For a hotel to receive absolution for past sins, it need not utter a few Hail Marys or Our Fathers. All that is needed in order to be reborn is a contractor, a banker and maybe a notary for good measure.
U.S. hotel owners, who are projected to be investing record numbers of dollars in capital improvements to their properties this year, might be getting a little extra bang for their bucks by way of the world's largest travel-review site making their older, less-than-savory reviews go "poof."
The Almighty TripAdvisor, whose 2.7 million listed hotels, restaurants and attractions have received more than 100 million reviews, is giving hoteliers the opportunity to push a reset button of sorts by offering to remove all reviews (good and bad) posted prior to a major renovation.
But a hotelier can't earn this clean slate simply by 'fessing up to past transgressions and failings. No, this absolution requires true inner change.
"TripAdvisor will consider removing a property's reviews and photos that were posted prior to completion of a major renovation," revealed TripAdvisor spokeswoman Alison Croyle. However, she noted that there must be actual structural improvements for previous reviews to get removed; mere cosmetic alterations won't qualify for redemption.
"This policy was introduced in response to owner requests and to help them have a 'clean slate' when they have undergone major overhaul projects," Croyle said.
TripAdvisor, which was founded in 2000 and has evolved into the Internet's judge, jury and final arbiter of all things travel-related, demands a fair amount of proof from the petitioner.
Repentant hoteliers are required to bring notarized copies of building permits, invoices for labor and materials and letters from the locale's city or tourist board. And of course, they must produce any press releases trumpeting the improvements.
Chris Anderson, associate professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, thinks there is some merit to wiping the slate clean, but he insists there are limits.
"The policy makes sense for reviews focused on the asset and not focused on location and service," Anderson said. "So, not a blanket reset, but a reset as far as the asset and amenities go seems to make sense."
Still, with no clear delineation of what qualifies as structural or cosmetic, and without specific dollar amounts in terms of total renovations or cost per room spelled out in the criteria, the policy begs the question: How much wiggle room will TripAdvisor give hotels whose owners are looking to make the flaming trail of one or more dissatisfied guests disappear into the ether?
Of course, some might view this method as the cart dragging the horse, since hotels are already spending massive amounts to capitalize on both the rebound in travel spending and historically low interest rates by upgrading dated hotels.
Indeed, New York University's (NYU) Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management reported earlier this month that U.S. hotel owners will boost capital expenditures by about 10% this year, to $5.6 billion.
If so, that would beat the previous record of 2008's $5.5 billion and would more than double capital expenditures in the hospitality industry three years ago.
Moreover, while some of this money will be spent on things like new bedding, flatscreen TVs and in-room tablet computers, a large chunk will be invested in structural improvements such as new facades, room redesigns and upgraded or added restaurants and meetings spaces, the NYU report predicted.
Granted, with analysts anticipating that average U.S. room rates are about to finally overtake record 2008 levels, these expenditures have a lot more to do with boosting profit-widening room rates than with eliminating scathing reviews on TripAdvisor.
That said, however, the impact of those reviews on bottom lines can't be overstated.
According to a report late last year from Cornell's School of Hotel Administration that factored in multiple review sites, a 1% increase in the hotel's so-called "online reputation score" boosts revenue per available room by more than 1%.
And with a growing percentage of travelers factoring user reviews when preparing to book a hotel room, hoteliers are responding in kind.
For example, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts last year started incorporating links to TripAdvisor reviews in its hotel websites, while Starwood Hotels & Resorts in 2011 started taking matters into its own hands by adding its own user-review section to its hotels' websites.
And perusing reviews of any prominent hotel will reveal management responses to write-ups that were less than charitable. All of which may disappear once TripAdvisor signs off on a hotel's renovation-fueled absolution.
Does this mean all hotels will take up TripAdvisor on its offer of redemption? Not necessarily.
Los Angeles' posh Hotel Bel-Air reopened in October 2011 after a two-year renovation, yet its TripAdvisor reviews date back to 2004.
And given that the hotel, which first opened in 1946, has a 90% "thumbs up" rating, the operators probably felt no need to wipe the slate clean.
On the other hand, hoteliers whose properties are less than universally praised are quick to take TripAdvisor up on its offer.
For example, although the Millennium Hotel Minneapolis was serving guests long before Mary Tyler Moore joyfully threw her hat into the Minnesota sky in the early '70s, its life on TripAdvisor began this past May following completion of a $22 million renovation. Since then, the 322-room hotel has gotten a 78% "thumbs up" rating.
For those looking to dig up some old dirt, though, there are options.
Take a look on Travelocity and you'll find Millennium Minneapolis reviews dating back two years, with mentions of outdated rooms, peeling wallpaper and squeaky beds.
So, while TripAdvisor may fill the role of a father confessor granting absolution, Travelocity is the proverbial Jewish mother, who might forgive your sins but will never, ever forget them.
Hotels Editor Danny King is the son of one Jewish mother, the husband of another and has never sought absolution for his many and sundry transgressions. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @dktravelweekly.