Tripr: film your hotel & make money
Written on January 11, 2008 – 12:03 am
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief
If you came here from Digg it would be great if you could actually Digg us too! Do you have a start-up that we should write about? Contact us! Thanks for visiting and hope you come back again!
Tripr is a recently launched travel site where people can post video reviews of the hotels they’ve visited. The goal of the Dutch founders is to create an archive of reviews, so that visitors on the basis of the videos can determine whether they want to stay in a hotel or not.
When a visitor decides to book a hotel based on a review, the makers of the video earn 33 percent of the commission.
Jan Kooman, founder of Tripr.TV: “We’re some sort of YouTube for the travel industry. Because the videos are shot by hotel guests, visitors can get a good impression before booking. Moving images are more realistic than those often outdated pictures”.
In the press release (Dutch), the founders claim that the visitor gets an independent impression of the hotel. I dare to differ.
If I were to shoot a video for money, I would show the most beautiful parts of the hotel and, for instance, not zoom in on the dirty parts of the bath room. And really, I’m a nice guy. It’s just that I would feel like I was shooting a commercial, instead of a review. Why would I tell about my negative experiences if I could earn more money by drawing a nice picture?
When asking Kooman for a reaction on this remark, he said: “The good thing about video is that it is particularly hard to disguise the truth. On traditional websites with the well-known pictures, faking beauty is way easier. You just take a good picture from the right perspective and you’re done. When you’re filming, you’re actually walking through the hotel. Moreover, we’ll also publish video reviews made by an independent Tripr adviser”.
The customers and ‘independent’ adviser have the same goal though, and that’s making money. I agree with Koopman that it’s harder to disguise the truth when using video, instead of stamp-sized outdated pictures. Those photographers can turn crappy rooms into royal suites. Yet I don’t think that the label ‘review’ is the right one, since it’s more like a user generated commercial.
This doesn’t mean I don’t like the idea. I’m pretty sure that next time I want to book a night in a hotel, I can’t resist the temptation of checking what the room is like through the eyes of others.
Update: Tripr is now also available in English
Email
Twitter
Facebook
Netlog
Linkedin
The Next Web Blog is closely associated with The Next Web Conference which is held annually in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. At this event speakers from all over the world come together to talk about, and show of, the future of the Web. (
14 Responses to “Tripr: film your hotel & make money”
By Luis Figueiredo on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
The idea behind it is quite nice and i’d be very happy to join and take part on this site.
The only problem is that the interface is in dutch. How soon for an english version?
By Sjors on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
I think i kinda have to agree, it looks a bit like http://www.trivop.com/ with a shared model for UGC content, what isn’t a bad idea of course. Than again when i’m good with camera’s (and hotels) I can also become a freelancer at Trivop http://www.trivop.com/filmmakers/freelancer.php This together with the existence of also http://www.tvtrip.fr/ and http://www.travelistic.com/ might make it quite hard to become a mayor player. Than again perhaps when focussing on the Netherlands there might be some possibilities.
By chrisco on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
I agree. There is a perverse incentive structure built in here. The model is a great idea, but needs work to eliminate or at least greatly minimize the problem. For example (and maybe they have this already), but let other travelers leave UGC on the videos, rating if they http://thenextweb.org/?audioselect=53767
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam wordthink they are accurate, too harsh or to fluffy, etc. Individual videos and the members who shot them should get rated and build up reputations. Also can expect hotels and people in the travel industry to game the system, for example by submitting their own “fake” reviews, votes, etc. Cheers, chrisco http://www.buzzpal.com
By Jeroen on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
Interesting concept. Now the big question: what if I own a hotel, and make some beautiful videos myself of the best rooms, and submit them: i’d make a good impression on potential visitors, and even get paid too. Seems like a win-win situation. For the hotel, that is.
As always with review sites, the success of the concept requires objectivity of reviews. If they can find a way for this, I’d see a good future for the website.
By Robert Gaal on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
Seriously, will people cut it out with this startupr crap? I’m usually not the one to bitch about names but this is getting ridiculous.
By Jan Kooman on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
@Luis: Next week the english version will be there as well.
By Luis Figueiredo on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
@Jan Thanks a lot. I’ll probably be using the service when that’s available.
By Jan Kooman on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
@sjors: Tripr.TV is different then Trivop and Travelistic.
Trivop pays an amount of 75 euro per video. You need to qualify to become part of their freelance network too. No ‘amateurs’ allowed. HD pro’s only.
Furthermore the benefit of Tripr.TV is that when your video generates lot’s of bookings you can earn more with Tripr.TV. It’s not a one time fee.
Travelistic is different then Tripr.TV. Take a look of Travelistics videos from Amsterdam. 26 videos but not a single hotel review (lots of Red Light District videos though…)
Tripr.TV is only showing reviews of hotels accommodations.
By Timothy on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
Damn, this could work!
Perhaps I can have my free holiday after all ^_^
By Sjors on Jan 11, 2008 | Reply
@Jan, I believe it could work, but will a video function be enough to build a ‘large’ hotel review site? Or are you more focussing on the niche hotel review market?
And I don’t know, I think a shaky amateur movie could be just as less saying as promotion photos from the hotel it self.
Nevertheless, lets just try it, next time i’m in a hotel my first video review is for Tripr :)
By Peter on Jan 12, 2008 | Reply
Does Trivop.com only pay 75 euro/video (including expenses)? I don’t see how a professional filmmaker can work in HD at a rate like that… or maybe they can also stay at the hotel they’re filming for free?
What does Tripr.tv give their professional filmmakers? No standard fee but only a commission on the sales through their movie, just like the amateurs, or am I missing something here?
Anyway, I like the concept, and I’d like to see the quality of user-generated amateur content on the website. Will all video content be tolerated (low-quality movies filmed with a mobile etc…)?
By Jan Kooman on Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
@Luis: The site is now in English too.
By Paul on Jan 30, 2008 | Reply
I wrote already on their blog, that there is a big problem: people who make a video want to get money. They get money if the hotel is booked. The hotel will be booked if the video looks nice. So they will never show the negative points of a hotel. That means that the videos are not neutral and can not be trusted by travellers who search for a hotel. Logical, isn’t it? And my comment has been deleted after a short while.
By slsatchel on Mar 20, 2008 | Reply
Hey man.. i’m also just starting out.. just saw your page in the IMS forum… you definitely have more experience than me.. but you have an interesting site here… i’m certainly feeling lost in the world of making money online….. you have sort of motivated me again?! good luck with the business