Tripadvisor- there's something strange happening

[gala]

I dont know how many Dibbers go onto Tripadvisor to try and guage what might be a decent hotel to stay in, but I do. Most days I follow the reviews and especially over the past few weeks when strange things were happening. I noticed on a few occasions last year that something odd was happening. A few hotels were up and coming and were getting rave reviews while the hotels which were at the top and consistently so, were getting lousy reviews from people who had only posted once or twice. This pushed the hotels at the top (sometimes the smaller, value for money hotels) way down and others up! I even saw on a forum several people discussing the fact that a hotel at the top couldnt possibly be as good as the hotels they stayed in. They blatantly said they were going to forward fake reviews. I informed Tripadvisor but nothing was done. Now the same thing has happened again and suddenly Homewood at Universal (not the one I stayed in) has had a mass of bad reviews when this was unheard of in the past. Im sure that there is some skullduggery going on. Surely when for several years when the reviews were consistent, this shouldnt happen? Of course the same has happened to the one I stayed in on I Drive.
Its sad that people seem to have another agenda(perhaps interested hotel owners?). I may be naive but it would be nice to get honest reviews whether we agree with them or not and then we could make up our own minds. At least in that way there would be some balance. I know some people just dont like the site but until there is a better way of making a judgement it is all we have. However at the minute the site is even less reliable than usual.

Margaret

[Carlmelia]

Quite shocking but to be honest not unsurprising with Tripadvisor. We went to a hotel in Gran Canaria last year where someone gave it a lousy review for having hard butter in the mornings!

If you took the reviews on there as gospel, you'd be staying in your back garden every year (and someone would probably still write a bad review of it on there).

Will now need to take Tripadvisor with an even bigger pinch of salt than before.

[KES]

I think I must be really thick because I never think of people being dishonest! I've used the Holidays Uncovered Web site before & even posted on that site.

Just shows me that I can't believe everyone!

[Cinders Mum]

It is something we were informed of quite some time ago, that management of some hotels were deliberately trashing the competition's reputation on their to their own advantage .... not good, and discredits everyone in the long run.

[Nikki_1]

lol lol :)
Well said Carlmelia!


Nikki
xx

[Rebelrebel]

I do think some of the reviews on Trip Advisor are also unfair. For example one lady talked about when she stayed at the BCV and complained that the room was too far away from the reception, the manager did offer to switch rooms the next day for her but she declined as it would be a nuisance and gave them a bad review. In my eyes the management have done all they can, these things sometimes happen and they tried to rectify the problem.

[Twink]

I went to Trip Advisor about The Tradewinds Sandpiper at St. Petes and they gave it a really good review, when we got there it was one of the worst hotels we have ever stayed in, the view from our window was the multi story parking lot, something I was promised by TCD would not happen, DH managed to convince me not to check out as we were only there for 6 days and not in the room much, but it spoilt my holiday, it was Fathers Day weekend, they did not have any other rooms, but to be honest all the rooms looked the same, so from then on I never bothered with Trip Advisor:wave:

[diannepoxon]

i AGREE WITH YOU. WE STAYED A SERALAGO HOTEL AT MAIN GATE EAST LAST NOVEMBER, VIRGIN US THIS PLACE FOR THERE HOLIDAYS SO I LOOKED ON TRIP ADVISOR AND THE REVIEWS WHERE OK. WELL I HAVE NEVER STAYED AT ANY WHERE SO SCAREY. I FELT TOTAL UNSAFE. WE HAD BEEN IN AMERICA FOR A MONTH AND STAYED IN 3 OTHER HOLETS AND MOTELS, BUT THIS WAS WAS SCAREY. WHEN RETURNING I WROTE A REVIEW, AND AFTER MY REVIEW CAME LOADS OF HOW GOOD THE HOTEL WAS. I WAS SHOCKED. EVEN PEOPLE USING THE SAME DATES WE WHERE THERE, SO I THINK THE HOTEL WRITE THERE OWN REVIEW.
REGARDS
DIANNE

[diannepoxon]

i AGREE WITH YOU. WE STAYED A SERALAGO HOTEL AT MAIN GATE EAST LAST NOVEMBER, VIRGIN USE THIS PLACE FOR THERE HOLIDAYS SO I LOOKED ON TRIP ADVISOR AND THE REVIEWS WHERE OK. WELL I HAVE NEVER STAYED AT ANY WHERE SO SCAREY. I FELT TOTAL UNSAFE. WE HAD BEEN IN AMERICA FOR A MONTH AND STAYED IN 3 OTHER HOLETS AND MOTELS, BUT THIS WAS WAS SCAREY. WHEN RETURNING I WROTE A REVIEW, AND AFTER MY REVIEW CAME LOADS OF HOW GOOD THE HOTEL WAS. I WAS SHOCKED. EVEN PEOPLE USING THE SAME DATES WE WHERE THERE, SO I THINK THE HOTEL WRITE THERE OWN REVIEW.
REGARDS
DIANNE

[00swan]

Personally, I prefer to look on here, at least if someone gives a place a bad review, you can actually contact the poster & find out some more details, rather than a more anonymous version via Trip Advisor & the like.

