Comments on: TripAdvisor’s Fake Reviews Sickness Goes Critical

By: TripAdvisor Reaches 50 Million Visitors: But For How Long?

TripAdvisor Reaches 50 Million Visitors: But For How Long? — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:03:07 +0000

[...] doubt come as a welcome distraction for the site, which is currently batting to clear its name over allegations that many of its reviews may have been faked by companies looking to boost their reputations and [...]

By: TripAdvisor’s Fake Reviews Sickness Goes Critical | KwikChex - Global Reputation, Reassurance & Resolution Services

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:39:21 +0000

[...] Above excerpt and full article on http://www.argophilia.com [...]

By: Government Investigates Fake TripAdvisor Reviews | New Media Travel

Government Investigates Fake TripAdvisor Reviews | New Media Travel — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:28:11 +0000

[...] Argophilia an east European travel site, headlined the story as ” TripAdvisor’s Fake Review Sickness Goes Critical” and concluded that too many of TripAdvisor’s 50 million plus may not be reliable. [...]

By: Holiday packages in st lucia

Holiday packages in st lucia — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:53:10 +0000

Finally TripAdvisor is under some heat. TripAdvisor for some time now has lead the world to believe that no review means no bookings. I am sure the initial intention was for real reviews from trusted source, but the core concept of this firm has drifted. When a review site has become more social media related than Facebook itself, the outcome is detrimental. And to say that the vetting procedure of posting these reviews are of a high standard is a far cry from what TripAdvisor has lead us to believe. When a guest never stayed at a hotel and posts a bad review of that hotel, the accommodation industry is simply doomed, especially with the weight TripAdvisor carries in this industry. How do you know the bad review is a fake! Only the hotel can prove this. And we all know that requesting a fake review to be removed from your listing by TripAdvisor is like striking a rock with some magical wand, in hope for retrieving water!

Unless TripAdvisor can develop a system to monitor the quality of review, a restaurant will face backlash from its competitors, saying that a 14 year old restaurant has only been opened for three months. To think the number of business who have suffered revenue under the TripAdvisor Syndrome is frightening.

With Google plus one, we see a trend here also. But something tells me this firm is more about integrity than fame.

By: Mihaela Lica Butler

Mihaela Lica Butler — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:03:52 +0000

Then you are a really really lucky user. :)

By: Tim H

Tim H — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:20:52 +0000

I stay in 4 to 5 hotels a month. Most of the reviews on Tripadvisor match my experience. For every fake review, good or bad, there is a real customer that had that experience. After hundreds of reviews the general rating comes through, which is why TA is trusted. No mater how many people you pay to write fake reviews, TA has the review volume to push the true rating of the hotel to the surface.

By: ildiko maria javor waddington

ildiko maria javor waddington — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:40:46 +0000

My suggestion:
the complete NAME and date of the stay at the hotel,
this should be a MUST.
More transparency, please.

By: Phillip Butler

Phillip Butler — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:05:27 +0000

@Nelson, exactly. We have to get to “know” the reviewer – stranger reviews are useless in my view. I would sooner trust a commercial.

Always,
Phil

By: Nelson Malcolm

Nelson Malcolm — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:30:23 +0000

“Of course the one aspect that is being overlooked is that TripAdvisor is a very valuable site that assists a huge number of travelers discover great hotels and activities when they travel. It’s by no means perfect, but realistically, it’s arguably the best resource currently available to peruse traveler reviews.”

How is it the “best resource” relative to reviews on OTA sites? I have read reviews on Travelocity and Expedia that are as comprehensive, and have been written by bookers. What is thye marginal utility of 500 reviews as opposed to 50 for a given hotel?

By: Nelson Malcolm

Nelson Malcolm — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:27:44 +0000

One interesting aspect of the “Help Center” for hotels is that anyone can sign up for any hotel as an “owner”, no questions asked. I signed up for hhotels in my comp set under different names tied to Yahoo / Gmail email accounts I had created. This enabled me to register as an “Owner” for all those hotels.

I assume behind the questistion of “fake reviews” there is also the issue of fake “management responses” that one can leave?