Negative and Positive Reviews of Our Kite Safaris — Why I Finally Started Responding to Them

For many years, I felt that reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor and Google Reviews were simply a tool for me to understand what went wrong (or what guests felt went wrong). I never replied, even when a review didn’t exactly reflect what actually happened on board during our kite safari.

The reason is simple: I always felt that replying to a review doesn’t promote a real conversation. I receive the review, I reply — and that’s it. The kiter can’t answer me back. So why should I reply? I prefer one-on-one conversations when I get feedback, whether it’s through a call or a WhatsApp message. I appreciate the time spent in these chats, and I always come away with good energy and new ideas to improve. And usually, the kiter also appreciates knowing that their feedback hasn’t been ignored.

It’s exactly this last point that pushed me, today, to start replying to reviews. Maybe some people feel that I’ve been ignoring their feedback. And maybe it’s also useful for future kiters to see how I handle the very few issues we’ve had. Luckily, I don’t have many negative reviews to answer (probably around 5, compared to more than 200 positive ones). It might feel a bit strange to reply to a review years later, but better late than never.

ISSUES THAT CAME UP

Food: One guest once complained that the food wasn’t good. Of course, taste is very personal, but honestly, the feedback from the overwhelming majority of our kiters has been really positive.

Kite Gear: This has improved a lot, now we have modern kites on board. I’m always working on getting new gear in, even if it’s not the easiest thing to do in Egypt.

Yacht not clean: This one is easy, if something isn’t clean, just let us know on board and the crew will take care of it right away. Simple as that.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

A lot of kitesurfing: It’s an intensive kite week, and we make sure you spend as much time as possible in the water. After all, that’s what you’re here for.

Good energy: For this, I need to thank you—you always bring great energy on board. I just make sure I don’t spoil it 😉

A good yacht: Our yachts are on point, comfortable, practical, and modern.

TALK TO ME

It’s simple, talk to me on board if something is not right. I always tell everyone at the beginning of the trip: we can solve a lot of problems right away if you just let me know. If something’s not ok, we’ll do our best to fix it.

I’ll take this chance to remind everyone — I’m always available on WhatsApp or email (you can find my contacts here). If you ever feel like sharing your opinion and have a quick chat on how to improve things, I really need it and appreciate it.