Recipe for a good trip report...

[Meghuney]

Just curious guys, what does a really good trip (in your opinion) report have in it? Do you like the focus to be hotel, entertainment or food? What do you want to know MOST about in someone's trip report?

 

[Courtney]

I like:

Sentences
Paragraphs
Correct spelling and grammar
Proper tense, syntax and articles- "Then we goed up to da club" Makes me want to

I don't care if a report is a bathroom tour, as long as it's about Las Vegas,and written in somewhat proper English (or Spanish) I am happy!

That said, I am a gambler, so I prefer reports of wins- pictures of wins are a plus..kind of like porn. Nothing gets me quite as excited as a picture of a royal flush.

 

[zerofan]

A good TR is comprised of a few things:

1. Food- where? How good/bad was it? Did you have to wait long? Prices?

2. Gambling - where? What games did you play if any?

3. Hotel - where? How much?

Those are my 3 and only my opinion...I don't care about flights or how people got there or when they started packing...lol

 

[gmoney590]

Everything. Just make it interesting and try to keep the typos to a minimum.

 

[Vegasman]

I would suggest that you write it for yourself and not others.

What do you want to put into it? Consider it to be a record of your travel events for a given trip. Hotel, gambling, sightseeing, food, etc. Some like to break it down by topic. Other TR writers break it down by what they do, eat, and see on a daily basis.

One last point to consider. The nature of the board that you're posting on. Every board has its own personality. For example I would make a few changes to a TR that I post here versus what I would post on the paid side of the Las Vegas Advisor - only because its an older crowd.

Just some thoughts.

 

[DaveP]

Sentences
Paragraphs
Correct spelling and grammar
Proper tense, syntax and articles

Excellent suggestions. And I'd like to add "proper use of upper/lower case". If I see a trip report that is one huge paragraph, I tend to pass over it.

I like to hear about hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions, gambling highlights, shows. My personal preference is to have have things categorized, so I can read what I'm really interested. I like to read interesting stories thrown in.

Love pictures.

Love links to appropriate sites for more info on things like restaurants.

And I love when people finish reports with some kind of bulleted list like "random observations", "the good and the bad", "highlights", or something along those lines.

 

[keno]

One last point to consider. The nature of the board that you're posting on. Every board has its own personality. For example I would make a few changes to a TR that I post here versus what I would post on the paid side of the Las Vegas Advisor - only because its an older crowd.

since I don't go to LVA, can you explain this more? You have to change TR's that you'd post here compared to LVA, or the other way around?

I love that there is great variety in the type of TRs posted here. You get party updates, gamble updates, food updates and everything in between. I feel that any TR is well received here on VMB.com which is one of the reasons I enjoy this site so much, people are pretty welcoming of anyone's idea of a good time.

 

[nitc]

In order of importance to me:
1. Food
2. Entertainment/Sights
3. Hotel
4. Gaming
5. Maybe some random thoughts

All this being said, I like the use of paragraphs. Even the longest report is an easy read when there are plenty of paragraphs. A short report in one big paragraph is a diffucult read for me. And rather than day-by-day, I think I prefer covering one topic (ie. food) and then going on to another.

But that's just me.

 

[Snickers]

I always enjoy descriptions of anything new/changed/different or suggestions of must do's that you have experienced. Skip a lengthy description of your flight unless something interesting happenned on the way!

 

[Vegasman]

since I don't go to LVA, can you explain this more? You have to change TR's that you'd post here compared to LVA, or the other way around?

Let me put it in more general terms. This is in reference to a boards personality. They are not all the same. Some boards may permit or find it more acceptable for the poster to submit reports with more vulgarity or lewd pictures. Some frown on the aforementioned.

Not to say anythings is wrong with one or the other but a person may post where the feel most comfortable.

To be more specific, if you read enough boards, one can ascertain the general age group of a forum and one would post accordingly. Some boards have a very gentle readership (Steve's Everything Las Vegas). Vegas Rex has a very raucous crowd and even at the LVA between the paid and free sides one can see the difference.

To make a long story short, post in a manner whose the board finds acceptable. Don't agree just tell me to blow it out of my butt

 

[Nevyn]

Just curious guys, what does a really good trip (in your opinion) report have in it? Do you like the focus to be hotel, entertainment or food? What do you want to know MOST about in someone's trip report?

I'd say the main one is legibility. Point form is fine if you're just summing up and rating places you went.

If you want to tell the story that's even better, but structure becomes very important. Paragraph breaks make a huge difference in legibility, and for a long winding tale some form of logical organization (headings for new days, bold to identify going to new places).

There is no particular detail I look for (in terms of hotel, entertainment, food). I tend to skip over gambling details of games I don't play (Slots and VP).

 

[SlowRoller]

Format is big deal to me. I've been guilty of crappy format. Where it just runs on and on and on with no structure. I enjoy reading ones in timeline format. Unless there's something really important, I could care less about the pre-Vegas activities (packing, drive to airport, airport security, flight...).

Oh, pictures. I love pictures. Pics of the city, your room, view, gambling wins, people around town, day trips (Hoover Dam, Red Rock...), whatever. Putting them at the end is usually best but a few thrown inline is good too.

 

[Passion4mb]

I agree with everyone's posts (especialy the spelling & grammer -- I always type mine in Word so I can spell check and then copy/paste it), but I also love all the "only in Vegas" stories.

 

[breanna61]

I like:

Sentences
Paragraphs
Correct spelling and grammar
Proper tense, syntax and articles- "Then we goed up to da club" Makes me want to

I don't care if a report is a bathroom tour, as long as it's about Las Vegas,and written in somewhat proper English (or Spanish) I am happy!

That said, I am a gambler, so I prefer reports of wins- pictures of wins are a plus..kind of like porn. Nothing gets me quite as excited as a picture of a royal flush.

Here's a little light porn for you Courtney.....sadly not from last week's trip, but who among us doesn't think of "an old lover" from time to time

 

[Coaster Kikky]

Here's my porn from April... sadly it was still a losing trip. But since I hit this on the last night there, at least we didn't come home empty handed!

 

[RandomTask]

pictures of people involved in the trip.

we've all seen lots of pictures of rooms, views, fountains

 

[Betty Boop]

food details.

 

[DallasManUFan]

Please, please, please have the correct usage of LOSE vs LOOSE.

That's all I ever ask for in a trip report. Ever.

Everything else works out just fine.

 

[gotavegasjones]

Like another poster indicated - write the TR for yourself. Other Vegas addicts will enjoy the read.
I like detailed a report. Info about ground transportation, hotels, dining, attractions visited, shows, casinos visited and gambling action help other Vegas travelers plan. Prices for these activities is also helpful.

latrer, GVJ

 

[hammie]

even a bad recipe is better than no recipe, so use your own words and I'll choose to reed it or not. As my mom said often, if you don't like it, its not your last meal on earth.

All of the above suggestions are great but you should not be intimidated to write about what you did, where you stayed, what you ate, where you gambled, how much you won or lost, what kind of deals you got and how many hookers you saw.