Attack of the Trip Advisors

I use Trip Advisor as sort of a general indicator of a lodging or an attraction. If there are 400 reviews, most negative, then I put great stock in the fact that the lodging or attraction might be a total dog. But, if there is one negative review, I figure someone did not do their homework before staying there or it just was not to that person's taste, or one bad situation. As mentioned by a previous poster, I will also look at how many other posts an individual has who is complaining and where they are from. For instance, for the Caribbean is is well known that folks from large northern cities may not "get" what "Caribbean time" means in the way of room service, etc. if this is their first trip to the islands...............things are just slower, more relaxed there. If someone were to post how terrible a place is in the middle of France, just because the front desk staff spoke less than perfect English, I would completely discount that review. But, Trip Advisor has saved me from choosing an other-wise charming-looking inn in New England where there was a consistency among reviewers that the owners of the inn should not be in the hospitality business, etc. Trip Advisor has warned me that some venues do nothing but large noisy weddings on Friday/Saturday nights, etc. I also love the photos posted by reviewers. I look at all those not only for photos of the hotel, but also for photos of what a village/city/area looks like. Like any opinions, one needs to combine that input with their own research and opinions of other sources. But, overall, I think Trip Advisor is a fabulous resource, just as the RS Helpline is. But, travelers need to make sure they properties that match their personalities, desires. Don't expect 5-star facilities for $70 a night, etc. And, ask questions when booking.

OK, now I found CatDee's review. Seems pretty balanced, and the owner's response is inappropirate and way out there.

FAR more damaging then that review,, was the owners response.. they sounded childish and unprofessional. I post reviews on Tripadvisor,, and I think most of them are balanced,, of course it is my OPINION only and I expect anyone doing research on a hotel or restaurant would bother to read more then one review and take the average. I have seen owners respond in far more capable manner, perhaps the restaurant in question could have merely stated they were sorry the person did not enjoy their meal, but it was perhaps a difference in taste rather then the quality ,, since even the reviewer stated perhaps some people would like such food. I have actually met several posters and contributors on tripadvisor( over the years you finally find a poster who will be in town when you are,, and after posting back and forth with them for years sometimes,, you arrange a coffee meet or lunch. So far none have been wackos.. just average folks who enjoy travel.

I can't open your tinyurl link so I looked on Tripadvisor for CatDee's reviews. The only negative one is a seafood restaurant iIreland. Is that the one? If so, the owner's comments have been removed-probably a good idea if they were as childish as Pat says. I like Tripadvisor and use it alot to find both lodging and restaurants, and have not yet been steered wrong. I disregard negative reviews by people who pick apart a place based on criteria I wouldn't use, and I generally disregard all reviews by "one-ppost wonders"-the people who joined TA that day just to post that review. When there are a bunch of them in a row, I suspect the property solicited them to get ratings up, and I that property from my list. I do think, however, that it is too easy for a vengeful customer or an unethical competitor to post damaging reviews. TA ought to do a bit more to guard against that sort of thing.

The review is for the Thursford Old Forge Seafood Restaurant, 9/28/10. The owner's response still shows up on my end. Something else I should have mentioned, most of the owners interviewed felt the customers should have said something on the spot, and not "hide behind" a computer. Of course this also shields them from bad publicity.

I've seen this topic pop up on TripAdvisor recently, and came across an interesting post a few days ago that can be found here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186216-i15-k4918299-Setting_the_record_straight_Channel_4-United_Kingdom.html It is written by one of the participants of the TV show and he gives his perspective on how the show came together.

Trip Advisor has become very powerful. We stayed at a B&B in Provence last year. Other guests were from the UK, Germany, and Australia. ALL had found the place on Trip Advisor. We frequently stay at B&B's, and I've had more than one owner ask me (after I'd praised their place), to PLEASE post a good review on Trip Advisor. I think Trip Advisor can make or break a small restaurant or a B&B. Not surprising that some are hypersensitive to a bad review.

Lets keep in mind that WE ARE tripadvisor,, we the public who post on it. Yes, there are posts sometimes posted by plants, either very positive or negative( some have said that competing places will do this to each other) but as I said,, if a place has 30/50/100 reviews,, they are not all fake,, read and come to your own conclusions of the general concensus. Also keep in mind that sometimes a very negative review is just a personal opinion of someone who has either had very specific expectations not met,, or just unrealistic expectations. If you find a great hotel, in a great area,, and the price is much lower then the average place in that area,, please to not post that the "decor was weary" or that the "towels were thin",, unless you qualify that with the acknowledgment that you got a bargain and had to make compromises in the usual quality you prefer.

