I always read the TripAdvisor reviews when considering a property. I took the review with a grain of salt if one was negative and the rest were glowing. I found the information helpful and felt it was honest. In these days of marketing hype, it's nice to get the lowdown from someone like me who has been there.
So what will happen now? According to the article there may be a solution.
KwikChex, which calls itself an “Online Reputation Solution provider,” said it has presented TripAdvisor with multiple cases of what it claims are “false and malicious” reviews posted on TripAdvisor.com. They include wrongful accusations of “criminal or seriously negligent behavior” at some hotels. One example: A TripAdvisor user wrote last month that during his stay at a British cottage, “the owner ... stared at our children for extended periods.”
KwikChex is asking TripAdvisor to meet three demands: remove erroneous accusations, “in some cases issue an apology” to hotels, and “take steps to ensure that such allegations are not repeated,” said KwikChex co-founder Chris Emmins. “If ethical and media pressure do not bring results, then litigation would be the only course left.”
Perhaps the person writing and posting the review should be the one liable. Perhaps TripAdvisor could screen the reviews (but then it would cost money and we'd probably have to subscribe to the service).
I say leave things as they are. Hotels and services are welcomed, I believe, to post a rebuttal to the comments. Some of them even seed the comments with paid positive reviews.
So I hope the lawsuits do not go through. I enjoy reading these openly critical, as well as raving, reviews. After all, that's what I write... rants and raves. Ouch! Maybe I'd better watch MY back!
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I agree with you, Liz. Trip Advisor is one of the remaining beacons of light into the complexity of planning a trip.
ReplyDeleteLike you, if I see a large number of positive reviews, then only a few bad reviews - meh. It's probably someone trying to skew the ratings.
In addition, I look at ALL the reviews. There are some that have changed hands since being on Trip Advisor and the reviews reflect the change in ownership or management. If I see really bad reviews but then they switch to positive (and vice versa)something happened and it's usually one of the aforementioned reasons.
Of course, the site's been riddled with controversy due to some unethical hotel, motel, inn, B & B owners paying people to post reviews FOR them, AGAINST their competitors, but those are usually weeded out.
Leave TripAdvisor.com alone. They are merely the conduit. Make the posters accountable.
Wow, what happened to freedom of speech? It's okay for business to "talk" with their money but it's not okay for people to say something negative about a hotel that may have been a rathole? Trip Advisor could probably figure out a way to evaluate the claims, but we should still have the right to call a spade a spade and not be afraid to let other consumers know the truth.
ReplyDeleteI also hope the lawsuits do not go through! I am a TripAdvisor user and think most people can be discriminating enough to read between the lines if a review just doesn't ring true. I think TripAdvisor provides a great service to travelers and hope it can continue with its reputation intact.
ReplyDeleteAs Nancy (above) said: "Don't kill the messenger." I know it would be a nuisance, time consumer and expense, but it might be wise for us to call the facility and see what they have to say about the specific comment - then we can add that reassurance to our articles.
ReplyDeleteSo many comments depend on the emotional state of the reviewer at the time. Kids yelling? Tooth ache? Family fight? Maybe reviewers should be graded...this guy doesn't like anybody? etc.
Actually, this type of lawsuit has happened before without success. It's not likely to hold water in court this time, either. It's an open forum. Freedom of speech. The courts are likely to uphold that. As long as they are giving an opinion, there's really nothing the businesses can do to make the public stop. My opinion is pretty much the consensus of most of the larger travel blogger experts I've spoken with about it. It's really not much different than when reviewers review a restaurant for the NYTimes or review a movie online or on TV or something. They've all gone through the growing pains of being sued when new ways of reviewing come out and then the courts telling the companies there's not much they can do about it. People have been reporting and reviewing for decades. It's just a different medium now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Nancy - it's best if the public could be educated enough to understand that they should look at the entire BODY of reviews and not pick out one bad review when everything else sounds great.