San Antonio & Experiencing The Power Of YELP

"Remember the Alamo," are words etched on minds as most North American's are taught about it in school, but today students are learning lessons not only from history, but from others through the power of YELP.

Enjoying The Alamo With Family

Recently, I was on vacation in San Antonio, Texas with family as my son’s brother, Connor, was graduating from Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base. We all decided to go out to dinner at the San Antonio Riverwalk, which is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the city. But I must add when visiting San Antonio make sure to see the Alamo as it is also in close proximity and certainly a memorable experience with regards to history as we all know the slogan “Remember The Alamo.”

The Riverwalk is best to visit early in the morning or evening in the summer, as it can get really hot especially with the humidity factor. Many of the restaurants have outdoor seating with misters to help alleviate the heat. If you enjoy watching people you will love the Riverwalk, as there are many eateries and shops with people galore.

Enjoy the Riverwalk in San Antonio

We chose the comfort of the air conditioning and selected seating with a view of the river. The food was just adequate and quickly the conversation went to the subject of YELP. This was a new app for me and I was “all ears.” I wanted to know why several of my family members were now on their phones writing reviews for the restaurant.

They explained the power of YELP. They lived in the Washington D.C. area and had been using YELP for some time to find the best restaurants to go to. They also shared the application could be used to review other tourist attractions as well.

Get the Yelp App

My friend Trish, Connor’s mom, shared how she had signed up for a mystery night, one of those events where you are locked in a room and have to follow clues to be released. They had given her the wrong information and were not going to refund her for missing her appointment as she went to a different location.

Once she let them know she would be reviewing them on YELP they called right back to reschedule. It was exciting to have a new resource for finding great attractions with delicious food and service. And once again it showed the power of social media.

Be sure to check out YELP, which was founded in 2004 by Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons who formally worked for PayPal. Use their five-star rating to share your point of view on services or products you have received. If you like having a voice this is a great avenue for both your positive and negative experiences, which will help other. It is a great resource even if you don’t want to review an attraction it is a helpful tool when traveling to a new area. Don’t get caught with a huge bill for a mediocre meal or experience. First, I recommend checking out YELP to see what other people are saying.