Tripadvisor

[u360213]

Does anybody still take any notice of Trip advisor?
...
What is it for?
 

Not sure if you are serious...    I and millions of others use Tripadvisor whenever we travel to locate hotels, restaurants etc. You soon become accustomed to weeding out fake and 'axe to grind' reviews. On the upside I have found numerous hotels and restaurants that I simply would never have tried or found withour Tripadvisor. For years we have had to put up with guide books that feign independance but in many cases entries are paid for, how does that help to guide us?

This article from 2011 is interesting...  40 odd million users a month and growing I believe answers your question Simone:

http://1000heads.com/2011/03/travel-tourism-the-rise-and-rise-of-tripadvisor/

In another interesting development when I visited Budapest last weekend I checked tripadvisor prior to travelling looking for a restaurant and was offered a free downloadable city guide from the website. Once installed I was able to use this (offline) in Budapest without the issue of mobile data costs. It was excellent, user-friendly, up-to-date and had detailed location maps etc. The implication for the sales of guide books for weekend breaks is obvious.

No I dont work for them. Just wish I had shares!

[amazon]

So was it wrong of me to say what I did about the ring o bells idid not make it up .

It was wrong to post it HERE as it's against the forum policy. What you post elsewhere is entirely your business.

quite right Howard I Apoligise . I will let the subject drop .

[Howard]

So was it wrong of me to say what I did about the ring o bells idid not make it up .

It was wrong to post it HERE as it's against the forum policy. What you post elsewhere is entirely your business.

[amazon]

Where have I written a negative report ? 

I didn't say that you had. I just thought that as you had actually made a posting on trip advisor, that this was the next best thing and that you might give some understanding as to why anybody would want to make a posting anyway, particularly a negative one.

Getting a bit off-topic here, but perhaps I can help, Simone, as I have done a few Tripadvisor reviews of hotels and restaurants over the years (but not of any round here). 

Basically Tripadvisor (and other review websites) can be a useful guide as to the quality of a product or service, as long as you take everything you read with a generous pinch of salt!   And if you make use of the information and advice available on these sites, then it seems only fair that you should pay back into the system by contributing reviews of your own, if you have something useful to say.  As it happens, most of the reviews which I have submitted have been positive, but I have occasionally submitted negative ones, and the reason for this (as with the positive reviews) was simply to assist others in making their choices.  It's that simple!   

Btw, it's often quite easy to spot false reviews on Tripadvisor - they freqeuntly come from someone who is a first-time poster. 

So was it wrong of me to say what I did about the ring o bells idid not make it up .

[Dave]

Where have I written a negative report ? 

I didn't say that you had. I just thought that as you had actually made a posting on trip advisor, that this was the next best thing and that you might give some understanding as to why anybody would want to make a posting anyway, particularly a negative one.

Getting a bit off-topic here, but perhaps I can help, Simone, as I have done a few Tripadvisor reviews of hotels and restaurants over the years (but not of any round here). 

Basically Tripadvisor (and other review websites) can be a useful guide as to the quality of a product or service, as long as you take everything you read with a generous pinch of salt!   And if you make use of the information and advice available on these sites, then it seems only fair that you should pay back into the system by contributing reviews of your own, if you have something useful to say.  As it happens, most of the reviews which I have submitted have been positive, but I have occasionally submitted negative ones, and the reason for this (as with the positive reviews) was simply to assist others in making their choices.  It's that simple!   

Btw, it's often quite easy to spot false reviews on Tripadvisor - they freqeuntly come from someone who is a first-time poster. 

[ROTHERS]

I leave negative feedback after I have complained to the management and the response isn't satisfactory.
I use ta infrequently to make a judgement on whether to visit and attraction, eg - London Zoo, read the feedback, would you go ?
On the flipside - Up on the O2, good feedback in general, so we went and it was great fun.

[simonesaffron]

Where have I written a negative report ? 

I didn't say that you had. I just thought that as you had actually made a posting on trip advisor, that this was the next best thing and that you might give some understanding as to why anybody would want to make a posting anyway, particularly a negative one.

[ROTHERS]

Where have I written a negative report ? 

[simonesaffron]

It was I who left the last review on Tripadvisor.
For price/quality/atmosphere its the best eating pub in Marple..

Does anybody still take any notice of Trip advisor?

I have a relative who has been in the hotel industry all her life, in the past she has actually owned two large hotels, one in the UK and one abroad. When she was operating the one abroad dozens of scurrilous trip advisor reviews turned up on the trip advisor website by people claiming to stay at her hotel and she hadn't even opened for business. When she complained to t/a they just ignored her.  It turned out that they were posted by a competitor who was concerned for his own business. My relative also told me that it is common practice throughout the hotel industry for hoteliers to write their own "glowing reviews" and post them on trip advisor. Apparently Trip Advisor do no checks at all and all you need are separate email addresses and separate computers.   

Even though it is wholly dishonest, I suppose if it is your own business I can understand all that. However Rothers, I am interested. What  actually motivates a person to write an anonymous, harmful, negative review about a business that they have no vested interest in ?

What is it for?