Poll : 25 January - 07 February 2017

Analysis

First things first.

We had to laugh a little at ourselves as the emails started coming in, many of them with a variation on the following theme: “I have no clue what a trip report is.” And, “I guess I am too old to even know what you are talking about.”

This is one we got a kick out of: “A simple question: What the heck is a trip report and why is it worth my time to find out? If it's not interesting, then it probably needs to remain hidden away, and if it’s great, fun, and interesting, why have you waited so long to bring it up? OOOH, that ticks me off! Thanks for the fun variety of features to pick through.”

Silly of us to assume that everyone knows what it is. Trip reports got their start in business: reports from the field from business travelers who submit memoranda that include the reason for the trip, findings from the trip, and conclusions about the trip.

Trip reports appearing on LVA.com would be more about vacations than business trips: recent Vegas visitors reporting on the most memorable experiences from their travels, with readers joining the discussion and learning from the reporters by asking about their trips.

Here’s the basic idea from a respondent: “I think trip reports would be useful as long as they are factual. They should be about the actual conditions of a hotel or shows, not a place for people to complain about paid parking, ticket prices, furniture that doesn't suit them, etc. If the report is honest and concise, they would help first-time visitors. Also, visitors could make a better choice concerning locations of hotels, whether on the Strip or downtown. It would also let you know if a hotel is maintaining the upkeep on their properties.”

For those who knew about trip reports (or, like the respondent above who didn’t, but figured they’d be good), the poll statistics came in at about what we expected: Most people like reading trip reports (as we do!). Trip reports should have comments enabled; they should be moderated, but not edited; trip reporters don’t seem to mind waiting a reasonable amount of time to have their reports approved; and a few hundred voters would post trip reports given a venue to do so.

Sample comments:

“The Las Vegas Advisor needs to encourage more trip reports; it is one of your better services.”

“I think it would be great to move them to a dedicated section and highlight them—yes.”

“I think it's a great idea. Whoever thought of it should get a raise. It will be one of the first things I look at each day on LVA. Keep up all of the good work.”

“Bring on "Vegas with an Edge"! With a column dedicated to these reports on the Home Page, one could easily access other people's trials and tribulations in the Silver State.”

And, “I never read trip reports, because I didn't know they existed, but now that I know to look for them, I will certainly read them.”

We especially liked this one, from a reader who’s obviously followed the trip reports on the existing LVA Forums: “There are certain of these I follow because they are well-written and informative. One of those is Westie. Sometimes CoachV. There is one very entertaining guy that turned his trip reports into what looks like a revenue generating website (RoyalFlusher). My suggestion if you want to pull this out of the current location (where it is pretty easy to find anyway) is to pick a regular or rotating contributor like you do with Dancer, Scott, Grosjean. Some of it just isn't front-page material.”

Of course, some people don’t put much faith in trip reports, such as the following respondent:

“I find most of the trip reports to be overlong and filled with irrelevant material. I don't think most people care if the writer stopped at Target or Lee's Liquor to pick up whatever for the trip. Keep it to direct discussion of gambling and eating. I have picked up several leads on places to eat through the reports. Also, LVA needs to remove trip reports and everything else in the Forums section that's over eighteen months to two years old. Things change so much and so quickly in Las Vegas that anything beyond that period is probably worthless.”

But overall, the poll shows that a dedicated trip reports section on the new LVA.com would be a positive addition—and we’re working on it as you’re reading this.

Thanks to those who submitted interesting suggestions, which we’re taking into consideration, such as:

“If you do provide trip reports, they should be categorized under the following: Gaming/Gambling, Adult, Showcase, Family events, Non Gambling opportunities (trips to Valley of Fire, Mt. Charleston, Hoover Dam, and other non-gambling fun); season events such as Halloween on Fremont, March Madness, Golfing, Mother’s and Father’s Day, etc.; Conventions like CES, Concrete World, AVN, SEMA, PBR, etc.”

“Trip reports would be great. Dividing them up by major subsections would be helpful: Strip, off-Strip, downtown, Reno, etc.”

“I think you should have a trip-report template option that allows for quantifying some experiences. Maybe have a 1-10 ratings system for hotel, entertainment, service person, etc. This could be used as possibly good data the casinos would want to have. Maybe they'd be more inclined to yield more and better coupons for the LVA MRB? Win-win? It would also make it easier for the non-writer/lazy person to leave a trip report.”

“Just a couple of thoughts from my point of view. I think that the wide disparity in replies is directly related to age. If you ‘grew up’ with computers, that's your natural preference for a lot of information. But I also know a number of what can only be called senior citizens who are for all intents and purposes addicted to Facebook. I think it's a huge waste of time and recently discovered the trick of ‘unfollowing’ but not ‘unfriending’ some of my friends. They all figure I'm just lazy in not communicating as much as they do!

And finally, thanks to respondents who submitted the following questions, allowing us to answer them:

“I didn't know they existed. Do you have to be a member to read?”

Nope. Everyone will be able to read the trip reports on VegasWithAnEdge.com.

“Are there any current or typical guidelines regarding length and content?”

There will be, when the new dedicated trip-report section is live.

“I sometimes post trip reports on my own blog. Can I also include a link in your section?”

You’d have to post your trip report in our section, though it could be the same TR as on your own blog. And you could include a link to your blog as part of your signature line.”

“A true AP report would be ideal. Who cares about gambling without an edge?”

Right. But for AP (advantage play) reports, you can go to GamblingWithAnEdge.com (which already exists and is where we got the idea for VegasWithAnEdge.com).