Like many travelers out there, I thought TripAdvisor.com was a useful resource.
I mean, isn't it a great help to read reviews about worldwide hotels, restaurants & attractions written by people who actually stayed, dined & visited them before booking, reserving or going there?
Wouldn't that save you time, money & add value to your vacations by being able to benefit by other travelers pro or con experiences?
Well, maybe not.
Questions have popped up about the accuracy of these TA write ups.
The loudest warning comes from Great Britain's Advertising Standards Authority. They said that TA can't claim that 100% of its reviews are 'honest, real or trusted' or even written by 'real travelers'.
Hmmm. So who's writing these reviews? Perhaps the hotel's themselves.
Purportedly the management of a UK based hotel chain instructed its employees to take photos of their individual inns so they could be added to a slew of company written 'praise pieces' that would be printed on the TA site.
Hmmmm, hmmmm. And it gets worse.
TA offers hotel managers to 'sign up for an annual subscription'. This cost between $360 - $10,500 per year for each inn (depending on size).
Rumor has it that 'subscribers' rarely - if ever - have their property panned.
Hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm.
So should you disregard TripAdvisor.com as a travel source?
I would say 'no', but just don't use it as your only one.
Check & double check numerous sites - like this blog - to get a good feel about a hotel, restaurant or location before you book.
And take all TA 'advisories' with more than a single grain of salt - especially those that have an equal # of 'reviewers' who call a place ' the new Taj Mahal' as those who shout 'it's a rat infested dump'.
No comments:
Post a Comment