Hotels try to catch bad reviews before they make it to TripAdvisor

[Hotels] no longer feel that it is enough to leave a questionnaire in your guest room and hope for a response, not when TripAdvisor and other public rating sites display customer satisfaction — or dissatisfaction — for all to see.

They may send guests who have just checked out an e-mail survey asking about their stay, and sometimes an additional e-mail if they do not respond to the first one. And hotels monitor what is being said about them on social media and travel Web sites.

Still, hotels are trying to find the right balance between surveying customers and bothering them. As a result, some questionnaires are now shorter, allowing guests to complete them in a few clicks, and send to mobile devices to be filled out by customers riding in taxis or waiting at the airport.