- Trip Advisor is owed by Expedia Inc, which also owns Expedia.com - one of the most popular booking sites -.
- Trip Advisor has only one hotel ranking, where you can find 1,2,3,4 and 5 star hotels, all in the same ranking! As a former hotel manager, I can assure you that it is impossible to compare a 2 star hotel with a 5 star one, because the guests who choose the former have different demands than those who choose an accommodation of higher quality. This means that you can find a 2 star hotel ranked as #1 while a hotel of higher quality is ranked #50, just because there have been many people who voted for the 2 star one. You will then believe that the 2 star hotel is excellent, when it is actually mediocre.
- Trip Advisor does not verify the authenticity of the reviews. Anyone can sign up using a fake name and post fake reviews. Besides, I've found comments from people who had not stayed at a hotel or had not used the services of a travel agent, but who wrote a negative review just "based on what they had been heard".
Again, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't use Trip Advisor. Fortunately, there are thousands of honest travelers who are willing to share their experiences and who post wonderful, useful reviews. But come on, don't be so naive as to trust Trip Advisor or any other discussion board as if they were the owners of the truth.
Submitted by Sunwave on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 10:52pm.
Totally agree with this article!
I totally agree with this article as I trusted TA reviews on a group of resorts in Mexico which their main goal is to sell timeshare/memberships. I realized after my stay that I should have read the poor and terrible which stated mostly the same problems I experienced. I suggest to folks out there to do the same and read the bad reviews as the resorts (and sharks) are not going to post anything bad. You can weed out the whiners who complain of silly things like the weather being bad or no beach as that has nothing to do with the resorts/hotels.
I also agree that professional people who have a lot of experience in travelling and hotel stays should be writing reviews and begin advertising their websites it to help consumers choose their vacation more wisely.
I also agree that professional people who have a lot of experience in travelling and hotel stays should be writing reviews and begin advertising their websites it to help consumers choose their vacation more wisely.
Submitted by katie on Fri, 12/04/2009 - 5:08am.
Useful but VERY flawed
We own and run a relatively small hotel on the West Coast of Scotland, I use TripAdvisor when we choose an hotel, therefore quite simply - I can see both sides of the coin.
But PLEASE can someone tell me where can I go if I want to complain about a shop, bank, doctor, dentist, lawyer, gym - or any other business?
And I dont mean through some official ombudsman, I mean, where publicly can I say what I want about a rude shop keeper, an incapable lawyer or a bank that just isn’t up to the mark? Can I say what I want (sometimes on a very personal basis) about anyone?
The answer is a definite NO! And rightly so, because it is called libel unless I can prove it.
On TripAdvisor, a person can pretty well say what they like, truth or lies, it has happened to us and its terrible, almost all of our reviews are really fantastic, but a couple state really horrible and personal remarks.
Our business is not only a business, it is a very much loved home, we work incredibly hard to give each guest a great level of quality whilst they stay, how would you feel if a person then leaves (saying absolutely nothing about some small aspect of their experience) and then slates you publicly and quite dishonestly.
How would you feel if you were slated in a review by a person who had never in fact stayed, and trip advisor knew this but refused to remove the review?
How would you feel if your national dress was mocked publicly on a website and you made the obvious comparison that if this was an Indian wearing a turban comment it would not be publishable, but this site still refused to remove what we feel was a racist and offensive (a bad taste joke) comment.
Bizarrely, we are currently in contact with them because as an hotel (top end 4 stars with our tourist board and clearly stated on our website) they are telling us that unless we provide certain criteria, which by the way we are not required to do with any proper and official grading system) they will not categorise us a hotel, it is ridiculous as that is what we are - the things they want us to prove we provide are all listed on our website but they want us to send a copy of our official grading to them or else we have to remain a bed and breakfast! Nothing wrong with bed and breakfast establishments, but that is not what we are.
Who or what do they think they are? And more disturbingly, who gives them that right?
This site is massively flawed because it does not give the names of the contributors, it does not give the public a right to respond like most other blog type sites and it does not check its facts properly. It also allows others to gripe and libel an establishment and it suggests that hotels are its only search results, its states a search option for 'city' only when in fact in should state 'location' and it states 'find a hotel' when it should in fact state 'find accommodation' or split the accommodation types.
