Rant: Fake TripAdvisor Reviews

[OldShooter]

When I’m doing my research, I focus on the bad reviews. For a product, if there are a number of poor reviews that mention the same issue, I tend to believe it. I also give consideration as to whether that issue would impact me. Maybe everyone is downgrading it for lack of a particular feature that I never plan to use.

For hotels, if there are enough reviews that say the area is bad or the property needs upgraded, I tend to believe that and stay away.

I also tend to throw out the really bad reviews if they seem like some clown with an axe to grind. I don’t hold it against a company to have a few people that are just never satisfied. We have one of those clowns in our family. I won’t go out to eat with them any more because it’s too embarrassing.

+1

I do almost the same. The only additional thing I do is look at the review dates. If there are complaints about something that end a couple of years prior, I assume that the property or the restaurant has been paying attention. As I said in a previous post, we don't stay in chain motels unless that is the last option but we do use Yelp for restaurant reviews. I remember sitting on a bus bench across the street from a restaurant in Memphis, checking them out on a tablet computer. It turned out to be a great place. Life is too short to eat bad food.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

OMG - hilarious!!!

Here is another "classic" Amazon product with some pretty epic reviews...

https://www.amazon.com/Tuscan-Dairy-Whole-Vitamin-Gallon/dp/B00032G1S0

 

[Chuckanut]

Here is another "classic" Amazon product with some pretty epic reviews...

https://www.amazon.com/Tuscan-Dairy-Whole-Vitamin-Gallon/dp/B00032G1S0

Well, don't say you weren't warned:

Legal Disclaimer DO NOT DRINK

I think I will take the money I would have spent for 10 gallons of this stuff and buy a ticket to Italy, where I can get all the Tuscan milk I can drink for far less money. Maybe even some of that famous Tuscan 'bistecca' (beef stake) to go with it.

 

[FireFool]

I always get a big kick out of the folks on reviews who feel the compulsion to answer a question even when they have nothing to contribute.

Example Question: “What time does the hotel serve breakfast?”

Fairly common Answer: “I don’t know. We didn’t have breakfast there.”

Yeah, these bring back bad memories of w*rk email chains - people with nothing productive to add chiming in anyways. Hmm, did I just do that too?

 

[razztazz]

I wonder why TripAdvisor can't/won't police their reviews better. .

Because they make more money not doing it. Sufficient knowledge for the consumer to engage in a transaction might be good for the free market but it is anathema to profits and running a business. Let the buyer beware. That's the business model

 

[AnonEMouse]

And the other sad one, people who misunderstand the rating system, write an absolutely glowing review - and award 1 star (where they meant 5 stars).

I sometimes see that too and I'm beginning to think that's intentional. Most sites allow sorting reviews from "low to high" so if they have a glowing review with a 1 rating, it would show at the top of that list. This would influence people (even if subconsciously) who tend to want to see the critical reviews first.

 

[TimeMeasure]

I use Fakespot.

https://www.fakespot.com

It analyzes reviews on TripAdvisor, Yelp, Amazon...and assigns a grade. Super helpful.

Thank you for this. Have used fakespot for Amazon reviews, but never realized it works for TripAdvisor too. That should be useful.

Someone mentioned that TripAdvisor reviews are virtually useless for restaurants. That has been our experience too. The easy way to verify it is to just plug in the names of restaurants in your home town which you know to be good and bad... and then compare against the reviews. Not uncommon that the restaurants where you would never take a visitor in a million years have a glowing score...

For lodgings, TripAdvisor is still useful for us, but probably because we almost always stay in B&Bs. Maybe because of the smaller size, maybe just because B&B attract a certain sort of clientele, there haven't seemed to be as many obviously fake reviews as with hotels. Reviews for hotels seem to require a lot more "deep reading," and even corresponding with the review author, to assess their credibility. And more recently, we've started using airbnb, and so far haven't found any which diverge much from the reviews - maybe because, as someone said, you have to have stayed there to post a review.

 

[Chuckanut]

FWIW, I often look at the mid-level reviews say 3 out of 5 stars.

I figure these people have probably given the review some thought.

1 out of 5 are often complainers or one-off events that ruined their experience.

5 out of 5 - well, if the owners walk on water, then I will give them 5. Many seem overly gushing - "The Grease Spot Motel in Thornyweed, AZ is the best hotel I have ever stayed in!!!".

