Some hotels checking out online reviewers

Hotels want to know who you are, especially if you're reviewing them anonymously.
An increasing number of image-conscious properties have begun connecting the dots between unbylined write-ups that appear on such popular travel sites as TripAdvisor or Yelp, and your personal information, such as your loyalty program preferences.
If you write a positive review, you might expect a reward from the hotel — a gift basket or a discount on your next stay. Pan a property, and you could get a concerned e-mail from the general manager asking you to reconsider your review. Or even a black mark against you in the chain's guest database.
John Baird, a lodging consultant in Jacksonville, Fla., says that hotels now use locations, dates and usernames that appear online to triangulate a guest's identity. Once they find a likely match, the review is added to a hotel's guest preference records, next to information such as frequent-guest number, newspaper choice and preferred room type.
“If the post is positive, I can give them a gift basket when they return,” he said. Negative? That can generate an e-mail inviting the guest back for a free stay or offering frequent-stayer points as an apology.
“I think matching reviews with guest names is a great idea,” he added.
But travelers aren't sure. After hearing about one international hotel that retaliated against travelers who slammed the property, Helen O'Boyle, a Seattle-based computing consultant, is troubled by hotels that name-match. Once identified, she said, the travelers were tagged as “problem guests” in the hotel chain's reward program.
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Source - Seattle Times