[quacker]

Quite shocking but to be honest not unsurprising with Tripadvisor. We went to a hotel in Gran Canaria last year where someone gave it a lousy review for having hard butter in the mornings!

If you took the reviews on there as gospel, you'd be staying in your back garden every year (and someone would probably still write a bad review of it on there).

Will now need to take Tripadvisor with an even bigger pinch of salt than before.


Hard butter - close them down lol.

THe world we live in eh?

[gala]

It is something we were informed of quite some time ago, that management of some hotels were deliberately trashing the competition's reputation on their to their own advantage .... not good, and discredits everyone in the long run.

Its sad really. A site like this could ideally be a great source of information. Youre right Val - there seems to be a lot of 'trashing' to bring down the competition. It is so obvious really but the powers that be dont seem to be doing anything to get rid of it.

Margaret

[rylisal]

I had no idea this went on!
But, I'd looked up hotels on there myself over the last couple years & decided in the end not to do it anymore as everyone I looked up got a terrible review!!
took no notice , went ahead & had no probs & great holidays!
Awful not to be able to trust them -Thankfully we've all got The Dibb! xx

[loadsapixiedust]

That makes the whole review process pointless and worthless for the potential traveller. I gave up looking at tripadvisor a long time ago as some of the reviews were just so unbelievable there had to be a hidden agenda.

[Walmart-lover]

I think I must be really thick because I never think of people being dishonest! I've used the Holidays Uncovered Web site before & even posted on that site.

Just shows me that I can't believe everyone!

True! I always take TA with a pinch of salt - esp those by Americans - but that's really low, imo.

[gala]

It gets even better today. I read another review of the hotel I stay in (which I can tell you is amazing for the price). I think when I booked with Val last year we paid 58 pounds per night for all of us which included a large buffet breakfast. This mornings latest lousy review of the same hotel complains that there was no valet parking or bell boy. Now I might be a little naive but I thought WHAT? I cant believe that some of these people are serious that all the added extras they expect in a 5* establishment are to be found in a 3* for which they are paying a very low price.
Here is another complaint from the same person,
'There is a sink in the kitchen area, but no toilet'............PARDON?
I think I give up on some of these people!

Margaret

[poohspals]

I often think that people are more likely to write a review if they have had a bad experience rather than a good one.

[Enright78]

There is even a bad review on there for a lovely hotel we have used where the writer didn't even stay there, just didn't like the look of it!
(Comfort Suites Maingate East)

[minnie5]

Ive heard of hotels putting on bad reviews so it makes theirs look good.We are going to the international plaza resort next week and ive read some horrendous reviews on TA.Im going to see for myself what its like,after all what suits one person may not suit another.Anyway where do people find time to find all these problems,we are always too busy at the parks enjoying ourselves!they must be proffesional complainers or have nothing better to do in which case they shouldnt be holidaying in florida!!!

[mkingdon]

Sounds like an opportunity for someone to set up a website that does this hotel review thing properly then....


Stu?????? ;) :cool2:

[Rebelrebel]

Expedia and Travelocity also do hotel reviews - not sure how true they are though.

[saranotts]

There is even a bad review on there for a lovely hotel we have used where the writer didn't even stay there, just didn't like the look of it!
(Comfort Suites Maingate East)

You beat me to it. When I saw this I couldn't believe it, as they were giving everything about the hotel a low mark even though they hadn't been inside it!

[Eagle88]

I have to admit the reviews web-sites I take with a pinch of salt, they are open to amnipulation as noted earlier in this posting, it doesn't take much for a good hotel etc to drop down the order. I much prefer to visit the forums such as this and get the 'proper' perspective of real people. I have found that generally people only post bad reviews and very rarely bother to post a review that praises the location/airline etc. So I have really tended to take a Jaundiced view of reviews especially of US hotels, after all most Brits only use the rooms as a bed and spend little, if any time using the facilities on offer. That's why I have resorted to Villas from now on.

[redjack]

Tried the site once when we was booked into the World Sheraton Hotel a few years back after reading there revues we nearly cancelled the hotel but we had a great couple of weeks and would go again if we wasnt staying on site , I have not used the site since

Jackie