I like tripadvisor. I don't really average out room reviews as much as use them to get an overall sense of what to expect from a place. Others probably don't have the same set of preferences that I have so I focus more on specific comments. Some negative comments wouldn't phase me at all - "no AC" when I'm traveling in October, "slow getting bags to room" no matter I have one carry-on, "Restaurant wasn't that great" I rarely eat at the hotel. Even someone seeing a single cockroach isn't the end of the world for me. Other reviews do matter more to me than others, repeated comments about noisy and/or dirty will make me look elsewhere.

In answer to the part, about the potential of owners over-reacting to a single bad review: I always take into account an owner's reaction to poor reviews. If the owner handles the one-time bad review with grace/style, mentioning they are sorry to hear blah, blah, blah then stating how they are particularly sorry the individual was disappointed or that their establishment did not meet their expectations because they have enjoyed particularly glowing reviews/feedback from others, coupled with gee, please give us another chance, then it underscores their professionalism. But, when they are overly defensive or attack the negative reviewer, then one wonders how they may have reacted to feedback when given kindly in person. One bad review, coupled with hundreds of good ones, is not going to make me not visit a place. But a really snotty response from the owner might make me pause when evaluating whether or not to visit. Everything a business does reflects their image.....in the good times...in the bad times, with compliments and with less-than-perfect feedback.

We watched the show the other evening. It had its' good points and its' bad points. The reviewer traveling with his grandma who complained about EVERYTHING was really over the top. Even grandma told him to give it a rest. Marking the sheets with a dot to see if they had been changed, when daily changing of sheets isn't even standard in most places any more. Complaining because he got the wrong drink and that it was going to be in his review was about the pettiest thing of all. The one lady was just in tears and ended up putting her business up for sale. Many of the reviewers are cruel. You can review a place without being mean about it. You can open your mouth while you are staying there to complain, rather than put it online where it will be there forever. When people read a bad review and then specifically travel to that hotel or restaurant to see for themselves so they can add fuel to the fire, this just seems obsessive. Frankly, it is just wrong. What ever these picky, nasty, cruel reviewers do for a living, imagine if someone was going over their work with such a critical, picky, fine-toothed comb? Would they also be ok with this? Trip Advisor is a good website, but having it open to anyone to say anything is going to draw in a few wackos here and there unfortunately. I would't plan a trip without it, though I tend to use the forums the most, but also find attractions and tours on it too.

I like Trip Advisor, I use Trip Advisor, and I'll continue to use it. Like any other review site/blog/book, it's about how you use the information that's important. In any collection of opinions from thousands of people, some are going to be over the top, some are going to be hypercritical, and some will be wacky. That's the way of the world. I think the owners were ill-advised to post a nasty response.....that will look far worse than the original negative review. I've been in the position of wanting to say horrible things to clients who say horrible things about me (all false, of course), but I don't say them in public. That only compounds the problem.

It's been estimated that there are up to five million faked reviews on TripAdvisor (out of 25 million total), and the systematic review faking is "very sophisticated," i.e., well written and plausible.

Well, as the owner of my own business for years criticism of any kind if very difficult to take, especially if you do pour your heart and soul into making your customers happy... however, no matter how upset/angry you are, as the business owner you have to remember the most important rule.... 'the customer is always right even when they are obviously wrong', and if they feel they are not taken seriously they are going to tell everyone they know and now with the internet everyone they don't know. Whoever is writing these responses needs a lesson in tact and customer service. There would have been such a better way to handle these bad reviews instead of being so nasty and defensive, and based on that attitude alone I probably would not go there. That said, it is really easy to be overly critical and say things you would never say in person while hiding behind a computer....none of these reviewers talked about a personal complaint while they were at the restaurant.

I never book a place to stay without checking Trip Advisor. If there are not at least 10 reviews, I don't pay that much attention. I've found you can usually get a pretty good idea of a place from the reviews. Yes, there are some wackos. My favorites are the people who post pictures of a sink with a hair in it or a spot on the carpet. Who takes pictures of stuff like that? I never use Trip Advisor for restaurants. I've just never found it very helpful. Peoples' opinions about food seem to be all over the place. As for the review of the seafood restaurant, I've seen worse. I'd avoid the place based on the owner's response.

