Trip Advisor

From The Telegraph:

Service is by far the biggest factor behind negative reviews on TripAdvisor, new research has suggested.

A poll of nearly 5,000 Telegraph readers saw it placed above "quality of food and drink" and "size/style of room" as the aspect of a hotel most likely to prompt a bad write-up, with 58 per cent of votes. With hotels increasingly under pressure to improve their TripAdvisor ranking, the results could persuade many to focus their efforts on improving staff training. They are supported by a recent study by TripExpert, another travel review website, which found that 41 per cent of TripAdvisor's one-star reviews cite service as the main problem.

Telegraph Travel's survey also revealed some doubts about the effectiveness of TripAdvisor's authentification methods. Two-thirds of readers urged TripAdvisor to do more to stamp out illegitimate reviews, with almost three-quarters (72 per cent) believing travellers should be required to provide proof of their stay before being allowed to write a review.

The website has previously faced accusations that some of its reviews are not genuine, and in 2012 the Advertising Standards Authority said it could no longer claim all the reviews on its website were "honest, real or trusted".

Despite these doubts, the majority of readers (58 per cent) said they would still ignore a hotel, or cancel a booking, on the basis of a negative TripAdvisor review, demonstrating just how influential the world's most visited website has become. Around half (48 per cent) said they trust TripAdvisor’s ratings as much as they do the opinions of a newspaper, magazine or professional reviewer.

The survey also revealed that 96 per cent of readers browse reviews on TripAdvisor, with almost half (46 per cent) visiting the website at least once a month.

Fewer write about their experiences – seven per cent said they pen reviews at least once a month, and 37 per cent said they have never written one.

Of the 4,825 people who took part in the survey, 67 (around one per cent) said they had written a review that wasn’t completely honest. A further 295 (six per cent) said they would threaten to write a negative TripAdvisor review to get a refund or discount on a hotel stay.

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