Yeah but if we want to send (email or phone) ourselves directions to the hotel (for use with google maps) we need to login to google account whilst within incognito or we have to copy the link and paste it in a non-incognito window (where we are logged in to google account). Either way, google will become aware we are interested.

Add this to another one tripadvisor would have misled:
review of Kanga-an, a temple where you can have a set meal in Kyoto. Lots of reviewers noted it was rushed, etc.
But left out meaningful information (oh I wish you could have requirements for reviews, and if they don't meet them they don't get published. The most obvious one of restaurants being you have to eat there), like which set they got. They said it was slow and rushed.
Ours wasn't slow, nor rushed. Beautiful setting and presentation, but did get the highest set (don't know if that makes a difference).

It is a bit ironic that the initial value of the internet was the ability to post (reviews, suggestions, help) with a degree of anonymity but it is now that very anonymity which allows for so many fake contributions to be posted.

Another issue we have with TA is the change of demographic of traveler over the past 20 years means that there are more contributors from different backgrounds and with different perspectives.

Perhaps it would be useful if TA (and other sites) had a 'travelers like me' filter option? Not sure how that would work.

Mods, please change thread title to "Tripadvisor was never reliable" :p

That does make interpreting reviews a real challenge... there is a real discrepancy between quality on an absolute scale, vs. quality relative to expectations.

A lot of people will give a decent Days Inn 5 stars because the room is clean and there is never a lineup for toasters at the continental breakfast. But conversely they will give a St. Regis 3 stars because the thread count on the sheets wasn't high enough or whatever.

I would love that. I thought it would be great for yelp. Filtering based on location would be the easiest. Do I really care what a person from "Middle of nowhere, America" thinks about some ethnic restaurant on the coast?
But they would never allow that. Such filtering tools are only reserved for "paying" advertisers

I personally think that the reviews on hotel / hostel booking sites are more useful than on tripadvisor - I have never got unexpected experiences given enough travellers' comment for all the places I have stayed.

TripAdvisor is very reliable for restaurant reviews. I know if a restaurant is highly rated or recommended on TA I know 100% to avoid it.

Commercial, travel-covering sites, be they travel blogs or sites whose primary content is user-provided, have a tendency to get co-opted by certain business interests and end up inclined toward being apologists for the covered industry/business and/or for the government closest to them. How that shows may vary, but that's been the trajectory at Tripadvisor and various other travel-covering sites, FT included.

The larger a site becomes, the more it ends up gravitating toward being on the side of the powerful, moneyed interests and against the consumers and even the audience at large.

TA just mass deleted reviews for a hotel under the explanation that the hotel had "recently renovated". The hotel renovated like 4 years ago and some of my reviews (been there multiple times) were after the renovation. Considering most of these reviews (not just mine) were .... not bad but not great ... I'm certain this was an attempt to improve their rating. What a blatant farce. I suppose it's time to delete TA.

I also notice that some hotel groups re-purpose hotel names of popular properties. E.g. Azul Beach, which is an excellent small boutique hotel int he Riviera Maya, is closing for renovations to be renamed, The owners have used the name for the Azul Sensatori - Now named the Azul Beach Riviera Cancun - which is a property that really sucks. It leads people to believe these are the same and many reviews are for the incorrect property.

I got a notification for my review of Fairmont Singapore that theyve done that because of renovations.
Clearly corporate interference.

TA is a staple for me for pictures and getting some idea what it is like. In that sense, the reviews are great.

I am done going by overall scores. A bunch of 1 star reviews because your group didn't have rooms next to each other isn't a reason to not stay there. I can't count how many times when looking for a IHG or Hilton Hotel, a Hampton or HIX is the highest rated room.

never used tripadvisor because of fake reviews