Think twice before believing trip advisor restaurant reviews
Dec 9th, 2019 | 04:36 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 25,327
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Think twice before believing trip advisor restaurant reviews
From EaterNY, this article confirms what many of us have suspected for a long time:
https://ny.eater.com/2019/12/5/20978...-rankings-scam
https://ny.eater.com/2019/12/5/20978...-rankings-scam
Dec 9th, 2019 | 05:35 AM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 35,485
Likes: 3
I use at as a tool but not as a singular source of information when researching restaurants. I ignore the "rankings" but I find it is a good way to get a fairly large listing of restaurants in a particular area. Then I use the restaurant's own website, as well as google to find out more information about it, including critic reviews, when available.
Dec 9th, 2019 | 06:28 AM
#3
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 12,332
Likes: 0
Interesting read, and nothing surprising. Like tom, I ignore the rankings, and when I do utilize TA or Yelp to learn about restarurants when traveling (or even at home) I focus on what they have to say. Anything that sounds artificial, either positive or negative I am quick to dismiss.
Dec 9th, 2019 | 07:15 AM
#5
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 26,243
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Over the years, I haven't had much luck with TA restaurant recommendations, but combined with Yelp and Google we've been pretty satisfied. On our last Europe trip (London, Ireland, Normandy, Paris), we went only to restaurants that scored at least 4.2 on Google, and then read reviews on actual review sites. We didn't really have a bad meal, with some very good ones thrown in (which is good enough for us - we're no interested in restaurants like French Laundry for the most part).
Dec 9th, 2019 | 08:35 AM
#6
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,083
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I seem to have a knack for finding terrific restaurants wherever I go and rarely have a bad meal when traveling. Like others, I use a combination of online resources. Trip Advisor is good place to find the names and locations of lots of restaurants in a given city, town or region but when doing research you have to augment the information you find there with data from other sources. You also have to take any reviews with a grain of salt. There's so much info on the internet it is foolhardy to rely sold on one source, be it TripAdvisor or some other site) when choosing a restaurant.
Dec 9th, 2019 | 08:53 AM
#7
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 35,153
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That article doesn't say anything that I would bill as affecting restaurant reviews. You could make the same argument about any review website, that some reviews may be bogus. If the whole big deal is that you shouldn't just go to the ones in the top 10 on TA, I don't know anyone who presumes that means anything in terms of quality, and that has nothing to do with the actual reviews. It's the same issue with hotels, and I find TA reviews extremely helpful for hotels. I don't use them that much for restaurants, but that's because I don't really vet restaurants that much in other cities and don't really care that much about them, I mainly care where is convenient and just looks decent.
If anyone goes to a place just because it's in the top 5 of TA and nothing else, that's their problem and reflects the way they go about things and what is important to them.
I didn't know TA owned OPentable, though, that's news to me, not that I really care who owns it.
If anyone goes to a place just because it's in the top 5 of TA and nothing else, that's their problem and reflects the way they go about things and what is important to them.
I didn't know TA owned OPentable, though, that's news to me, not that I really care who owns it.
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Dec 9th, 2019 | 09:25 AM
#8
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 102
Likes: 0
Trip Advisor does a better job than most sites of screening recommendations, and giving you an idea of which reviewers to trust. I've usually found that it's pretty easy to spot the fake reviews- they just don't sound real. I've had some terrific meals at restaurants I found on Trip Advisor. There's always someone trying to claim that a successful company/site is a "scam".
Dec 9th, 2019 | 11:39 AM
#10
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 25,597
Likes: 0
Someone was desparate for an article, weren't they?
TA has always been more useful for hotel reviews, especially f you can find a reviewer you "trust". And virtually worthless for restaurants. I use Yelp and Google Maps if I can't find a local reviewer.
TA has always been more useful for hotel reviews, especially f you can find a reviewer you "trust". And virtually worthless for restaurants. I use Yelp and Google Maps if I can't find a local reviewer.
Dec 9th, 2019 | 01:41 PM
#11
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 84,777
Likes: 46
Trip Advisor does a better job than most sites of screening recommendations, and giving you an idea of which reviewers to trust. I've usually found that it's pretty easy to spot the fake reviews- they just don't sound real. I've had some terrific meals at restaurants I found on Trip Advisor. There's always someone trying to claim that a successful company/site is a "scam".
I travel in a lot of small towns with MAYBE a half dozen non-fast food restaurant options to choose from. I use my TA app to quickly see 2 or 3 options to choose from. I don't make my final decision based on TA but it's a quick and effective tool to use.
