Reviews by Travelers - Stop Your Complaining!!

When writing a review for a guesthouse or hostel, I recommend that you follow some very basic rules and ideas.

You travel to developing countries and expect to find things like home.  You are too sensitive about insects, dirt and a whole list of other minor issues which you should understand are part and parcel with traveling.

The cooking area is dirty because some just forgot to take their mum with them or they have no respect for others but don’t write about this as a negative review, what can these places do, install kitchen police?

There will always be some sort of bugs, but unless they are actually bed bugs, just suck it up and deal with it, don’t complain like a little school child.

Yes, there are small bathrooms, smelly ones too, but what do you expect, this is a hostel/guesthouse, not the Ritz Carlton Hotel, deal with it.

Some staff members could care less or can be rude at the time, but do you ever consider that they are humans as well, deserving of some respect and they have probably faced the type of travelers who are never satisfied and complain about every minor issue.  Give them a break in life, how would like to deal with hot heads, rude and unimaginative travelers on a daily basis?

If you are going to write a review, most people do not want to read the fact that the hostel/guesthouse staff helped with booking tours because that is what they do to make money or give service, however, travelers want to know about the noise, room size, how good the bed(s) are, location issues, what the included breakfast was like, was there really hot water, was it a party place or not, and other things that help to make a decision to stay at any given place. Write something helpful, not just a mindless list of complaints that have nothing to do with the operations of the hostel/guesthouse.

The readers do not want to see your writing about things that are not within control of the hostel/guesthouse such as bad behavior, stealing from the fridge, etc.  They don’t want to read your comments that have no information on the hostel/guesthouse.

If you must write a review, which I always encourage, give good information for other travelers so they can either avoid a place or make the decision to stay.  Theft is one thing that smart and aware travelers fully understand is a potential and know how to protect their personal items, however, if the lockers don’t lock, or do not exist or are too small, then write about that.

Do not bother readers with facts like “the carpet had a stain” or other mindless and useless information.  Carpets have stains and if it was a blood stain from a mass murder, then I would suggest that you do not stay there.

Above all, write about those things that you would want know about, not about your personal issues with a little bit of slime, mold, insects or dust.

Be adult, be smart, if you can not give good input, then don’t make a review.

I am a travel writer and stay in hostels/guesthouses and other accommodations around the world.  I write reviews and I also read them but the most distressing part is that when I read the type of review that says “the staff helped with tours” it makes me ill that the writer can not think of anything better to say.

So for all you out there who are going to take the time to write a review, write something useful for the readers who will follow after you.

Travel Safe, Travel Happy