Phony Hotel Reviews

ABOVE: Some hotel reviews are less suspect than others. For example, a Venere review of the Hotel Principe in Venice can only by written by someone who's booked a room at the hotel.

Can you trust 'user reviews' at TripAdvisor.com, VirtualTourist.com, and similar sites?

These days, many travelers rely on "user reviews" at megasites like TripAdvisor.com (owned by Expedia) and VirtualTourist.com when selecting hotels.

In theory, this is a great idea. In practice, such review sites can be hijacked by hotels, advertising agencies, and Web marketing firms that post fake--and invariably positive--reviews under assumed member names. To put it more bluntly, paid shills are spamming "user review" sites to con unsuspecting travelers.

In his Practical Nomad Blog, travel journalist Ed Hasbrouck described a session at the 2006 PhoCusWright marketing conference:

The Sunday Times of London recently posed a similar question--one that was more practical than rhetorical:

"How can you turn a one-star hostel into a top hotel overnight? Write fake reviews online."

In their Sunday Times story, "Hotel Review Sites: A Five-Star Scam," investigative reporters Gareth Walsh and Stephen Swinford asserted:

• "'Guests who have never even stayed at a hotel can boost or depress its rating by posting fake reviews."

• "Poorly rated establishments can lift their reputations from one to four stars in a matter of hours by posting fictional positive reviews."

• "Some establishments attempt to damage the reputations of rivals."

Separating true from false

Are any user reviews useful? Yes, if they're obtained from real guests. For example, Venere (our booking partner) solicits rankings and reviews from guests who have stayed at a hotel. In theory, a hotel or its advertising agency could post a phony review by booking a room through Venere and paying for it; in real life, this would be too cumbersome and expensive to be practical.

Guidebook reviews (or reviews on editorial sites like this one) can also be helpful, assuming that you trust the author's judgment. Two caveats:

• Any review will reflect the author's biases, at least to some degree.

• A review describes what the writer experienced at one point in time.

The bottom line:

Reviews (whether written by past guests or guidebook authors) can be useful, but take gushingly positive reviews with a grain of salt. For that matter, be skeptical of hyperbolic negative reviews, too, because a guest who feels slighted or cheated for any reason isn't likely to be objective.

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