Reviews today are the lifeblood of any holiday accommodation. The key review site is of course Trip Advisor. Lots of hospitality businesses have a Trip Advisor page, and this property has a listing there, and I have encouraged guests to leave an honest review

Many have done so since 2018, when I became owner and operator of the property. What people think, is important. I know if I'm getting it right, or getting it wrong. Reviews help prospective guests to understand what the property is like, and how they can expect their stay to go. Plus of course many guests share their experiences of places visited, things to do, wildlife spotted....

Trip Advisor isn't just a review site. It does, or did, act as a booking agent if needed. I rent my property primarily from my own website, but also advertise on a couple of platforms. They monetise their sites by charging a commission on the booking

By September 2024 I had accumulated 85 positive 5* reviews. Every guest that had reviewed, had rated 5 stars. I work hard at ensuring that everything will be in good order, as described and try to meet or exceed each guests expectations. It is my holiday home, I stay there, and hope others will find it a comfortable, peaceful home from home. I received a communication out of the blue in September 2024, advising that they would, from the end of September 2024 "no longer contract directly with homeowners or enable bookings on the Trip Advisor or Holiday Lettings platform. Instead we we'll lean into our existing hotels model by displaying rental properties brought to us by partners... as a result we will remove functionality that allows direct booking of your property"

What they failed to tell me was that from the end of September 2024, my property listing (and the reviews contained therein) would no longer be updated, and a new listing provided. I was surprised upon reviewing the new listing, which now refers potential guests to Vrbo (for I assume a referral fee) that the reviews were not carried across. The 85 reviews were nowhere to be found. I contacted Trip Advisor support and was told "unfortunately these reviews cannot be transferred from our site to VRBO" and "we're looking at ways to preserve and expose these reviews in the future.

For now, though, the reviews of your listing will appear on their listing page while their listing page remains online. However, we cannot guarantee for how long their listing page, and therefore the listing's reviews, will remain online. Please note that, as per the Section 6 of the Owner Terms of Use, advertisers do not own the reviews of their listings. Both owners and travellers grant the Tripadvisor Vacation Rental Companies a broad, irrevocable, and perpetual licence to their content. With regard to traveller reviews specifically, we have the right to, among other things, use, publish, delete, edit, and modify them without notice."

So, essentially: tough! Here we are then. I can for now link to the old page with the 85 reviews on. The new Trip Advisor page has started at zero! Thanks Trip Advisor

I have archived all of the old reviews and will publish them here shortly. In the interim, please be assured that my house is well reviewed and that unfortunately all Trip Advisor reviews are solely owned by Trip Advisor. It's not a nice way to treat a business partner! 

Below are a selection of comments as left in the Guest Book