Trip Advisor getting more deserved flak
 

From todays Sydney Morning Herald newspaper
TripAdvisor, the travel review website, may have to change the way it operates if proposed changes to UK defamation laws go ahead and a new complaint being considered by the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is upheld.

The website has come under increasing pressure from hoteliers and restaurateurs who claim that many of its anonymous reviews are either fake or defamatory. The issue was at the heart of Channel 4's documentary Attack of the Tri-pAdvisors recently screened in the UK.

Advertisement: Story continues below The website is already being investigated by the ASA over the way it advertises its content. A report is likely to be published in the coming weeks. Should the complaints be upheld, many of the claims made by TripAdvisor about the reliability of its reviews may have to be scrapped.

TripAdvisor recently replaced its long-established slogan “reviews you can trust” with “reviews from our community” on all of its hotel reports. It claims this was not in response to the ASA investigation.

Several hoteliers are also taking legal action individually against the website for alleged defamation and subsequent loss of earnings. They are presenting their case through KwikChex, a “reputation- management” company.

Proposed changes to defamation laws being considered by the Justice Department could prevent sites such as TripAdvisor from publishing reports by anonymous reviewers.

The Joint Committee on the Defamation Bill, which drafted the proposals, said: “We wish to promote a cultural shift towards a general recognition that unidentified postings are not to be treated as true, reliable or trustworthy.”

It has also been revealed that a second complaint is being investigated by the ASA over the way hotels and restaurants market their businesses using positive reviews from TripAdvisor.

“The whole issue is coming to a head,” said Chris Emmins, co-founder of KwikChex. “Should these new regulations be accepted, TripAdvisor will have to alter its methods fundamentally.

“Laws and regulations are starting to catch up with the way the digital world has evolved. It's not a witch-hunt; we just want to see the right thing happen.”

This week, TripAdvisor started a support line for disgruntled business owners – a development likely to be viewed as an attempt to appease them.

The company said it wanted to send a “strong message about our commitment to delivering quality customer care for accommodation owners”.

The support line has been criticised by early users. Katie Mackay, who owns Tiroran House on the Isle of Mull, called the number to complain about a four-year-old review that relates to a section of the hotel that has since been rebuilt. She says she was told that the review could not be removed unless the entire hotel had closed.

“It was the same response I've always received from TripAdvisor,” she said. “They were polite, but they didn't change anything and just read aloud the terms and conditions you can find on their website.

“The effect of negative reviews is huge. There are 68 reviews of our hotel on TripAdvisor, and 62 are positive, but if a bad review is sitting at the top, there is a massive impact on bookings.”

She said the rejection of anonymous reviews would create greater accountability.

Meanwhile, one rival website has used the criticism of TripAdvisor to promote its own product. This week Feefo – which specialises in retail reviews and requires proof of purchase before accepting reports – promised to deliver “the kind of authenticity that TripAdvisor is widely criticised for not guaranteeing”.



Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-...#ixzz1eV81FP4w

I look at Trip Advisor before planning my trips. I especially look at the photos posted by the reviewers, as these are pretty descriptive of the properties.

Many of the comments have been extremely helpful or could have been helpful. Earlier this year, when visiting Franz Josef Glacier in NZ, I stayed in a place that was half a hostel, with many partying young people, which is not really my scene (I am nearly 60). If I had read the Trip Advisor review beforehand I would have known what to expect. I may have stayed there anyhow because of the lower price, still, I ended up checking in right after a bus of about 50 college age people had arrived. I waited nearly 30 minutes to check in!

I have also posted to Trip Advisor, both when I have had bad and good experiences at hotels and restaurants. Not surprisingly, my comments have echoed others that have been made. For instance, I won't have been the only person to post a comment like, "the food was great, but pricey and gone in three bites." I think genuine reviews tend to be nuanced, specific, personal, and list both good and bad points about the place being reviewed. For their part, I have noticed that many hotel and restaurant owners or managers will contest the comments that have been made, as they, too, are free to post.

I think it is a good thing that the reviews are anonymous, because if they weren't I could imagine the reviewed establishments trying to pursue legal action against the reviewers. As as result, reviewers would be less inclined to contribute comments, or worse, they would self-censor, by only saying good things and steer away from making negative comments.

I am a former journalist and the major daily newspaper I worked for would not allow any writers or reviewers to accept free meals, tickets or trips in exchange for a review because it was considered unethical. But many newspapers and magazines regularly accept such perks and do not disclose this in their reviews.

