bvlenci

I wonder if some people don't post negative reviews just for "fun". For a large hotel, it seems strange that a competitor would think that his over-the-top negative review would outweigh the hundreds of other reviews.

I think that Fodors has more in-your-face ads than Tripadvisor does. Half of the "You might also like" things at the bottom of the page are third-party ads, and there are the big banner ads top and bottom. On the Tripadvisor forum pages, at least the ones I frequent, there is a smallish banner at the top and none at the bottom. Then there is the "You recently viewed", and an invitation to download the Tripadvisor App, which I suppose are semi-ads. Still, there are fewer ads than on this forum. And Tripadvisor doesn't email ads to me, as Fodors does.

Caliban

Yelp is only good for addresses and phone numbers. The reviews are usually biased and ignorant or are power trips by the writer.

Tripadvisor is more problematical. I ignore the numerical number 17 of 306 places in Podunk data. I ignore all content-free reviews (This place is great/awful) with no details. I doubt all reviews that concentrate on naming the wonderful staff members, and those that actually state they didn't use the place. Then I throw out the reviews from one-post reviewers. I also ignore the reviews that say this is the best/worst place I have ever eaten at or slept at.

If the review is detailed and well written showing tastes similar to mine, I check others by the same writer. And I check other sites for the same place. The hotel sites that only post from verified users are, of course the best. Restaurants deserve a cross check at Chowhound, although the bias there is toward expensive and cutting edge. (If every review is anout the raw fish, well, Mrs. P won't go).

The best thing I can do is write a long, detailed, honest review of any place I go to so there will be something on TA that others can rely on. Yelp, however, is a lost cause.

bvlenci

It's true that Italian reviewers tend to complain about restaurant prices and service, much more than the foreign reviewers. Perhaps it's because most of them come from smaller towns and are used to being among the few diners in a restaurant; and prices are definitely lower in the provinces away from the tourist trail.

I also see significant differences in the hotel reviews. One complaint I often see from Italians is about the presence of wall-to-wall carpeting, which Italians just don't like at all. I've never seen it in a private home. I suppose it's understandable in a country where people wash all their floors at least once a week.

rbciao47

Someone earlier mentioned the subjective nature of reviewers, especially in rating a hotel. For example, when we are in Milano, which we happen to really like, we always stay Hotel Berna on Via Napo Torriano, about 400 meters from the Stazione Centrale. It is a 4 star property, extremely clean, the staff is excellent, it serves the most generous breakfast in the city, and is very well located for our needs. One individual left a scathing review about the hotel becauuse she did not like the car service the hotel found for her at her request. The car service had nothing to do with the hotel's amenities, but she still rated everything as terrible-awful.

Opinions are like noses...everyone has one and everyone's version of nice is not the same. We still plan on staying at Hotel Berna in August, 2015...regardless of the car service the hotel has no control over...

Buon viaggio,

danon

I read reviews on Booking. com , but sometimes one is not sure if the people are writing about the same
hotel...
Had a few good recommendations here (re hotels,) some restaurants Fodorites raved about left
us cold.

HappyTrvlr

When we look at reviews for places where we live or visit frequently, we are usually apalled by the rankings and reviews as we find them way off base.

Appia

Having discussed this with hoteliers, it seems that in Italy at least many negative reviews on TA are written by young people on weekend breaks who don't even know about their own country's idiosyncratic star rating system.
I frequent Italian spa towns and many hotels are exasperated by negative reviews based - for example - on the fact that the hotel "was full of old people".

vincenzo32951

I apparently stand alone in finding TA's reviews helpful. The trick is to read the reviews while using a few brain cells.

If, for instance, 20 people say "X had a great breakfast," then I generally believe it. If a criticism seems totally stupid -- as in one I saw for a hotel in central Milan: "No parking available" (no kidding) -- I ignore it.

The best reviews tend to be mostly fact-based and not opinion-based (though it's hard to exclude opinions totally): "The hotel has a nice rooftop bar, but the drinks are expensive." "They charge for Wifi." "There a high noise level in the rear room of the restaurant."

I would say that in the maybe 5 times I've used TA as a guide to choosing an accommodation, the reviews have been helpful and on the mark.