I didn't see the doc but I'm curious if they covered the Golden Beach Hotel thing up in Blackpool? Cripes, that was hilarious...

Here's a clip of the face to face meeting between user CatDee and the owners of the restaurant: http://youtu.be/pMBIXoHegtg

I love Trip Advisor, and I write reviews on the site, have been for nearly a decade. I'm not a super-fussy traveler, but I believe in the value of sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp where people, especially people like me who for most of my life so far only had the money to travel on a low-budget and occasionally. So of course it's really important to me to get the best value for my money and not have a trip be ruined by a horrible hotel - I may not be going on another trip for years! I think most people who use the site understand that some of the strange, super-negative reviews are by strange people who are going to take issue with things we wouldn't take issue with and generally disregard them. The only time I've had an owner respond (to a negative review), he was very gracious, apologized for the slow service and uneven food quality, and invited me back with a free bottle of wine. If you believe in your business, that's the way to handle negative reviews - try to win them over. I didn't get a chance to go back to that restaurant, but the owner's response did give me a more favorable sense of the place. I stayed at a horrible hotel in St. Malo this summer - you can be sure I left a negative Trip Advisor review. It might sound silly, but I feel it's almost an ethical issue, that I don't want other unsuspecting travelers to be caught in the same unpleasant bind I was in. So no, I don't have a lot of sympathy for the sad owners. If you're falling down on quality or customer service, it's not the fault of the people who report it.

Michael: Thank you for the thoughtful topic. I find the travel site in question to be a useful resource, if used with an understanding of what the problems have been in the past.

I can understand why travelers prefer to read up on the evaluations and views of others when it concerns a particular establishment, at which they are considering to stay. True, the chance exist for fraudulent reviews by those who were never at the establishment in the first place. Although I have read some reviews on Trip Advisor, I don't have much use for it. My decision to stay at a small hotel or Pensionen in Germany certainly does not hinge on what I read on Trip Advisor, regardless of what is said. I have stayed a numerous small hotels and Pensionen in various cities in Germany without even knowing what Trip Advisor had to say about them...none of them was a disaster, one was close to being one, that was near the Frankfurt Hbf in 1989. Trip Adivsor was totally unknown to me . Yes, there are fussy or super-discriminating travelers submitting reviews. At a Pension in Berlin-Charlottenburg in 2005, as a guest I witnessed a lengthy "argument" in English between the German owner with that Berlin dialect and a Canadian couple wanting to see the room before they committed to staying. The owner refused. It went back and forth, finally the owner said something to the effect that if they wanted more quality and amenties for the price, etc., go to the Adlon. At that point I thought the owner could careless if they decided to stay. (True, the Pension had no AC, no elevator, no credit card payment, no TV in rooms, in some rooms no WC, no phone in the room) In the end, the couple did take the room...maybe for just one night??

"...that was near the Frankfurt Hbf in 1989. Trip Adivsor was totally unknown to me..." Of course the web didn't exist back then....how did we ever survive:)

Let me clarify ...I did not mean to connect Trip Advisor with 1989 as a point in time. Whenever TA started I don't know...I found out about it only three years ago. Good point...how did we travel and make decisions as regards to accomodations and restaurants while in Europe? Relying on just Frommer's?

I have gone to Europe for only the last 10 years and each year have taken a RS tour. We stay there before and/or after the tour in places we find recommended in RS guide books for that area. We have never been disappointed. Lucky?
Perhaps. But we will keep on using that method until it breaks down.

That clip that Micheal posted was very clarifying,, the owners are not very professional,, I thought they were horrid in fact,, I think they did more damage then good by trying to undo their one bad review,, gosh they are stupid really.

Earlier in the show, the owners were even comparing themselves to Fawlty Towers...they even have a young women working for them with limited english skills from (I kid you not) Spain. The husband was even doing impersonations of Basil; life imitates art.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the postings on Trip Advisor are fakes......there's a whole marketing industry that does that for a huge variety of clients. I'm sure some of them are. But, then, I sure some of the postings on these boards are fakes too. I suspect there are some fake reviews on the other review pages as well, which is why it's really a bad idea to take any single post too seriously. And that's why I post my own legitimate reviews, and encourage others to do so as well - to try and tip the scales in legitimacy's favour.

