Trip Advisor

~ beetleypete

Do any of you ever write reviews on this site? Or perhaps you read them before choosing a hotel, destination, or restaurant? It has certainly become influential in recent years, but very often, some reviews have to be read ‘between the lines’. It is very easy for a disgruntled customer to try to destroy the reputation of a venue, eating establishment, or hotel. Just by ranting about one unhappy experience, they can have a detrimental effect on a business for years to come.

But if every customer writes a bad review, you can probably assume that there is something going on, and that the place is best avoided. On the other hand, unlimited glowing reviews of somewhere are to be treated with caution. They may have been put up by family and friends of that business, in the hope of raising its profile.

I have only added a few reviews on that site so far. As with any of my reviews, for products on Amazon, or films I have watched, I try to be as fair and non-judgmental as I can. Even if fifty others diners have bad-mouthed a restaurant, if I had a good experience on the night I ate there, I will say so. On the other hand, If I felt ripped-off, or badly treated, I will say that too, although one hundred others may well have been happy.

I have recently started to be contacted by Trip Advisor, asking me to review lots more places and establishments. It seems that I am receiving favourable feedback on some reviews, and they want me to add many more. They even sent me a short video, listing my ‘story so far’. Here’s a link to that.
https://tripadvisoryearinreviews.com/1a4e6c45-87fd-4208-a7a8-ab599c54139c

So, if you have thought about adding your own review on this site, give it a go. It will help others make up their own minds, may save some people money or a wasted journey, and on a positive note, it will help those places that deserve to get more attention.

(I should add that I have no connection to this review site)

65 thoughts on “Trip Advisor”

  1. Yes TA is a great resource if you travel in a new cities! I use it a lot, also to discover new places in my town. It’s quite easy to identify “fake” reviews, but I hope that this phenomenon will decrease because it really doesn’t make sense. If your restaurant is bad clients can come just one time because of good reviews, but then they will not come again and they will also be really mad and will write bad reviews. The same if competitors write just some “fake” bad reviews and your restaurant is good. Thanks for the post 🙂

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  2. I have recently started writing reviews on Trip Advisor, I always looked there when it came to hotels or taxi companies and things like that but as far as restaurants went, I always looked at what they had to offer in real life; what it looked like inside, what their menu was and how many people were dining there at the moment.

    I found an amazing little family restaurant in Rome just by walking by and taking a shot and it turned out to be a good decision — I had some really damn good pasta there!

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    1. Thanks for your comment. Despite many people using TA in a negative way, I think it can be useful. Especially in rural areas similar to where I live, where choice is limited, and travelling essential.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Oh yes, definitely, I never thought of that, in cities where you have a big selection it’s easy but it must be a really big help for people traveling to rural areas!

        I appreciate negative reviews because if there’s 400 positive ones and 2 negative ones, you know that the establishment is probably going to be great, you can see what the worst thing that has happened there is and honestly, usually I wouldn’t have even minded the thing that made someone write a negative review haha

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  5. I have added some reviews sometimes, the problem is that sometimes I might check a place on the site and never visit it, and they keep asking me to review it… But I agree that it’s important to read between the lines.

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  8. I’m not a fan of it. I bet for too many of those negative restaurant reviews, if the waiter asked if everything was fine, they’d say “yes, fine” then rush home and write a horrible review. I prefer praise were it’s due, silence when not. My wife likes reviewing on Trip Advisor and I’m often asking her not to submit bad reviews because we don’t know the circumstances of these people’s lives.

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  9. My husband and older son believe in Trip Advisor like they believe in the Bible, Pete. When we go anywhere, hotel, restaurant or tourist attraction Trip Advisor will be consulted for its reviews. Our experience with these reviews has been good.

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  10. Well done Pete that is an impressive video. I do use Trip Advisor a lot and yes I take the bad reviews with a grain of salt if there are only 1 or 2. Have found it to be helpful when choosing restaurants but so far I have not written any reviews.

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  11. This is interesting, Pete. I’m assuming the same process happens with Yelp. I know an owner of a high-end restaurant, and those reviews are critical to his business. Unfortunately, some reviews are inaccurate for many reasons. So, you have the best advice of all. Just give an honest review.

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  13. Pete, I have used Trip Advisor on several occasions and have also put reviews up – one in particular, the $125 Chez L’Ami Louis restaurant review from Paris routinely get 15-20 views, week in and week out, more than a thousand since I posted it, so it seems to get traffic. Also, it feel less “littered” with questionable reviews than some sites…great to hear you are on their “go to” list!

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  14. As I don’t travel much I don’t use Trip Advisor, although I’ve heard of it thanks to all the commercials. I know with Amazon I take reviews with a grain of salt. If a book for example is being given numerous negative reviews, all with similar complaints, then they will definitely factor in to my decision over whether or not to read it. If however, It’s received some bad reviews over the packaging, or that the reviewer disagrees with the author’s perspective, than I don’t pay attention as much.

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  15. I use this site all the time. I post on it pretty regularly. I take the really negative reviews with a grain of salt and always look to see if the owners have responded. Usually they have. I am amused by which of my reviews get the most readers and where the readers live. One of my Florida reviews was most appreciated by readers from England.

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  16. Pete, I have posted six reviews. I rated Tower Motel in Long Beach as “good basic accommodation” back in October 10, 2013, and it has been viewed by quite a few people in the TripAdvisor community. I’m a Level 3 contributor, apparently. I haven’t rated anything recently because I haven’t ventured out much from home…

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    1. Thanks for reading and commenting, Ron. I have only once had a review declined, when I used words that Amazon considered to be ‘unacceptable’. I never discovered why they thought that.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  21. I try to find reviews of tradesmen as well as holiday destinations before trying someone or somewhere new but I have never put any on line. I did have a card requesting a review when I ate in my favourite Wimpy but I try to limit the sites I am on so I didn’t do anything about it.Sometimes I check out what other people think of a hotel I have used but the comments are so contradictory it seems a waste of time.

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    1. It can be a problem when the comments are so 50-50, Julie. Some people are never pleased, and others happy to make do. I try to keep in mind the old adage, “You get what you pay for”.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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        1. I think they mean the most searched destinations that resulted in hits on your reviews FR. Edmundbuyers is a village in County Durham, so maybe they were looking for places to go, using that as a base? 🙂
          Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks for that, Angela. I only started reviewing there comparatively recently, and I have become aware of the huge scope of reviewing possibilities offered on that site.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  26. I do fairly often and like you I try to be as fair as possible, balancing any negatives with the positives. Some reviews really annoy me though with the way they are written, and when I am looking for a place myself I always take things with a pinch of salt.

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  27. I have reviewed vacation spots, hotels, etc. on Trip Advisor but I then do the same research on their competitor’s websites as well and I have noticed a few times, the same reviews quoted verbatim which to me says that something stinks. The same occurs on shopping websites. I have found the same comments about a product on Home Depot, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and/or Amazon. I am retired and have plenty of hours so which allows me to go overboard with my research. So far, so good.

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    1. Like you, I am retired. I also have time to spend looking at and writing reviews, especially on Amazon. I agree that many identical reviews pop up on some sites. I will have to investigate Trip Advisor further though, as I am comparatively new to that site. Thanks for reading and adding a comment.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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