Punishing hotels with kneejerk actions
TripAdvisor: Red flag them first, sort them out later
A raging controversy has broken out between a previously Number One ranked hotel and TripAdvisor, after the latter had red flagged the property for allegedly ‘writing their own reviews’.
The ‘Riverside Hotel and Restaurant’ in Evesham / Worcestershire in the UK appears to be suffering from the action of at least one, possible more guests, who enthusiastically wrote their reviews while still in the hotel, having the ISP ID of the property pop up and leading to TripAdvisor’s suspicions.
It does appear that TripAdvisor in its extensive “user’s manual” section had made mention that reviews should be written when returning home and the company also contends that they had been in contact with the property in question twice before, but the hotel’s owners now plan to take legal action – as are many others contemplating too around the world – after their business literally collapsed when the ‘red flag’ was posted.
I have on occasions posted my own reviews as ‘Safariafficionado’ while still at a property, but about to check out and leave, with recollections still fresh, especially when moving along an extensive travel itinerary. Perhaps TripAdvisor should strengthen their recognition mechanisms and focus on the writer of the review and less on the location it was posted from. And given the popularity of TripAdvisor, it should exercise extra care in order to prevent “punishing” properties with kneejerk actions without first checking the facts and exhausting due process. The due process they hopefully have. And if not, they ought to get one and it should become a standard beyond reproach.
Comments
Under the circumstances, red-flagging a hotel, based on the fact that many reviews come from their own IP addresses, is one of the only logical measures to take. It is nowhere near perfect nor foolproof. TripAdvisor has to maintain the integrity of its reviews (as much as it can when it relies on USER generated content). And for many years now, it has been my single most reliable source of evaluation prior to purchase, judging by what I read on the site and what I actually experience.
Businesses collapsing because of red flags? Come on, a negative review is nothing a business cannot rectify. Floods, earthquakes, political disturbances,now THERE are reasons for a business collapse - most other reasons would seem to be just the result of inadequate and/or short-sighted management.
Whilst I agree with what you say, the reviews for the hotel in question do look rather odd with extremes both for and against. 35 "excellent" and 36 "terrible" does not look like a former number one hotel http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186422-d192020-Reviews-Rivers...
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