It would be useful to be able to generate a report which included the number of reviews as one criteria, but if it is possible I can't figure out how. Even better would be to filter it by (number of reviews)x(number of other reviews each individual reviewer has). That would filter all the one-time posters.

On one hand you read quite a few Trip Advisor reviews.. on another, you're saying not to take all posts serious.. then you go onto providing an example of a post whether or not we take it as gospel or not.

We all have filters, and we have different criteria to the information we are gathering off of trip advisor. There are going to be unique view points to each and every stay and post. So what you find to be effective is going to be unique and different from everyone who reads the same Trip Advisor posts.

Trip Advisor is raw information for our access. We can access information from those who are posting about their experience. Its not a perfect way of gathering information. Its a source of information used correctly can be invaluable.

Although, there is the intervention of moderators what not, and the website is now owned by Expedia. But some of the most valuable forums on the Internet are owned by large corporations. Again, its how we filter and use the information ultimately.

I look on thıs websıte for credıtable feedback from elıtes.

You forgot to dot your "i"s! :D

I'm not utılızıng Englısh keyboard.
:)

Is it possible for establishments to pay to remove bad reviews on tripadvisor like yelp allows? Just asking to see if the reviews can be games by the places...

This must qualify as one of the most restrained comments that I've read on FT in a long, long time.

I just read this entire thread. There's a lot of repetition!

Most people at FlyerTalk are savvy enough to know to "take it with a grain of salt" when looking at reviews and ratings. That's pretty obvious. But the sheer scale and audacity of the purposeful misrepresentation on TA is really not something that even a fairly experienced traveler is prepared for--until s/he experiences it firsthand. For me, the real shock is not that fake reviews and shilling take place, but rather the total lack of concern and professionalism by TA. I heartily concur with the complaints about lack of oversight and enforcement of standards, as well as the "shoot the messenger" attitude.

Example: the Crowne Plaza River Oaks in Houston. I was excited about staying there last year, partly because it had so many positive reviews on TA. It was actually the worst hotel stay of my life. Worse than a Motel 6 by far. TA initially rejected my review for vague reasons. I edited and re-submitted several times before finally figuring out that the offending phrase seemed to be "I cannot imagine how this hotel receives so many good reviews." After removing this, the review was accepted. I've never had a single problem with a positive review being accepted.

I couldn't figure out the disconnect between the reviews and my experience. Around this same time I stumbled across the NYT article about fake reviews. So I went back and took a closer look at the reviews for this Crowne Plaza. Vast numbers of positive, 5* reviews from generic members with only 1 or maybe 2 reviews. The number of total reviews was way larger in proportion to the hotel size than any other hotel in Houston. Many of the positive reviews mentioned the same specific employee by name. I hadn't paid much attention to the vagueness and oddly large number of these reviews initially because I couldn't imagine fraud on that scale for such a minimally important purpose. Now, all became clear.

Unfortunately, TA makes it extremely hard to report something like this. Notice that there is no "contact us" link on their homepage? I had to submit my findings to them as an addition to my review (I can't remember anymore exactly how it worked). I received a form response and nothing else. Furthermore, I believe that TA does not care at all about these fake reviews in my opinion, because it does not interfere with their bottom line. Even a year later, nothing has been done, and this hotel is still highly ranked, with the same employee receiving constant plaudits. I'd say TA is ripe for a much nastier expose than has been done in the past. Too bad we don't have Mike Wallace to chase down the CEO anymore.

[If you want to see my review, go back to January 2013 and look for a review called "Worst hotel stay ever." It's really quite comical.]

Did your review remain online? Sorry to hear about your experience. Nowadays I read Trio a Advisor less, but when I do, I read the worst reviews such as yours and evaluate whether or not I would be able to survive a stay there. A bit comical, but I find the worst reviews the most helpful.

The easiest way to find hotturnip's review is to Google both phrases "Worst hotel stay ever" and Crowne Plaza River Oaks. That was funny. A cursory look at other reviews indicated the repeatedly and glowingly mentioned employee. Did you ever talk to her, hotturnip?

Thank you for your example about the Crowne Plaza River Oaks in Houston. It piqued my curiosity so I looked it up. It's an eye-opener for me because I consider myself a savvy traveler (having strategies for spotting fakes, knowing when to apply a "grain of salt", etc.) but what's going on with that hotel's TA reviews may well have fooled me if I were using TA for hotel advice.

The issue is the sheer number of glowing reviews. I do agree with you that the number of reviews are far out of line relative comparable hotels in the same geographical area. That raises suspicion the reviews are phony or solicited. But with so many reviews piled in there it becomes impossible (short of creating additional software) to filter out the suspicious ones. Because of sheer numbers I would have grouped your review into the category of "Quarrelsome person had an uncharacteristically bad experience at this hotel and is going on a crusade against it."

Now I know better. And unfortunately, "better" means that I trust TA even less now.

I usually don't read the 5 and 1 ratings. Mostly I enjoy looking at traveler's photos of the rooms. They're more realistic than the professional ones. Except why would anyone take a photo of the room after it's been trashed? I only take shots when I first get there and everything is clean and tidy.

Trip Advisor would be more reliable if hotels, travel companies and attractions could also leave reviews about their guests and clients.

Suppose I leave a negative and whining review about a hotel, then you could click my name and see what hotels have said about me, then make your mind up about whether I am just tool that leaves negative reviews and makes a nuisance of myself.

Hotels and attractions could also bid for the best trip advisor users. "He's got 5 stars and never steals the towels, let's give him 10% off"

I can figure out whether a person is a nuisance/whiner just by looking at their number of reviews, their ratings distribution, and maybe a few recent reviews. Usually just the number of reviews is sufficient. And that's if it's not obvious from the content of the review. I don't need to see feedback from the management-- and generally when I do, it reflects poorly on the management because they're just doing spin to deflect bad reviews.

I like when hotel management follows up with concerns. Certainly when I had issues, I appreciated the general manager following up and making amends. Doesn't happen all the time, but I appreciate the attention.

Plus, I'll email ahead of my stay and receive excellent treatment upon arrival, the few times I've done this