I would so welcome any other hotelier who feels as I do to contact me directly as I intend to take this whole matter through every channel to try and expose them for what they are - Perpetrators of lies with no professional status.
But PLEASE can someone tell me where can I go if I want to complain about a shop, bank, doctor, dentist, lawyer, gym - or any other business?
And I dont mean through some official ombudsman, I mean, where publicly can I say what I want about a rude shop keeper, an incapable lawyer or a bank that just isn’t up to the mark? Can I say what I want (sometimes on a very personal basis) about anyone?
The answer is a definite NO! And rightly so, because it is called libel unless I can prove it.
On TripAdvisor, a person can pretty well say what they like, truth or lies, it has happened to us and its terrible, almost all of our reviews are really fantastic, but a couple state really horrible and personal remarks.
Our business is not only a business, it is a very much loved home, we work incredibly hard to give each guest a great level of quality whilst they stay, how would you feel if a person then leaves (saying absolutely nothing about some small aspect of their experience) and then slates you publicly and quite dishonestly.
How would you feel if you were slated in a review by a person who had never in fact stayed, and trip advisor knew this but refused to remove the review?
How would you feel if your national dress was mocked publicly on a website and you made the obvious comparison that if this was an Indian wearing a turban comment it would not be publishable, but this site still refused to remove what we feel was a racist and offensive (a bad taste joke) comment.
Bizarrely, we are currently in contact with them because as an hotel (top end 4 stars with our tourist board and clearly stated on our website) they are telling us that unless we provide certain criteria, which by the way we are not required to do with any proper and official grading system) they will not categorise us a hotel, it is ridiculous as that is what we are - the things they want us to prove we provide are all listed on our website but they want us to send a copy of our official grading to them or else we have to remain a bed and breakfast! Nothing wrong with bed and breakfast establishments, but that is not what we are.
Who or what do they think they are? And more disturbingly, who gives them that right?
This site is massively flawed because it does not give the names of the contributors, it does not give the public a right to respond like most other blog type sites and it does not check its facts properly. It also allows others to gripe and libel an establishment and it suggests that hotels are its only search results, its states a search option for 'city' only when in fact in should state 'location' and it states 'find a hotel' when it should in fact state 'find accommodation' or split the accommodation types.
I would so welcome any other hotelier who feels as I do to contact me directly as I intend to take this whole matter through every channel to try and expose them for what they are - Perpetrators of lies with no professional status.
Submitted by Usama3 on Sat, 11/21/2009 - 7:45am.
TA offers the same
TA offers the same opportunity of when you speak to a fellow traveller in a lounge, terminal, or in transit, about a hotel, restaurant, city, area. You may not be able to vouch for this person or call him/her your brother, but at least he offers a new angle. Almost never can you tell the full range around a hotel by the hotel's photos or advice. TA allows visitors to comment on the location, security, etc. so at least a traveller has an alternative viewpoint besides the biased hotel. As well, one can better gauge prices for things, rather than appear to be the buffoonish Westerner throwing money around.
The consumer is perpetually bombarded and overcome by marketting and corporate interests in the West. Every venue and mechanism that enables consumers to be empowered against the billion dollar onslaught is a plus for everyone.
The consumer is perpetually bombarded and overcome by marketting and corporate interests in the West. Every venue and mechanism that enables consumers to be empowered against the billion dollar onslaught is a plus for everyone.
Submitted by kreampuff on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 7:01pm.
common sense
When a location is given only glowing review check out the people who are giving them. I worked for a restaurant group where the marketing director would go on to every ratings website and only comment on her restuarants. So you could tell something was was up. People who give short non descript answers are most likely not real guests.
Submitted by snowyafternoon on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 5:27pm.
Rooms for sale
It's common practice for my hotel company to offer discounted room rates in exchange for the promise of writing Trip Advisor with a positive review. Is the good review actually a lie? Maybe not. But it's definitely bought and paid for so not really to be trusted.
Submitted by marymc on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 4:49pm.
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