Fake reviews on TripAdvisor

anto b

Hi all just want to make you all aware of TripAdvisor reviews . There are so many false reviews on it it's unreal example i stay in the same hotel all the time when I travel to Florida and I have family and friends that also stay there now this place is remarkable to say the least but I see alot of bad reviews coming from people that live in the near by areas which bring down the rating . So I got a bit clever I posted a review with a false name and set up a false email account and low and behold I got a email offering me discounted rooms and free eating with park tickets if I wrote some bad reviews on a certain hotel chain which included the one I stay in . I said no way and thanks so my point is don't believe everything you read on TripAdvisor go yourself and try the hotel yourself . Has this happened to anyone else?

munchkin_utd

It never happened to me, but I tend to believe anyone with many posts over a period of time over a new user who suddenly has a gripe to be aired, or is full of gushing praise.
You'd even see others where places are brilliant 5star or desperate 1 star, and nothing in between, which also seems to indicate someone who is not 100% reliable (as in, feck, if they are so active on rating sites how do they end up in a crap restaurant or hotel in the first place!)

afatbollix

Last month the number one restaurant in London was an invite only shed which had no tables.


https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor

harr

You have to try read between the lines , I often have left middle of the road review of certain restaurants and suddenly same day you will see 5 or 6 glowing reviews from new users just to push my review down the line ..

Check the user and see how many reviews they have done and to see if they have a mix of reviews like not all excellent or not all poor.
I also like to see establishments defend or explain a bad review from a person who obviously has an axe to grind.

When looking at reviews I tend to stay away from the top and bottom ones and read more of the middle ones..

Dj Stiggie

afatbollix wrote: »

Last month the number one restaurant in London was an invite only shed which had no tables.


https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/434gqw/i-made-my-shed-the-top-rated-restaurant-on-tripadvisor

I was just about to post this. Excellent read on how reliable the site is (but I do use it all the time myself)

Yamanoto

Even the genuine reviews are iffy - this dude couldn't get enough of the Travelodge in Ballymun.

“Loved It, Would Love To Go Back”
Reviewed 1 September 2011

After booking a week off work to both recover from a trip to a music festival and celebrate my birthday, I decided I may as well spend the week somewhere a bit different. So I booked four nights in Travelodge in Ballymun

https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowUserReviews-g186605-d634898-r117525957-Travelodge_Dublin_Airport_South_Hotel-Dublin_County_Dublin.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

coylemj

Big giveaways for fake reviews....

1. Praise for unspecific service. Example: 'the staff couldn't do enough for us.'

2. Singling out and naming a member of staff for praise for nothing in particular. Example: 'Sally on reception was especially helpful'. Hello sister/friend of Sally.

3. Copy & Paste straight from the hotel's website. I saw something like this for a Dublin hotel.... 'the porter is there 24 x 7 to meet your every requirements.' Like, a real guest would write something like that in a review?

4. Use of the word 'amazing'. If I see this in the first sentence of a restaurant review, I instantly scream 'FAKE'!

5. Damn with faint praise and mention a nearby competitor. Example: 'the food here is only OK, I much prefer restaurant XXXX'. Why didn't you post their phone number while you were at it - you probably own the place.

redcup342

There's companies openly offering reviews too:

https://reviewsthatstick.com/tripadvisor/

It's gotten very bad alright, I tend to read the 3/4 star reviews.

The 1 star reviews many times are just someone that just had a gripe because they didn't get their way, the 5 star reviews are many times just plain fake.

endofrainbow

Is it not against the terms and conditions of TA to have multiple accounts and different user names ?

coylemj

coylemj wrote: »

Big giveaways for fake reviews....

1. Praise for unspecific service. Example: 'the staff couldn't do enough for us.'

2. Singling out and naming a member of staff for praise for nothing in particular. Example: 'Sally on reception was especially helpful'. Hello sister/friend of Sally.

3. Copy & Paste straight from the hotel's website. I saw something like this for a Dublin hotel.... 'the porter is there 24 x 7 to meet your every requirements.' Like, a real guest would write something like that in a review?

4. Use of the word 'amazing'. If I see this in the first sentence of a restaurant review, I instantly scream 'FAKE'!

5. Damn with faint praise and mention a nearby competitor. Example: 'the food here is only OK, I much prefer restaurant XXXX'. Why didn't you post their phone number while you were at it - you probably own the place.

I would literally include nearly everyone of those points in a genuine review :-) does that make me fake