This is a big issue for the hotel industry. Some hotel owners write bad reviews about other hotels. When a hotel changes hands tripadviser won’t update detail despite repeated requests.

Some reviews you must take with a pinch of salt or ignore such as the ones that say “receptionist was rude” or “breakfast was terrible”.These complaints are very selective, unique and probably one offs. I always consult TA and always review the Hotel(only hotels) and really only go on solid complaints like “dated decor”, “stag/hen party hotel” or “overpriced overnight parking” and other reasonable concerns. Secondly candid photos from people are invaluable as they give a true reflection of the place. Before TA you would visit, not enjoy it, regret it and have lost the money. It is better to be informed. As for fake reviews, whether good or bad, that is a TA problem as doesn’t affect my use of the site. Lastly, the forums are great, if you have a location specific question like “where’s the cheapest place to buy theatre tickets the day off the show?” you can only as the locals or the “local expert” and now you can ask in advance. Haters always gonna hate!

You should always take all TripAdvisor reviews with a pinch of salt…That said I always found it a good resource. And I contribute regularly and honestly.
I find it really hard to believe that hotels are losing business because of TripAdvisor. And if they are they probably deserve it. A kip is a kip no matter how hard sappy marketing copy and airbrushed photos they stick on their websites try to convince us differently.

I can understand how something like Trip Advisor would scare the industry. It’s totally transparent and self regulated. I’ve found it invaluable. I take two factors into account when booking a hotel – the price and the reviews. I use Trip Advisor to get a general overview. Eg. if somewhere as 100+ reviews and the average score is high, they are not all going to be fake. Plus sometimes some negative comments can be so comical and minute.

There are an equal number of genuine and fake reviews on trip advisor. The rating system is unreliable. If you go through a hotels reviews , a bad review will be followed by a load of good(fake) reviews from the hotels. You have to read between the lines but if trip advisor wants to retain any credibility it needs to deal with the issues,not deny they exist, and get more accurate and honest content that’s actually useful. As it stands it’s borderline spam and good hotels are being lost at the expense of hotels with more sophisticated marketing.

And I totally agree with Mark above…the rating should be somehow weighed. I mean, if you look at the restaurant rankings in Cork, there are chippers with 3 reviews that rank higher than established five star French restaurants!

Wasnt the carlton hotel group in ireland recently caught out leaving fake reviews? It came from head office that each hotel was to have staff who were ‘designated reviewers’ that posted good reviews.
George Hook was talking about it during the week.

With the whole Internet at you fingertips, you have got to be pretty naive to rely solely on one source of information. I have planned many an adventure using Trip Advisor amongst many sources. Always had a great time.

Still use the site when checking out hotel, the majority of the reviews can’t be bogus or can they, ah the power of technology………..

When I hotel hunt, I open the likes of booking.com and alpharooms as well as tripadvisor. If the price is right, then I go to tripadvisor to see if it’s just a bog standard hotel or a real shithole. The best way to judge is to look at photos supplied by members, rather than the hotels. A hotel for €39 a night shouldn’t be getting 5 star reviews. Use your common sense and you’ll be grand.

I generally discount the American reviews as the usually start “The bathroom was small – even by European standards” ! The last time I saw this the hotel in question was over 150 years old!

Borrrrrrrrrrrrring article

Trip advisor is aload of crap. With a bit of effort you can easily make yourself the top ranked establishment in your area. It drives me nuts how people seem to think its some sort of bible. I would go as far as saying 80 to 90 % of reviews are false.

In fairness