Has Trip Advisor every been reliable compared to FT?

TA, Yelp and other "review" sites I don't trust as people only give one point of view, on one part of the hotel stay. The trigger for the review is generally a bad experience. Most because they are not educated on the hotel or the hotels associated loyalty program.

When someone writes/describes an Four Points, Hyatt Place or Courtyard as expensive or luxurious, I can't take them serious.

Such people exist in abundance!

Daring to criticize Trip Advisor
 

Hello, all. When I first came down to Nanning to work on my current project several months ago, I relied heavily on TA as a source for intelligence about "where to eat". I knew from the get go that TA is incredibly easy to game, which often distorts the rankings, but I figured imperfect listings are better than no listings at all.

But, as I got more and more used to eating in Nanning, I discovered that their listings barely scratched the surface. For example, I would dare say that 20 of the 30 restaurants in the MixC across the street from me, including the deli in the basement grocery store, are better than every place I've tried on their list (the entire top 20 and then some). Yet, the only one they mention is an overpriced "international" buffet that seems to be a big hit with the locals.

So, I tried to be a good citizen and write reviews on TA that I thought might be useful to future expats who are dispatched to this outpost. On several occasions, I spent an hour plus trying to find restaurants that no longer existed. More recently, I was able to track down an Indian restaurant that does exist, but changed locations about a year ago. As such, it has received a number of one star reviews from people who were unable to find it.

In my review, I photographed the new location, provided a GPS link, the new address, and their correct phone number. Low and behold, they didn't even publish it.

Foursquare is just as bad, mind you, but at least they don't censor my reviews.

What you describe is not censorship. TA has to verify new restaurants they add to their listings. I got one added but it took about a month for it to be added, and this was a place in Silicon Valley where I'd bet some of the TA staff had dined.

RE: Dubious reviews... Yes, there are some. Unless there are 20+ reviews, it is hard to know whether to take them seriously.

Trip Advisor and Skytrax Airline / Airport Quality reviews have both fallen victim to the selective editing disease, limiting their utility.

The question is when the marketplace will punish them for it by using an alternative.

While I think they should be proactive and actively recruit restaurants in poorly served markets (like Nanning) in order to make their service more useful, I was speaking mainly of restaurants that are already listed, but with errors that render them completely useless. Basically, when a reviewer states that a restaurant is closed, this should trigger an automatic audit on their side. If they are unable to confirm otherwise, they should simply delete the listing. In the case of one French sandwich shop that I tried to locate last week, it wasn't until after I arrived in the neighborhood that I bothered to read further down the list of glowing reviews than I had in the past, and I found this key tidbit from 2 years ago, "it was a great place, but it's now closed because the owner moved back to France."

Regarding gaming the system, as much as they might try to tell you otherwise, this is extremely easy. For example, I consulted a popular hotel in Shanghai on online marketing a few years ago, and the centerpiece of our TA campaign was to make buttons for the front line employees to wear with the TA/到到 logo which said, "give us 5 stars". This resulted in an immediate huge jump in the rankings. And, if their employees had really been aggressive, I'm pretty sure they could have cracked the top 10... without resorting to self promotion (which is also commonplace).

I saw another funny one today. The Umstead Hotel and Spa, the only 5 star hotel in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary area (built originally to be a Four Seasons I believe) is the #2 hotel in Cary behind the Hilton Garden Inn Raleigh-Cary. Must be a hell of a HGI :D

Not necessarily so unusual. The same thing happens with most crowd-sourced reviews. People going to the 5 star hotel (or restaurant) have very high expectations and will subtract points when things aren't perfect. Those at the HGI may go in with lower expectations. And HGIs are actually pretty nice for suburban business travelers and for families looking to step up from the usual budget brands.

There's also the challenge, when writing a review, of whether to rate businesses relative to others in the same price range or on an absolute value-to-price basis. This is a question for which there is no single correct answer. In the former case, reviews for budget brands would be all 2-3 stars with repetitive comments like "There was no spa to get a massage", "Their idea of room service was delivery pizza!", and "The restaurant has PLASTIC cutlery!" In the other case, reviews for higher end businesses would be full of negative comments like, "I don't see paying 2-3x for this when the chain hotel/restaurant down the street has perfectly acceptable rooms/steaks/etc."

its easy to glance at a reviewer's location, review #, and helpful #, to gauge reliability of their rating - you can tell those who are used to ... less-upscale establishments heaping praise on middling businesses.

For almost any review I go straight to the 2* review (1* is for the rare extraordinary circumstances) - reading a few of these negative reviews will usually tell you what you need to know

that Folk Gospoda place in Warsaw is a nice joint, btw. But for food I go to Platter in the Intercontinental.

I don't find Trip Advisors rating of restaurants reliable. It gives me an idea, but sometimes there are multiple listings of the same or similar name of the restaurant.

I still find hotel ratings from Trip Advisor the most reliable but for other types of businesses, Yelp has been pretty invaluable lately.

I agree with you regarding Trip Advisor and other hotel rating websites. I use Trip Advisor as a resource but don't rely on it as a sole means in making my selection.

For instance this April I am going on a cruise from Sao Paulo(Santos) to Barcelona and booked hotels in Sao Paulo, Santos and Barcelona.

When I booked my Sao Paulo hotel I found the Mercure Sao Paulo Central Towers.. On Trip Advisor people were saying that their apartment was not updated and the response from the manager was to request an updated room. Listen people like to nit pick things and I always write the hotel and ask to be put in a Non Smoking updated apartment on a high floor away from the elevator.

