Use TripAdvisor to do research and compare prices for conference travelling

The street beach in Brisbane, really worth a visit

I only joined TripAdvisor in 2013, but since then this website is an important part of my research ritual for conference travelling. This is not the only site I use for research. When attending a cruise conference or combining a conference with a cruise, I also check Cruisecritic and for flights also Travelstart and Airwander. Mostly, I use the Tripadvisor site to read reviews by other travellers before deciding where to book accommodation especially when we are not familiar with the city or neigbourhood. 

A recent trip to Trinidad to attend the Transatlantic Race and Religion Round table (TRRR) conference (which will be held in Washington in 2017), we decided to end the conference trip with a weekend in Tobago. The reviews on Tripadvisor helped me to search for something nice, not too expensive and with a good average rating. 

Another time, when we visited Brisbane in Australia, I booked the hotel that was recommended by the conference organisers and nearly fainted when I read the reviews afterwards on TripAdvisor. So I did damage control by requesting a room not facing the railway tracks, on a higher floor where the noise level would be less and the refurnishing already done.

When reading reviews, make sure that you read both positive and negative ones and also check the dates as some of the reviews dates back a few years. You will get a more accurate description of both the positive and negative points of the hotel here, rather than on the hotel web page. However, when you want to book, make sure that you also check the hotel web page for better structured packages and prices.   

Use TripAdvisor to plan, compare, review and even book accommodation, flights, restaurants, things to see and do (including tours) or to ask questions about your travelling which often comes in very handy indeed.