And, of course, we only have your word that your reviews are legitimate. The trouble with the internet is that anyone can be anything and sometimes very convincing. The older posters on this site will remember the poster who was an expert at finding travel information on the web, and then presenting it as if he had been there, done that. To a novice traveler his information looked very good and acceptable. But just enough errors crept into his responses over time that it was obvious to experience travelers that his report experiences were faked. But he was good at it and sometimes provided good information. I tend to look at the low evaluation to see if they are complaining about something that would be important to me. And the middle of the evaluations think those are more honest simply because not everyone can be gushy about everything. The over the top I ignore. In nearly a year of travel over 18 years we have had some disappointments even from Steves' recommendations but we are flexible enough that we can handle about any situation.

It is no secret that there are lots of fake reviews on Tripadvisor. They even asked the " Destination Experts" for suggestions on how to curb them. But so far, as far as I can tell, nothing has been done. Nevertheless, the fake ones are generally pretty easy to spot and exclude. A person who registers and posts the same day with a glowing or highly critical review, never to return, should be disregarded. The ones by the paid review- writers, who as a consequence of their enterprise have numerous posts on the website are a bit harder, but just read them with a careful eye. If the hotel's website mentions their "rich breakfast buffet, with fruit, cereals, yoghurt" etc., and the reviewer states how much they enjoyed the " rich breakfast buffet with fruit, cereals, yoghurt" etc., you know it is a fake. Don't laugh, I have seen exactly that situation many times. The review by CatDee, on the other hand, was not a fake. She is a credible TA member with lots of reviews and almost all of them are positive. She wasn't critical of the restaurAnt in an overly picky way; she just thought things were swimming in overly rich sauces, and the seafood was not fresh as she expected, it was trucked in. Legitimate thoughts. If the owners' business suffers, it will be due to their very bad way of handling it. I found it interesting that after twice swearing at her with the F word ( not to her face, mind you, but on camera) he then proceeded to claim what a good Christian he is and promote " kindness". She was right to see though the charade and walk out. I really like TA and by carefully screening reviews I have found many great places to stay that for various reasons will never make it into Rick's book. That is a good thing. If you stay at a RS recommended place, chances are half or more of your fellow guests will be RS fans. We prefer to go a bit off that path.

Trip Advisor works well as an adjunct to guidebooks as often reviewers mention specific things people might have an issue with that the guidebook compilers might think is too picky. For instance, I'm very sensitive to noise when I'm trying to sleep, and have dropped a few places that were recommended by guidebooks because of TA comments about street noise or bad internal soundproofing.

I'm a very big fan of Trip Advisor- especially their forums for each city. In addition to ratings/feedback on Hotels, Restaurants and Things To Do, each city's forum tackles the full ranges of questions and has its own "vibe" that I find often reflects the city it serves. For example, peruse the forum for New Orleans or Amsterdam, these folks are helpful, friendly and don't allow much BS- they call a spade a spade. The Amsterdam Forum has a looonnnggg running thread with almost daily s on hotel prices via Priceline. Incredibly helpful. By the same token, some city's forum seem less than helpful. Their Destination Experts (DEs) patrol those forums and offer some great, boots-on-the-ground perspective to a wide range of inquiries. These are folks that have personal knowledge of the city they are experts in- they usually residents of said city. As has been stated before, I don't take any of the information provided as the gospel. I consider the source and will often check out the other reviews of the poster. I ignore most comments from folks that have fewer than 5 reviews. A final note, Trip Advisor covers the globe. I really enjoy my trips to Europe and get a lot from this site (Rick's) but TA offers something for everywhere I go.

I love TA and use it extensively for European hotels in combination with guidebooks. I've looked up many a positive review by RS, only to disregard it after seeing the TA reviews. You can get so much more information by reading through some of the positive and negative comments. And seeing real photos, not the best of the best posted on the hotel's website. When reading the negative reviews, you do have to look for inexperienced traveler comments. If someone complains about a tiny bathroom, I chalk it up to an American used to giant bathrooms. Or complaining about a double room with two twin beds in it. Duh! But if they mentioned the dance club downstairs, the tourgroups of teens or the construction that starts at 7:00AM when you want a peaceful retreat, then it is far more helpful than a guidebook can be. Almost all owner responses I've seen to negative comments have been the "we're so sorry" type. I care little about what the owner says as long as the overall rating is positive. And the one place I've stayed that was absolutely disgusting wasn't even on TA.

