Villas inside and out

A bad review on a popular website could do irreparable damage to the reputation of a hotel.

TripAdvisor claims to be the world's biggest travel site, with more than 50 million reviews. A poor rating on its pages can cost a business tens of thousands of pounds in lost bookings according to industry experts.

The reviews must be written only by consumers, otherwise the website could sanction the reviewed hotel with a warning.

This is what happened to a hotel in Evesham last September. The hotel - formerly rated the best accomodation in the area -has faced financial ruin after it was "red flagged" by TripAdvisor.

Now customers have started to demand from hotels free upgrades or refunds despite nothing being wrong with their accommodation, it has been claimed.

The Times has reported that more than 80 hotel and bed-and-breakfast owners have claimed being subjected to threats from customers.

These attempts at blackmail include guests threatening to write one-star reviews if they did not receive a 50 per cent discount. There are even false reports on food poisoning.

TripAdvisor says that threats are "strictly against our guidelines, but it may also be illegal."

Online reputation company KwikChex.com has assisted The Times investigation and confirms that there are businesses that have contacted them for assistance.

KwikChex also confirms that it has contacted John Dila, the recently appointed Director of Customer Care for TripAdvisor, about the blackmail cases and that they have written to him "outlining imminent actions and requesting immediate dialogue and resolutions."

TripAdvisor is being investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following thousands of complaints from hoteliers about allegedly misleading and fraudulent reviews.

The Committee of Advertising Practice code rule 3.45 says: "Marketers must hold documentary evidence that a testimonial or endorsement used in a marketing communication is genuine, unless it is obviously fictitious, and hold contact details for the person who, or organisation that, gives it."

The full ASA process is likely to be completed in the next few weeks.

Be the first to comment on this.