In Santos I also booked the Mercure Santos. I have had a great stay at the Mercure by Frankfurt Airport on a layover and had a great experience there. I have found that by requesting what you want leaves room for less disappointment.

In Sao Paulo I got the room with Breakfast for $82 a night and it comes with an electric stove, two twin beds, a bathroom with a shower. The hotel also has an indoor pool Fitness Center and Sauna. For $82 a night with breakfast I am not complaining. Heck I'm going to be out most of the day sightseeing.

In Santos I got the Mercure for $125 for the night before the cruise and the room is a suite with a separate living room and bedroom and balcony. Its literally right on the beach and its about 4 miles from the pier and close to shopping. So it fits our needs.

Then in Barcelona I found the 4 star Amister Art Hotel in L'Example for $88 a night. A nice hotel for the price.

What I do is read through as many reviews as possible on TripAdvisor and Yelp and use the good and bad reviews to my advantage. With the bad reviews I take the review and make a mental note of what to write in my request e-mail. For instance if its says they got a loud room or one that is on a floor with construction then I request to be put away from the noise.

If I see more than one review with some of the same tips then I use them to my advantage. While I know you cannot cancel a Hotwire reservation you can put in requests to get a better room.

A lot of the time the reviewer does not give the hotel a chance to fix their problem and will write a bad review. I make TripAdvisor work for me.

For instance in Barcelona it says the breakfast is expensive and not worth the cost so I will see the breakfast before committing and skip it if I see its not what I expected it to be and go to a local Bakery for breakfast. What travelers do is commit to an expensive breakfast and expect it to be like home.

In Sao Paulo it was a great deal since Mercure offers full breakfast with hot items, cereals, fruits, breads, meats etc. In Santos Breakfast is $12 per person so I will see what it is and if its good then I will pay for it. When I went to Mercure's webstite it was more expensive to book their breakfast package and room package but with my rate we still come out $40 less by booking breakfast directly at the hotel.

In Sao Paulo it was cheaper to book breakfast with Mercure than using other third party websites.

So all in all use TripAdvisor to your advantage. Start taking mental notes and write a request e-mail. A lot of the time there is a response from the manager to the bad and good reviews. Use his or her name in the e-mail and stay that Mr. Smith Manager at your hotel replied to reviews on TripAdvisor about the older rooms per his advice he suggested to request a newly renovated room if its available would you please assign us a Non Smoking newly renovated room on the top floor away from the elevator?

Always try to use the local language. In Brazil I used some of the local language in my e-mail and they were happy that I was trying and I feel that it goes a long way since they may not speak or write perfect English you are trying your best to use the local language.

I hope these tips help you.

Or, there's an easier way. Ignore TA and pay a very few shekels for an expert and independent guide book.

Your post makes me wonder if the hotel pays their friends, relatives and frequent guests to write good reviews to negate the negative reviews? Lets say Hotel Juniper De Paris has a bad rap and they pay their relatives and friends to write a good review how do we know its a good hotel?

I think its unfair that TripAdvisor would allow friends or family to write a good review to keep their hotel in business. While I like to laugh at some of the responses to the review it would be better if someone from the National Tourist Board and Travel Agents to have their reviews marked as"Professional Reviewer" after they have been verified.

One funny response to a review that I can imagine a manager of a Parisian Hotel Writing.

Dear Mr.XXX

I am so sorry to read your review. Perhaps you would have been better accommodated at the Hilton up the road that caters to Americans. We pride ourselves in providing excellent service, updated rooms and a good breakfast. Some of the comments you wrote are so untrue.

First of all I was advised by the Front Desk Clerk that you were rude and demanding from the start. Mr XXX I am sorry but we simply cannot deal with a demanding customer who did not show any pleasantries or even allow us to deal with the situation.

Secondly I was taken aback to hear that you treated our housekeeper rudely and did not give her an opportunity to replenish your bathroom items. Mr. XXX Quite frankly I don't think we can cater to your needs.

In the future we hope that you find a hotel that meets your Americanized needs. We are a European Parisian Boutique Hotel operating for over 30 years and your comments were an insult to our entire staff especially the comment you made about our breakfast.

Please look somewhere else when booking your next Paris Hotel.

Yours Truly,

Jean Rousseau
Manager

LOL

Agreed - in the States, its Yelp all the way. Although even there due to sheer size almost all restaurants are 3.5 or 4 stars. You really have to sift through the reviews now to get a better sense.

However, Yelp isn't international. So you have to use TA when traveling abroad. And TA is good for excursions too. And they have the same problem re hotels these days - you really need to sift through the reviews to see who is posting. People from Singapore and China post very different reviews than people from the USA. Expectations are different - need to look at who is saying what - the overall scores are less helpful these days. TA needs to give us scores by reviewer type.

Excursions I haven't tried but its good to know. Plus cruise reviews as well. I'm a newbie to both cruises and excursions.

I'm not surprised with the post padding on TA mentioned here. It is big business and the hotels depend on TA to generate business. Bad reviews are a cancer to the hotel business cash flow. Granted there are a few customers who post on TA unreasonably, and the comments need to be mitigated, but when a hotel is truly bad, I think the consumers will see right thru it.

I review negative ratings and comments on TA specifically to see if our family can handle the worst expected happening on site. All properties have something negative going on, even the properties I tend to frequent. It's managing expectations not everything will be perfect, and having heads up prior to arrival.