 

[ohyes]

DH and I use TA for every trip, and I post reviews for most restaurants and hotels we visit. Like many of you, I look for places that have more reviews- on TA and VRBO.

The only time I remember being burned was a restaurant in Springfield, MO. DH and I were on the way to STL and drove out of our way to visit this place because of the glowing TA reviews. It was not a good experience. I addressed that in my review of the place, pointing out that my suspicion was that family/friends had gotten this lacklucster restaurant such a glowing rating.

OTOH, we have noticed that there are almost always super negative reviews for places we have enjoyed...usually folks with very few reviews to their names. The more reviews, the better our odds.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I will have to try fakespot. I'm a Vine reviewer for Amazon- they send me pre-release books for my fair review. A couple of times on political or hot button issue books, I've noticed that my (honestly negative) review gets voted "unhelpful" so many times that it virtually disappears. Then the fake reviews crowd it out. If you scroll to the last review there are other reviews like mine- but you won't get to see them. Amazon makes this too easy to do.

 

[JoeWras]

The whole review system is broken. There's the fake review problem, which is quite serious for sure. And then there is the whole psychology thing going on, which I see with my fellow compensated reviewers at MegaBigBox.

Here's a short article about it which references some recent research on the problem, with a quote from an Uber rider feeling the peer pressure:

https://qz.com/1244155/good-luck-leaving-your-uber-driver-less-than-five-stars/

“I only gave the driver three out of five stars. Just kidding. I gave him five stars, of course. What do you think I am, a psychopath?”

And here's the actual paper, with a quote about a problem I've encountered regarding back channel communication and pressure:
http://john-joseph-horton.com/papers/longrun.pdf

We have seen some evidence that feedback manipulation occurs, from forum and blog postings, communication between employers and workers, and complaints directly to the platform. It is generally difficult to directly assess the severity of this problem, partially because communication about manipulation between the two parties may occur entirely in private, such as via
email.

 

[gindie]

Many seem overly gushing - "The Grease Spot Motel in Thornyweed, AZ is the best hotel I have ever stayed in!!!".

Hey, that was my honest opinion!

 

[Sunset]

Hey, that was my honest opinion!

As the Manager of Grease Spot Motel, I just wanted to say we really appreciated your review and wanted to let you know we now have themed rooms. My favorite is the bacon room due to selective air freshener used.

Our most popular room is the pork sausage room, which is always overbooked during elections.

Remember tell all your friends about the finest motel in the land.

 

[dtbach]

As the Manager of Grease Spot Motel, I just wanted to say we really appreciated your review and wanted to let you know we now have themed rooms. My favorite is the bacon room due to selective air freshener used.

Our most popular room is the pork sausage room, which is always overbooked during elections.

Remember tell all your friends about the finest motel in the land.

LOL!!!!!!!!!

 

[athena53]

Just saw a new TripAdvisor trick I'd never seen before. Stayed at a Hilton near Heathrow's T5 in early March, so less than 2 months ago. I gave it a decent review- my only complaint was that even though T5 was in the name, you got to the hotel via a shuttle from LHR that cost $9 one way and ran only every half-hour. I admitted I hadn't done my homework on that.

So- two days ago I get an e-mail to the effect that since the hotel had undergone a major renovation, my review (and everyone else's) of this hotel would be deleted because they were no longer relevant. I saw no signs of major construction going on while I was there. Maybe it was near completion at that point but then why was my review irrelevant? And why have I never had any of my previous reviews deleted (been writing them for at least 10 years) when many other hotels have undergone renovations?

Sounds like a good way to start with a clean slate.

 

[gerntz]

Just saw a new TripAdvisor trick I'd never seen before. Stayed at a Hilton near Heathrow's T5 in early March, so less than 2 months ago. I gave it a decent review- my only complaint was that even though T5 was in the name, you got to the hotel via a shuttle from LHR that cost $9 one way and ran only every half-hour. I admitted I hadn't done my homework on that.

So- two days ago I get an e-mail to the effect that since the hotel had undergone a major renovation, my review (and everyone else's) of this hotel would be deleted because they were no longer relevant. I saw no signs of major construction going on while I was there. Maybe it was near completion at that point but then why was my review irrelevant? And why have I never had any of my previous reviews deleted (been writing them for at least 10 years) when many other hotels have undergone renovations?

Sounds like a good way to start with a clean slate.

