OK if you only write for the love of it (trivago.co.uk)

Member Name: eiley123

Product:	trivago.co.uk
Date:	04/02/08 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting articles and photographs on the site, some nice members

Disadvantages: Rip Off

A personal, if somewhat negative review, which I know many of you may disagree with.

I foolishly joined Trivago late last year by way of Elspeth, a lovely lady who writes on Ciao. Initially I thought it sounded like a very good site and yet another place to earn a little pocket money. Well it shows you how wrong you can be doesn't it. There are many reviewers on here and Ciao who seem to thrive on Trivago but I know of at least a couple of others who have been disappointed. Let me give a few details and you can decide.

Joning Trivag is pretty much the same as joining any of these review sites. However I did find the site a little tricky at first. Each member has a mentor and hopefuly this person should be able to iron out any difficulties you may have.

My mentor was useless. I asked him advice on a couple of issues and got absolutely nowhere. Trivago pay for accepted photographs which you upload that are your own. I found it very difficult getting the format right at first. I received no help when I asked my mentor. I was offered advice from MickSheff and Elspeth but to no avail. Eventually I sussed it but not until after much frustation.

The site basically is all about reviewing holiday destinations, hotels and attractions. When you first start on the site you are at a certain level which only gives you limited areas of activity. As your points grow you are are given higher status and more powers. However what you find is that the ones with the higher status will constantly amend your information and may reduce the points you are allowed and your earnings. It is possible to work your socks of and actually end the month on less income than you started the month with. This is all to do with the amount of activity there is one the site and various other factors.

However as I have nothing but a negative opinion of this site, I shall not go into the details, because much of it remained a mystery to me. At the start I was posting somethings incorectly through lack of knowledge. I kept receiving snotty comments from various people until eventually one soul realised that I did not know what they were talking about or where he was referring to. Still despite things becoming clear the whole site had become nothing but one big chore. I spoke to a fellow Dooyoer about the site and she agreed with the problems saying she had found it just the same. The difference was this lady had sensibly decided to quit before me and before she had invested too much time and energy. She had insisted her work was removed and suceeded. I was not so lucky.

Still I did copy everything of mine before I finally left. Emailing one of the leaders of the site I explained that it p---ed me off so much to have someone alter a hotel review when I had actually stayed at the hotel and knew my review was accurate. It would appear that some reviews are not from personal experience. Members would amend because of what they had gleaned on the Internet.

So if you want to join go ahead, but be warned it is not a very straightforward site for assesing your earnings. Members do receive payment for referring new members and I suppose there is money to be made here. Some members actually seem to make quite a lot of money but I wonder what they have to give for this.

I have been told by a Dooyoer that Trivago has improved of late but I am afriad for me it would need a miracle to feel it was worth wasting my precious time on.

As a site to read it is interesting but as a site to write for no-way.

Summary: How to see your earnings go down.