BTW, How does the Italian government intend to enforce and collect the fine? I mean, what's the plan if TA says, "Get lost"?

IMDonehere

I apparently stand alone in finding TA's reviews helpful. The trick is to read the reviews while using a few brain cells.
____

If the people who wrote them had brain cells, it would be much easier and more trustworthy.

John

Agree with VINCENZO. Use your head people!!!

isabel

Well Vincenzo doesn't stand alone in finding TA's reviews helpful. Several of us above said essentially the same thing. The fact that the site is as popular as it is tells you something. Many people find the reviews helpful. It's the REVIEWS not the RATINGs that are useful. It's not that hard to figure out which reviews are fake or just stupid. Some of the information in the reviews is even more useful than the info on hotel's own websites or the booking sites.

bvlenci

The fine was for the Italian affiliate of TripAdvisor, so I would imagine they could easily collect the fine, if it holds up on appeal.

IMDonehere

I used to post on the NYC TA board and 95% of the people wanted basic advice. They rarely ventured from the major sights and they were not interested in trying ethnic foods they did not know, art galleries, smaller museums, etc. These were not sophisticated travelers. And when I looked at Spain TA, I would say 80% were interested in the resorts in the south. I was surprised how few even were interested in Madrid and Barcelona.

Appia

If I may......part of the point is perhaps being missed here. Most of the replies above are looking at it from a US-centric position. We are talking about Tripadvisor Italia, and if you care to click on the Italian language button on TA's website you'll find a whole world there of reviews and forums in Italian. There are thousands upon thousands of reviews of Italian hotels written by Italians. Whether prospective Italian customers are as expert as others in distinguishing between fake and genuine reviews I don't know.
The fine was dished out by the Italian Antitrust regulators so I imagine their investigation was thorough.

kawh

I love t.a. I have found some of my fvorite places with their help. Most of above is true.....and of course there are fakes...same with travel agents and a concierge...you must read between the lines.
I particularly apreciate seeing pictures of things like the breakfast or a view from rooms. I post these often as well. I am a fan...but it is just one of many tools...

bvlenci

The reviews on the Italian TA site have all the merits and faults of the American version. If you want to see those reviews, you don't need to click on the Italian language. There is an option to sort the reviews by language, so that you see the reviews by Italians first. The reviews will be automatically translated into the default language of your computer.

Italians have different points of view about hotels and restaurants. One example I gave above (for hotels) was the distaste for carpeting. And they go ballistic if they end up in a hotel that doesn't have bidets. In the restaurant reviews, they don't mention at all whether there were any foreigners present.

I've noticed that in many reviews on the English language sites, people say things like, "Apart from us, all the other diners were locals." By this I presume they mean that they were all Italians, because it's unlikely that they recognize regional Italian accents. I can assure you that most of the Italians dining in the centro storico are not locals, they're mostly Italian tourists in from the provinces, and don't know any more about restaurants in Rome than you do. In fact, they may know less, as Italian tourists are not very likely to research their restaurants in advance or to read reviews. They are much more likely to consider price as a primary consideration than foreign tourists are. They usually just want a decent meal at a reasonable price, with fairly quick service.

Apart from pizza, which Italians rarely eat at home, restaurant meals are considered by the average Italian to be at best an acceptable substitute for a good home-cooked meal.

vincenzo32951

IM: >>If the people who wrote them had brain cells, it would be much easier and more trustworthy.<<

I just haven't reached your level of sophistication on travel reviews. I shall endeavor to do so.

NoFlyZone

I like TA but tend to ignore all the 1 and 5 star reviews (well, actually, I read the 1 stars for entertainment purposes only) and put more faith into the central reviews, but filtering out the nutso ones.

The small rating distribution graph's shape is also important to me. But everything has to be taken in conjunction with other available information such as on booking sites (booking.com, expedia, etc.). End result is very few poor experiences for me.

Appia

A TA contributor has just had the courage to open a thread similar to this one on TA's Italy forum itself.
I wonder how long before it will be removed?!

Appia

Too late folks! By my watch it lasted 43 minutes.