My reviews on booking show without any problem.
I deleted my 500 reviews of n TA which helped getting myself banned.
TA is just too commercial. So take it with a prince of salt - as Justine says it is a tool. Among others.

TA isn't "commercial" in the way I use it. I post on the forums there in the same way I do here. I never purchase anything from them.

I gave TA a break for a while as I was over some of the DE.
Came back to check a few forums & its the same old thing.
Yes TA can be useful tool, but some of the so called DE's think they are gods & there word is law.
Woe betide anyone who may have a different opinion to them or if you are relatively new to any of the forums. Some of their responses would stop you in your tracks.
They are critical of others but never themselves or other DE.
They tend to be cliquey & will vote off others posts but never from their own DE. DE feel they have fantastic ideas but new posters never do.
I often have wondered how recent their experiences are & how they find the time to post almost continually when they are working folk.
And the ones who use their real name & photos???? f not for self gain or gratification.

Marlbourgh .. you just got a cliquey forum.. they aren't all like that.. and if a post hasn't broken guidelines you can ask to have it reinstated.. because yes.. they do delete some just to b a holes..

I find the Hawaii forum there to be very cliquey.. but others not so bad.. but really,, just ignore some of the posters.. there really is good info at your finger tips.

As for what DEs get..its all for their own self gratification.. they aren't paid.. Some do it because it makes them feel good to help others.. and some do it because it makes them feel good to think they are an expert.

I personally trust the opinion of some of the regular posters far above DEs on my favorite forums as I know they are more inline with my way of seeing things.. ( one of our DEs is so boring.. if she advises something, I know it will not interest me.. and yes, I have met her in person) ..

Many people have been asked to be DEs and wisely declined.. the "honor".. you get a lot of pms nagging for personal advice on what to do and see ( even I do as a regular. total strangers who will literally ask me to do their entire itinerary ) and you are held to a higher standard.. if you answer evem a little bit off ( say trains have changed in last week ) and you give wrong answer you are crucified sometimes.. lol

Hey Justine did you know I was asked to become DE on TA?
About 2-3 weeks after I joined !
They didn't know me, they just needed a DE that spoke french.
Total disaster.

<<And the ones who use their real name & photos???? f not for self gain or gratification.>>

You would rather they use fake names and fake photos?

Woinparis, I didn't know that, but even without that silly "designation " you helped many many travellers. More than many of the DEs could.

Correct DE are not paid, but I am aware (from people in the hospitality trade) of one DE who gets "kicks backs" from establishments for recommendations etc.
The same applies to another prolific poster (not a DE) Both display their real name & their photo. Perhaps there is some reason for doing this, besides being a case of DYKWIA.
While some posters do use a photo of the self as their avatar, not too many use their selfie & their real name.

I agree sometimes I have more faith in some of the posters that post less, than others who reply simply for the sake of replying.

And yes Justine you are also correct with certain forums being cliquey......very sad for new people to the forums.

Some people use a selfie and their real name just because they have no imagination of what could go wrong on the interwebs. What does DYKWIA stand for? Usually I can figure it out, but not this time.

Cliques happen on any forum, so I don't think you need to feel sorry for newbies on that account. Longstanding enemies are more of a problem- there are people who snipe just because they see a particular name. I feel the most sorry for first timers that post here and get hammered simply for having different preferences in terms of budget or taste. Heaven forbid you want to be an actual tourist and do tourist stuff.

DYKWIA - Do you <i>know</i> who I am ?! (in a very 'important voice')

My comment did not post...has anyone else been getting blank screen of doom lately?

Anyway...ahaha, janisj, love the emphasis, it definitely brings across the full...essence...of such personalities. I'm trying to picture being receptionist somewhere and having a customer use their TripAdvisor status to impress me. I'm sure it happens- it's so absurd, though. My friends make fun of me for even knowing what the forums are!!

<Usually I can figure it out, but not this time.>

When that happens, just put he letters into a Google search and it tells you the meaning.

