can you get in touch with this guest for me so I can resolve their problem?
A: We appreciate what you're trying to do, but we have a strict Privacy Policy that we must adhere to. We cannot forward messages to a reviewer, alert them that you have posted a response, etc. We recommend that you include contact information with your response so the reviewer can reach you and work things out directly.
DID WE ANSWER YOUR QUESTION?
IF NOT, OR IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, PLEASE SEND US YOUR FEEDBACK!