Ansbach James says I thought the experts lived in Colorado? eh?

Folks, This was a hard one for me to discern who was wrong or right in this situation. On the first review, CatDee might have caught them on bad day, but the owner going out and getting in her grill was dead wrong. In looking at the other reviews on the Forge , doesen't seem like my kind of place to eat.
One thing this has done for me, is now I am going to be a little softer, and less harsh on any bad review that I give. As the owners said, it will be there for life. Things like this lets you look at both sides a little closer, and to remember these are human beings. Great links Michael.

The thing is,, even if owners were caught on a bad day that would become obvious to anyone reading the reviews,, sinc e theirs would be the only negative review among many other reviews.. NO one should give all the weight to one review.. so one poor review is not going to ruin any reputable business. The RESPONSE posted by the owners was petty and stupid, and then,, they went overboard on the dummy points by allowing themselves to be filmed for the"make-up" review ,, commenting snarkily, bad attitude, they then showed themselves to be truly dumb. If they had simply done two things differently things would have been much better for them. a) not respond to single bad review. it would fade away. 2) respond professionally and apoligize

"It would be much nicer to spend your time raising money for terminally ill children than wasting it on trying to ruin hard working, dedicated people who work all hours God sends." WHA...?!? And to listen to the a-hole owner talking about his customers (CatDee in particular) ON CAMERA and btching to Cat Dee's male dining companion about laughing ( with him, I thought) when he accidentally said 47 people instead of years...crikey! No wonder he's had heart surgery and is on a bunch of meds...duh. SO not going to THAT restaurant. And BTW, CatDee's review wasn't overly harsh - she gave her opinion on the prices and (now that I've seen him in action) the 'chef'...I think they should rename it the Old Frt Seafood Restaurant ;-) The owners really need to work at another occupation.

"I have found wonderful hotels & B&B's that I would not have known about except thru TA." Julia, I have to disagree with your assessment. I think, based on many studies I've done, that you could probably have known about virtually all of those hotel & B&Bs, and a whole lot more, using town websites. Most town websites that I have compared to T/A show two to three times as many properties as T/A, including almost all of the properties that T/A lists. The ones shown on T/A tend to be more expensive places. This should not come as a surprise. Booking websites associated with T/A charge a commission for every booking. I have not been able to determine the rate, but I have reason to believe it's over 15%. That's why they never include URLs and email addresses with their listings; they don't want you going directly, cutting them out of their commission. On the other hand, the host where I stayed in 2008 tells me his town charges less than €100/yr to list his property, with URL and email, on their website. So, the places that list on T/A have to have higher prices to be able to pay the commission. Yes, T/A has reviews, but of the 21 places I've stayed since 2007, all with satisfactory result, 14 (2/3) have not had any reviews at all on T/A., and only 3 have had more than 4 reviews. TripAdvisor is mostly irrelevant.

Just want to add my 2 cents worth. I use Trip Adviser any time I'm ing a B&B. It had never occurred to me that some reviews were fake! Now I'll be more careful, but as others have said, I always read all the reviews and just get a general impression. I have found wonderful hotels & B&B's that I would not have known about except thru TA. Also, I do post my opinion about places we stay and have also done so about local restaurants here where I live, because having eaten at each many times I can give a good solid recommendation. I also sometimes directly email people who have posted to ask for clarification. I appreciate TA so much! Julia

I think that the best thing about TripAdvisor is the Forums. You get answers from people who live in the area or have lived in the area. I've really appreciated the answers that I've seen on the NYC forum and I hope others like what I've posted on Madison and occasionally on the NYC forum. I've even posted on the Scotland forum. (LOL) But, those posts are to give an American perspective to a particular event or location. The forums are very active. Even Madison! I've posted a few reviews and I've checked out B&B's and hotels on TripAdvisor. I think it's one more tool in our tool box for building great trips. Pam

Lee we are not talking about the lists,, but the reviews,, and anyone can post anywhere they stayed,, do YOU bother to post reviews on the places you have stayed at,, it has nothing to do with booking with or through ta.