I ignore reviews of high praise or horrible service when the poster only has one or a few reviews. I do read the reviews of posters who have left reviews in other locations. Scam reviews, used to help or hurt friends or competitors are pretty easy to pick out. On TA and elsewhere.
Dec 9th, 2019 | 02:16 PM
#13
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 8,415
Likes: 1
Reviews I ignore:
Contentless reviews that just say the place is wonderful or terrible.
Reviews that mention the server by name, especially if there is no description of the food.
Reviews that show ignorance of a restaurant's cuisine.
Reviewers that can't spell. This includes reviews that use single letter replacements for words.
One shot wonder reviewers.
Yelp reviewers who give only 1 star because of a perceived slight in service.
Reviews that I find especially useful:
Reviews by confirmed patrons. (The Fork only allows reviews by users who reserved through the site, for example. And, since TA will now make a reservation for you, why don't they indicate a confirmed diner's review?)
Three and four star reviews, with explanations that make sense.
Contentless reviews that just say the place is wonderful or terrible.
Reviews that mention the server by name, especially if there is no description of the food.
Reviews that show ignorance of a restaurant's cuisine.
Reviewers that can't spell. This includes reviews that use single letter replacements for words.
One shot wonder reviewers.
Yelp reviewers who give only 1 star because of a perceived slight in service.
Reviews that I find especially useful:
Reviews by confirmed patrons. (The Fork only allows reviews by users who reserved through the site, for example. And, since TA will now make a reservation for you, why don't they indicate a confirmed diner's review?)
Three and four star reviews, with explanations that make sense.
Dec 11th, 2019 | 07:40 PM
#20
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 5,238
Likes: 0
I dunno, it’s hard to go wrong with gelato
a lot of TA places are highly rated because of where they are. tourist restaurants are convenient for tourists. I think people know that. If you see Hard Rock Cafe as the best rated place near you, you probably don’t go there thinking they are the best—you go for a decent burger, or maybe even (as in my case) ice in your coke.
the star phenomenon also happens due to guidebooks (Rick steves) or kickbacks from tour guides, concierge, etc. and in some cases, again, it’s honest. Maybe it has a good set up for groups or a good English menu, or a good show. There’s a very overrated steak house in Chicago that I’ve been to—but I understand why it is popular and why people rec it. The best steak (ime) is in a date night type of place—plush, hard to get into. The other place, on the other hand, you can just walk in and it feels like what people imagine a Chicago steak house will be.
i actually like TA. It gives you a wide spectrum of reviews, and I know what I’m looking for. I ignore the “best ever” reviews or “worst service” things, as well as reviews that talk about quantity of food. I also ignore reviews where people clearly have no idea what they’re talking about—like if they show up at a nude spa and then complain that people wanted them to be nude. Or a positive version of that, where they talk about how it was a revelation to visit a nude spa—it means they’ve never been to one. Not the same as food obviously, but it applies because someone who never has had Indian before isn’t a good judge of that Indian restaurant. Or in a lot of cases that’s relevant to sushi. You need to skim to find reviewers who know what good sushi actually is.
a lot of TA places are highly rated because of where they are. tourist restaurants are convenient for tourists. I think people know that. If you see Hard Rock Cafe as the best rated place near you, you probably don’t go there thinking they are the best—you go for a decent burger, or maybe even (as in my case) ice in your coke.
the star phenomenon also happens due to guidebooks (Rick steves) or kickbacks from tour guides, concierge, etc. and in some cases, again, it’s honest. Maybe it has a good set up for groups or a good English menu, or a good show. There’s a very overrated steak house in Chicago that I’ve been to—but I understand why it is popular and why people rec it. The best steak (ime) is in a date night type of place—plush, hard to get into. The other place, on the other hand, you can just walk in and it feels like what people imagine a Chicago steak house will be.
i actually like TA. It gives you a wide spectrum of reviews, and I know what I’m looking for. I ignore the “best ever” reviews or “worst service” things, as well as reviews that talk about quantity of food. I also ignore reviews where people clearly have no idea what they’re talking about—like if they show up at a nude spa and then complain that people wanted them to be nude. Or a positive version of that, where they talk about how it was a revelation to visit a nude spa—it means they’ve never been to one. Not the same as food obviously, but it applies because someone who never has had Indian before isn’t a good judge of that Indian restaurant. Or in a lot of cases that’s relevant to sushi. You need to skim to find reviewers who know what good sushi actually is.
Last edited by marvelousmouse; Dec 11th, 2019 at 07:42 PM.
