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Are fake TripAdvisor reviews ruining your Hawaii vacation?
Over the years, TripAdvisor has become quite adept at spotting reviews that are fraudulent or do not meet their community guidelines. In fact, last year alone TripAdvisor rejected or removed over 2 million reviews either manually or through their “advanced review analysis system”.
If you come across a review that you think is suspicious, you can submit it for review by following the steps in your Owner Center account.
1. They are a scam
Even the biggest review site in the world has a problem with fake reviews. The company’s latest report found that 4.4% of the 30.2 million reviews posted in 2022 were fraudulent or otherwise misleading.
While every opinion goes through a series of automated checks before it’s published, suspicious elements can raise flags. The review is then further analyzed by human content moderation experts. And if a rating violates the guidelines, it is removed.
The problem isn’t just one-hit wonders—fake reviews come from a wide variety of people and companies, including paid review companies that charge hotels to generate positive reviews for them. Last year, Tripadvisor found more than 24,500 such reviews and penalized the rankings of 33,000 companies for employing them.
While you can’t prevent all fake reviews, you can do your part by filing a review dispute when you spot a bad one. Simply log into your Owner Center and fill out a rating dispute form explaining why the rating does not meet the guidelines.
2. They are a scam
Over 2 million reviews have been rejected or removed from TripAdvisor in the past year – about 8.6% of all reviews. Most of them were fake or violated the site’s community guidelines, such as using profanity.
The company’s automated systems have several ways to identify fake reviews and prevent them from appearing on the site. For example, if too many of the same reviews are coming from the same person or location, this can be a red flag. And if a user has previously been reported for writing fake reviews, the system can flag those reviews until they are reviewed by a human.
The company also says it has shut down more than 75 websites selling fake reviews and is helping small businesses fight astroturfing by sharing tips and tricks. One of these tips is to clear your browser cache and use an incognito or private window. This will reduce your chances of being targeted for astroturfing.
3. They are a mistake
A competitor may post a fake negative review in an attempt to knock you out of your position. A disgruntled employee or former guest could do the same and sabotage your business. Or a jealous family member might write something positive to boost your grades.
TripAdvisor has gotten pretty good at chasing these reviews. According to their 2021 Review Transparency Report, more than 2 million submitted reviews were rejected or removed (about 8.6% of the total) either manually or through the site’s advanced review analysis system.
The report notes that many of the fakes were flagged as such by the community or TripAdvisor’s own internal systems. Sometimes a company removes a review because it violates their guidelines. Some of the rules include writing more than a year after the experience, using slang or capital letters, and using language related to Covid-19 that could be interpreted as racial discrimination. The company also hunts down reviews of paid review companies, going so far as to send its own undercover investigators to work with these services to catch them in the act.
4. They are a marketing strategy
As a hotel, restaurant or tourism business owner, you know that positive reviews can increase your reputation and attract more guests. And while it’s hard to accept a negative review, you should try to accept it with grace.
But sometimes even genuine reviews can be tainted by professional marketers who want to harm businesses. Maybe they resent you or want to promote their business.
The problem is so serious that TripAdvisor released a report in 2021 saying that at least 1 million fake reviews were submitted to the site last year. Fortunately, the vast majority of these were caught before they went live.
The review site tries to catch the perpetrators by analyzing ads for companies that offer “review optimization” services. It also works with law enforcement and other regulators to ensure that those who break the rules are punished. In some cases, the culprits were ordered to pay large fines and banned from TripAdvisor for life.