No one is forced to read Trip Advisor, nor are they forced to believe the comments they read on it. We have free will, we choose to believe or disbelieve what we read. We can also compare the reviews on Trip Advisor to reviews on other sites, and read reviews in guidebooks, or ask the members of this forum. I think the more information, the better.

No doubt there are false comments posted. For instance, occasionally I have sensed that a hotel might have gotten people to post fake glowing reviews. But because anyone is free to post on Trip Advisor, these planted reviews (if false) will be balanced by honest reviews by actual travelers. We also have to consider that not every traveler wants or expects the same experience from a hotel, tour or restaurant.

On a trip to South Africa, I stayed in a pricey hotel in Hazyview, which is not far from Kruger National Park. It was absolutely filthy, bugs in the bathtub, dirty toilet, stained carpet, and so on. I didn't even sleep under the covers, but slept on my own towel on top. My husband and I had planned on staying two nights but checked out after one. When I got back from my trip, I looked at the reviews for the hotel on Trip Advisor. There weren't many but they were glowing. I was astonished (and suspected these were planted reviews), so I posted my own review with photos to match. It was the first time I had ever posted on Trip Advisor. I hope my comments spurred the hotel to make some improvements or at least spared other travelers future disappointment with this hotel.

Great response Diamantina. I totally agree with you, I think Trip Advisor is a terrific resource. And I too have regrets about the times I haven't consulted it only to discover afterwards all my disappointments about a place were already on record.

Of course, like all Web 2 amateur reviewing, readers need to exercise judgement about the reviews; but like Amazon reviews, now you can check out the reviewer to get a sense of who they are by looking at their other reviews. It's not entirely anonymous if the person is a consistent contributor.

Many complaints in the US on this too

also a www.doj.gov investigation currently

Years ago they were good but have gone commercial since being
bought by Expidia "TripAdvertizer" has been noted for dysethical profit based motives for years.Reviews rankings all controlled for profit sanctioned by mods many fake all positive/negative rankings reviews culled by owners "experts" who have a "secret" forum dedicated to fleecing the clueless.
Galapagos Peru and Costa Rica are the worst I have seen for this in over a decade.

On many of the forums agents or spouses of agents are allowed
to tout/scam as "destination experts" sanctioned by mods for
money.

Very sad travelers should be VERY careful Caveat Emptor!

I trust only MIXED honest reviews from posters that have established profiles/track records and NEVER book with
touts scamming has "experts" on Tripadvertizer have seen
folks lose thousands galapagos cruises are the worst.

I have used, and continue to use, TA for an idea on chosen accommodation BUT I also know that it should be taken with a grain of salt.
There have been instances on this forum where people have made very nasty comments about places when the problem would have been so easy to fix and very minor in the first place - these are the people who think that they can " get back" at the owner/accommodation operator by writing a bad review.
So it is the very bad and the very good reviews that I discount and just look for a continuing good or bad thread.
However I too have written very, bad reviews on places that I found to be well below standard i.e. I booked a room in a hotel in New Delhi once on a well known International Accommodation Site only to find that it had no linen except for a blanket, no window in the room, mould all over the bathroom and a bucket and ladel for a shower and worse it was in a slum . I took photos and sent them to the Accommodation Site and got a full refund from them. Needless to say all the wonderful reviews it had were worth nothing at all, however it disappeared from the Accommodation Site so at least no one else would be scammed.

I am a senior contributor to trip advisor and whilst some reviewers might be representing the company many are not. You have to weigh up what you read anywhere and this equally applies to sites like this one.

<Reviews rankings all controlled for profit sanctioned by mods many fake all positive/negative rankings reviews culled by owners "experts" who have a "secret" forum dedicated to fleecing the clueless.>

If you're referring to the Destination Expert forum, you're sadly mistaken. Nothing much goes on there other than DE's asking for help on all manner of subjects relating to their specific forums. That, and a bunch of chit chat.

What's a "senior contributor", northie? I'm a Destination "Expert" on TA, not that I contribute much these days, is that something different?

Nov 17, 2011 · TripAdvisor Partners with Toprural, Interhome, Stayz and AKENA. TripAdvisor has announced partnership deals with vacation rental websites Interhome, Stayz ...

tripadvisorwatch.wordpress.com

Great site that details all the dishonesty

Used to be a DE X 4 over there the seamy underbelly

of selling out to commercial interests is everywhere.

Caveat Emptor!

