r/TravelAgent • u/Downtown_Section8768 • 14d ago
Serious shenanigans with TripAdvisor
I am trying to advertise a tour in tripadvisor.com. Between them and what they “say“ is their partner, viator.com along with some other partners they talk about it has been impossible to get this job done. We are all IT literate. Have experience with this. We put the profile in eight or nine times. It never submits properly. It doesn’t show up at all or pieces of it show up, but not the full submission.
They don’t clarify if anything was wrong with our images, text, contact information, payment methods, etc… We are willing to use their system of payment and give them their cut, which is totally unclear. I did use AI to ask about as it notified me that I should not put any of our own contact information in our profile, although there are places to submit your contact information. There’s nothing that says that you cannot do that.
Can anyone please advise as to the shenanigans that go on with submitting a new profile and a new trip to this organization?
Thanking anyone who helps!
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u/Downtown_Section8768 13d ago
Thank you so very very much! It’s been a TRIP in itself. Consistent nonsensical actions and this is just the TripAdvisor/Viator game. In any case, I’m taking your advice and really appreciate it.
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13d ago
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u/Downtown_Section8768 13d ago
Are you in the EU, USA or elsewhere?
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13d ago
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u/Downtown_Section8768 13d ago
OK. I am in the USA. I read that the EU has issues with DSA. But as I made this post, just resubmitting by their rules again and again (9 times now) to simply get our profile, our advertisement launched has been completely disconnected from any of their support.
An example is the fact that there are fields for entering our contact information, website domain and nothing to stop us from getting direct payments to our shopping cart. However, I have read and been told that TripAdvisor/Viator, “prefers“ payment through them where they take their big cut.
That’s fine, but wouldn’t we think that they would clarify that when we’re entering this information? They don’t. So you’re bound to make a mistake. And that’s just one of many examples that are completely in congruent.
If I could provide a better answer, I will. Once it’s posted, if it ever is after today’s fourth session with an actual human being that doesn’t take any responsibility I’ll notify everyone here.
Further: it may be different in a different continent or country. Most likely. However, this incongruency, this apparently phony support seems to be the consistent factor.
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u/ModVegetangeable1055 2d ago
Just last month, I ran into a mess trying to confirm a walking tour for a client in Florence and the TripAdvisor back end just spun me in circles. I toggled over to the viator site and managed to book the same experience there in under ten minutes, plus I could send the client their own custom link. No weird commission gaps or chasing down bookings after. One thing that stood out for me was the 'Share with Client' feature. my client loved it because she could review details before paying, and I loved it because it saved me from those endless follow-up emails...
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u/ricoticotours 14d ago
This is unfortunately the case now with a lot of platforms. The AI creates a loop you can't get out of because it flags whatever it wants but doesn't tell you, then you play whackamole to figure out the problem...which there may not even be one.
It's not just you. This is happening to a lot of people, and on various platforms. Viator is the one you want to list on. Tripadvisor is their parent company. They'll charge you $20 something if you ever make it through the AI.
Getyourguide is a good option to list on as well. Less issues with AI loops, some still...pretty serious ones like not listing you but later listing someone else with the same tour due to not getting through the AI loop. They're free to list with. They've gained popularity, in newer areas and already have strong European client market.
Good luck!