Post another review just about the shuttle fare.

 

[braumeister]

Wow, that's just not right.

FWIW, we stayed at a Hilton near T4 a couple of years ago that is connected by an elevated covered walkway to the terminal. Very convenient, although it's a really long walkway (a good five minutes walk).

 

[ohyes]

Just saw a new TripAdvisor trick I'd never seen before. Stayed at a Hilton near Heathrow's T5 in early March, so less than 2 months ago. I gave it a decent review- my only complaint was that even though T5 was in the name, you got to the hotel via a shuttle from LHR that cost $9 one way and ran only every half-hour. I admitted I hadn't done my homework on that.

So- two days ago I get an e-mail to the effect that since the hotel had undergone a major renovation, my review (and everyone else's) of this hotel would be deleted because they were no longer relevant. I saw no signs of major construction going on while I was there. Maybe it was near completion at that point but then why was my review irrelevant? And why have I never had any of my previous reviews deleted (been writing them for at least 10 years) when many other hotels have undergone renovations?

Sounds like a good way to start with a clean slate.

I was surprised to recently receive an email with the same message - regarding a Denver hotel. After years of posting reviews on TA, this was the first time I ever received such a notice.

My review for this hotel was not so favorable. If the property has been seriously remodeled, that is great news; it needed it. Fresh starts are good.

 

[Markola]

I used to like Trip Advisor. Now, it is only about activities that cost money. We just got back from Marin County, CA, where there is a lot of hiking, biking, and exploring to be had on public lands. One would think some of these opportunities, like favorite trails and bike routes would be reflected and discussed in the Things To Do menu. No, the only entries were for paid tours to the redwoods and wineries. I’m done the site, I think.

 

[audreyh1]

I used to like Trip Advisor. Now, it is only about activities that cost money. We just got back from Marin County, CA, where there is a lot of hiking, biking, and exploring to be had on public lands. One would think some of these opportunities, like favorite trails and bike routes would be reflected and discussed in the Things To Do menu. No, the only entries were for paid tours to the redwoods and wineries. I’m done the site, I think.

That’s because Trip Advisor owns Viator who consolidates most of these paid for tours. Horrible conflict of interest! Especially as you can usually book these tours directly for less. It often takes some serious digging to find the direct local offerings. At least the Trip Advisor reviews for local tour companies still exist! So it’s just a little more work.

 

[gayl]

Posted a review of a hotel at CDG airport in France. I gave 1☆ but 4☆s showed up. Yeah, I don't rely on them

 

[audreyh1]

Posted a review of a hotel at CDG airport in France. I gave 1☆ but 4☆s showed up. Yeah, I don't rely on them

OMG!

 

[gayl]

The hotel was without hot water. They weren't going to be able to get hot shower water

 

[athena53]

FWIW, we stayed at a Hilton near T4 a couple of years ago that is connected by an elevated covered walkway to the terminal. Very convenient, although it's a really long walkway (a good five minutes walk).

I know- I'd used that one years ago and thought this would be similar. As I said, I should have done my homework.

I was surprised to recently receive an email with the same message - regarding a Denver hotel. After years of posting reviews on TA, this was the first time I ever received such a notice.

My review for this hotel was not so favorable. If the property has been seriously remodeled, that is great news; it needed it. Fresh starts are good.

I'm glad someone else got one- my e-mail program is flaky and sometimes it permanently deletes an item, seemingly days after I Trash it, and some it keeps for years after deletion- I couldn't find mine!

I've had a few hotels respond to my reviews with a note that they plan an upgrade in the near future that will address some of the things I didn't like- I think that's better than deleting all previous reviews! (I'm returning this year to one in Paris I visited in 2013, which I reviewed favorably but said a gym would be nice. They responded that they were putting one in soon.) Many things don't change after a renovation, especially those related to the site- distance from the airport or attractions, stores and restaurants nearby, views from the rooms, noise level from the street, etc.

 

[Scrapr]

(I'm returning this year to one in Paris I visited in 2013, which I reviewed favorably but said a gym would be nice. They responded that they were putting one in soon.) Many things don't change after a renovation, especially those related to the site- distance from the airport or attractions, stores and restaurants nearby, views from the rooms, noise level from the street, etc.

Can you please take me to Paris? Mrs Scrapr is tired of my prattling on about going back. Trip to Greece? Why we could connect through CDG. And as long as we are here....