I have been told from people in the industry that tripadvisor requires"fees" from some establishments, before they will list good reviews. Does anyone know whether this is true. I have always used Tripadvisor and thought it was trustworthy. If this is true, then the information they provide is simply based on bribes. Any info would be appreciated.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
I have never heard that. Second, we have used them a lot with no problems. Always founds the recommendations to be reasonably accurate.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
My understanding is that TripAdvisor charges fees to hotels if they want enhanced features: like the ability to respond to reviews, automatic notification of new reviews, and other statistical information about who is posting and viewing reviews. But there is no charge to have a hotel listed, and reviews posted.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
I use their website constantly for our travel. In fact, we used their reviews to book our Sept trip to Barcelona, Avignon, Aix-Les Bains and Paris. The 2-star hotel in Avignon that we just booked is #1 on the website. I have even posted my reviews of hotels on their website. It takes a couple of days to show up but I do see them. What I don't know is what methodology they use to rate the hotels and B&Bs. How does a hotel get to #1 or #2? How much weight here, how much there. I'd sure like to know. Besides that, the site is most valuable.
Posted by
Dallas
1022 posts
I've posted reviews on Trip Advisor, both good and bad. This is the first I've heard of fees.
Posted by
Chicago/Rural WI
811 posts
Following is the link to TripAdvisor's Owners & Representatives page, where you can read through their policies for yourself. They do not charge any establishments to post good reviews. http://www.tripadvisor.com/help/owners
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
There are no fees for reviews. There was recently some controversy that some reviews were straw posters either posting really good reviews for a place or even trying to sabatoge a competitor. But if a place has a 100 or more reviews, it wouldn't matter if a few were fake. When there are only a small number, I read through them more carefully to get a more accurate assessment. Though I don't know their exact formula, the rankings are based on the review percentages. The more positive reviews as an overall percentage, the higher the ranking.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
I've been the first to post reviews of a number of hotels and restaurants on Tripadvisor. My reviews have gone up within two days. I doubt Tripadvisor could have solicited fees in the intervening time.
Posted by
Austin
976 posts
I don't believe every hotel or restaurant review on TripAdvisor, mainly when the poster only has one review. Those in particular are usually too good or too bad, but you can figure out if the traveler is inexperienced, ignorant, or a rival. My reviews have always been posted.