DYKWIA - Do you know who I am ?! (in a very 'important voice')

I thought - Dick, wounded in action.
Better than KIA...

'My friends make fun of me for even knowing what the forums are!!'

Mywife does too.

Let's not forget that in 2014 Trip was fined $600,000 for posting fake reviews.

Yelp's policies actually forbid soliciting for reviews, whereas Trip I believe does not, so it's more likely that true customers will have converted from the review request to actual review on Trip. The reviews on Trip probably have a tendency to be inflated due to businesses soliciting for reviews from customers they know had positive experiences.

Anyhow. I followed Trip from it's inception. Trip used to be the go to place but then their management changed their screening process for reviews. They are limiting and even censoring critical reviews. Should you have anything negative to say about hotel management or their staff, there is a good chance that your review will not be published if the review is with one of TA’s paid advertisers. Trip even provided some unbelievable statistics from a company they commissioned to say that over 98% of TA reviewers felt that the reviews posted online were accurate or felt it reflected their own experience.

Writing bogus positive reviews is a big business now and quite trendy. Yelp used to be notorious for this but they seemed to have cleaned up their act. People want to have the reassurance that the decision they made to spend their hard earned money was the right one.

Should they see mostly positive reviews after a less than stellar experience, they might be intimidated to write a negative one, especially how the establishment’s management responds to negative comments/reviews on TA. The merchant always has the last rebuttal where it should be the customer. Bottom line, most honest reviews are not published. Many are from property owners and/or their staff.


Remember, no business is perfect and should anyone have nothing but high praises for a business then it's basic logic to dismiss the review and often the reviewer.

I am not trying to pose as a core defender of TA. Sometime I find they are too quick to edit what doesn't suit an exclusively Pollyanna rose glassed vision of discussion. Not that poor manners on anyone's part is excusable.

I would point out by way of clarification that their "rating" systems are not essentially based on MERIT but rather POPULARITY. This means a local McDonalds can be rated higher than a fine dining establishment, especially, for example, if the latter has 26 reviews and the former 226.

Additionally everyone is entitled to an opinion. Those either here or there who tend to stereotype visitors and their values/comments are as guilty of transgression (even often more so) or insensitivity as those judged, especially if the original writer wasn't rude or disrespectful.

One forum is not inherently superior to another. There are clear major advantages TA has over every other travel format in the universe. This comes with being the biggest, most varied, best funded and most utilized. These are simple facts based on numbers, not opinion.

Fodor's has its own level of prestige, based on a long history of quality associated with the name in terms of various aspects related to travel.

It seems that on all forums, there will always be a number of people hiding in the shadows who are here trying to feel superior, to denigrate basically decent others, rather than respect their effort or energy, however insightful, accurate or not.

If you fit the bill even a little, try a chill pill.

There are a LOT more people on Trip Advisor than there are on Fodor's.

This is a three year old thread that just won't die. Has been topped by several one time wonders and a quite a few advertisers.

Not sure why/how newbies find it so often . . .

probably with a search for "Trip Advisor"

I don't want to interrupt your opinion about TripAdvisor but I think you are just misleading the thought that maybe they did a survey perhaps. Each one of us has its own likes and dislikes and a unique taste buds when it comes to foods or desserts but we need to respect it. I don't want to defend TA but they have their own strategy to persuade the people or their viewers to choose their own picks of best restaurant or places all around the world. Its a matter of different points of view so we doesn't have anything to do with it. We just need to respect it.

The amount of fake reviews is overwhelming. I did not realise until an operator in Zambia, Mophy budget safari, fraudulently took our deposit and did not honour the agreement between us. When I wrote the true story TripAdvisor removed my posts because these are against TA guidelines!

But when same operator posts self glorification reviews using fake accounts, then that is according to their guidelines. Everything is just a setup, otherwise they have to permit certain critique no matter how bad. This action by TA is indirectly helping fraudulent operators like this Mophy budget safari continue with their disgusting business