Reading a review on Tripadvisor is no different than reading a review on Fodors. It always involves opinions, which you take with a grain of salt. However, it is a useful source of information, especially when the majority of reviews are consistent. You can easily eliminate the extremes. I would hate to see it restricted.

I'm with Diamantina. The more information, the better.

Hotel owners are allowed to reply to posts on Tripadvisor, so if a hotel section has been rebuilt since a bad review, they can reply to that effect.

Tripadvisor isn't just about reviews, it's also about photos, and you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words, especially if it is an amateur photo. Professional photographers know how to use fish-eye lenses to make tiny rooms look bigger, or nice lighting and props to make an otherwise drab and dark room look better than actual. Some people post photos of specific features they liked or disliked. In the case of a 'dislike' I can decide for myself if the dirt or whatever in the photo would be a deal breaker or if it is just wear and tear that I can overlook for the right price.

A negative review doesn't necessarily put me off a place, and a positive one - especially one that is a little too positive - isn't going to convince me to book. I read several reviews and judge the whole package of them.

It's not a perfect system, but it is way better than relying on traditional travel guides which could rarely list more than a handful of hotels for a given place, and which were invariably biased in the opposite, as in positive, direction. (Rick Steves was the first travel author I ran across to write very candidly, as in "friendly owners, quiet street, lumpy beds, tiny showers". I appreciate that level of candor as I can then decide for myself if the first two things outweigh the second.

I also use Trip Advisor while planning trips, but I use common sense when I read their reviews. One very useful feature is that Trip Advisor lists the number of reviews that person has posted. If this is that person's one and only review, I assume that it could be fake and ignore it. And I'm skeptical of reviews by people who've only posted a few reviews. OTOH, if someone's posted lots of reviews, I give more weight to their comments.

And I pay attention to the comments. If it's generic, I wonder if it's fake. And if it's about something petty - eg they couldn't get the pub special while seated in the dining room - I ignore it.

TA is useful in combination with other sources. Usually, TA reviews more or less align with reviews on much less popular sites or booking engines.

I've found their forums helpful too.

TA is the most widely-used site so there are going to be some complaints against the top dog. Interesting to hear how much clout it has in bookings for some establishments.

Usually I take pictures of hotel rooms when I check in. Haven't posted them or done any reviews though. Maybe some day.

I use TA reviews as a travel tool. Any review that is too glowing or has verbage that would be used only by someone in the hotel industry are tossed out. I will toss out any unfair bad reviews also.
This is no different than some consumer magazines that always favor certain autos and the like, if you look at who owns the magazines and the usual winners, they are in the same 'family'

One very essential difference on a TA review to one on Fodors is that Fodors does not give a rating system. In TA's case, a very flawed and often manipulated rating system.

I find the reponses on Fodor's much more trustworthy than TA. I now use Bookings.com for hotel for the last six or seven countries and excpet for one hotel, it was very accurate.

I live in NYC and the restuarant recommendations on TA for Manhattan are nothing short of bizarre. It is astonishing what creeps in the top rier. Many, many people know not of what they speak.

When I use TA, it like Olympic diving competitions scoring during the Cold War.. You throw out the best and worst scores and hope for the best.

I use and have contributed to trip advisor. I tend to take 100% glowing reviews with a grain of salt and also tend to treat exceptionally negative reviews the same way. I look for reviews that point out the positive and negative sides of a hotel. It's a useful tool - that is all.

I am just useless as picking up when an internet reviewer is being dishonest. I take everything at face value (our mother taught us to ... she wanted us to be literal and not illiterate) which has resulted in us staying in some real fleabags.

If anyone has any tips on how to identify a BS post, I am all ears.

I think the Destination FORUMS at Trip Advisor are great. At least for the places I go most often, and a few new ones I've tried, people are very helpful there. There is a mix of frequent visitors and people living in the destination. I have gotten much more specific information there more frequently than what I can find here at Fodor's.

Now the REVIEWS section that's an entirely different beast. Those you have to read, as you would anywhere, with your thinking cap on. You can also easily see if the contributor is a one-hit-wonder (more suspicious) or a frequent/regular poster on the forums and reviews. Please with their PM feature, you can write anyone and ask about what they posted in follow-up (both in the reviews section and on the destination forums).

If a hotel/restaurant is new to me and the stakes are high (like, I am staying several days, or it is expensive) I will cross check with Venere, Fodors, etc. I too look for realistic vs. over-the-top reviews.

Trip Advisor has led me to some great properties (i.e., Locanda Orseolo in Venice), and I do contribute reviews myself.