Trip Advisor Credibility??

[pyffii]

If you do your research right then TA is a wonderful resource...we have used TA extensively over the past 10 years or so and have yet to be disappointed...I for one love it

 

[amaroo]

I very rarely believe many of the hotel listings in the Top 5 at destinations. Normally they are run of the mill/family type places of which I don't like to stay in.
For example, Aman Resorts are some of the best in the world and never make any of the highest rated lists due to most travellers not being able to afford and their small room numbers.
For example, I'm going to coughet in a couple of weeks: No 1 property on TA is something called Rising Sun Residence. Looks like a poxy apartment on the Gold Coast

The rating is based on % of positive reviews. It's not surprising that destinations that attract high numbers of budget/young demographic travellers will have a rating result slanted to a lower $ value property.

Cities have a different demographic (company funded CC) and the rating results (normally) produce properties with higher $ values......BKK, SIN, LHR & HKG are perfect examples of this.

If you allow for the quirks in the rating system & look beyond the "horses for courses" ratings - TA is a great resource.

 

[RB]

For example, I'm going to coughet in a couple of weeks: No 1 property on TA is something called Rising Sun Residence. Looks like a poxy apartment on the Gold Coast

Actually this would be the type of attitude I would try to avoid when doing my research using various sources

 

[tuapekastar]

As others have said, TA is a great resource if you don't take some of the reviews too literally, and recognise where a negative review has been posted because something happened that was clearly not the fault of the property, or simply reflects the reviewer's very subjective opinion. I tend to look for the breakdown of 'Excellent, Very Good' etc., and as long as there are many reviews it tends to provide a fairly reliable indication as to the property's desirability. That said, it is not the be all and end all.

 

[Boris spatsky]

Ok i will admit it - i am an avid TA reviewer (over 250 reviews). I see it as 1) my way to honestly give back to other travellers 2) blog about my travels without running a blog.

I review hotels and restaurants, as i enjoy it. I am bluntly honest (both good and bad) and i aim to tell the reader things that they cannot find on the hotel/restaurant website or elsewhere on the web - my tips and tricks!

I value TA and have used it extensively - as long as you can read between the lines and cut out the top and bottom 5% of reviews.

 

[tuapekastar]

Ok i will admit it - i am an avid TA reviewer (over 250 reviews). I see it as 1) my way to honestly give back to other travellers 2) blog about my travels without running a blog.

I review hotels and restaurants, as i enjoy it. I am bluntly honest (both good and bad) and i aim to tell the reader things that they cannot find on the hotel/restaurant website or elsewhere on the web - my tips and tricks!

I value TA and have used it extensively - as long as you can read between the lines and cut out the top and bottom 5% of reviews.

That is very admirable, and I wish I could be bothered to do the same (I have a grand total of one TA review ). If people don't contribute, then there is no resource. Maybe one day I will add to my review tally...

 

[amaroo]

I've done 22.....need to pick it up a little.

 

[UP4014]

I have do e reviews and read some.

but only good to see what the trends are, good bad or ugly. I don't use it to choose a hotel but to see what a specific hotel might be like if I haven't stayed there before.

matt

 

[Gold Member]

I tend to use Flyertalk hotel threads as a more credible source than TA. Far more honesty and legitimacy.

 

[serfty]

I tend to use Flyertalk hotel threads as a more credible source than TA. Far more honesty and legitimacy.

+1

I find one also get's more consistent feedback on what 'status' benefits generally apply.

 

[zig]

I scan the number of reviews & % breakdown for

Excellent
Very Good
Average
Poor
Terrible

Before deciding to read any reviews.

I do likewise. Then I click on and read a selection of those that are poor or terrible and make an assessment about whether their issues of concern are also issues that would concern me. Sometimes people rate a hotel poorly for 1 simple error, eg/ billing error on checkout - this may not particularly concern me. I also then click on and read those that rate the hotel highly and similarly assess their reasons for such rating.
I find TA to be a valuable resource when viewed and considered through my own 'filter'. Like all information you cannot take it at face value, particularly as you don't know the individuals posting. We all have different expectations and standards - hence a 'filtering and assessment' process needs to be undertaken.

 

[mella2007]

I'm at 61 reviews and agree with you Boris...that I try and give back also. I try and be very honest in my reviews, especially my hotel ones with both pros and cons of the properties.

Ok i will admit it - i am an avid TA reviewer (over 250 reviews). I see it as 1) my way to honestly give back to other travellers 2) blog about my travels without running a blog.

I review hotels and restaurants, as i enjoy it. I am bluntly honest (both good and bad) and i aim to tell the reader things that they cannot find on the hotel/restaurant website or elsewhere on the web - my tips and tricks!

I value TA and have used it extensively - as long as you can read between the lines and cut out the top and bottom 5% of reviews.

 

[munitalP]

I look at TA with a grain of salt most times. I find the most unbiased hotel advice is found on AGODA and ASIA ROOMS with AGODA being my favoured. They are mainly Asian orientated (as it's Xmas, I was going to spell that Oriented, but was scared of the wrath of moa999 )

 

[eric2011]

I admit I do browse TA before making bookings etc but as said before you do need to disregard the top and the bottom ratings and read the middle ones. this way you are not influenced by the reviews placed by the hotel itself (the top rating) and the hotels oposition (the bottom rating).

 

[QF WP]

I looked at the numbers of reviews by JillBrad and thought they need a life.

I used TA (along with FT) for our European trip 18 months ago - to choose between my top 2 hotels in each city - worked a treat (only 1 dud).

I'm sitting on 3 reviews (all hotel), just haven't had the time

 

[drron]

actually there is a very good poster on the tassie forum from time to time.may very well start posting there again in a fortnight.

 

[baggers89]

I've only relied on Trip Advisor once. Every single review on this hotel was bad, as in really bad (last count had 32 terrible reviews out of 65).
When I got to the hotel, it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. Yes, the reviews were right, but they were overly exaggerated.

And that is why I take Trip Advisor reviews with a grain of salt.

And before anyone asks, the hotel was booked by someone else, not me.

 

[cdchi1]

Based on my 2 month travel experience last year, I have no doubts TripAdvisor can be a great resource for finding good hotels.

Of the 17 hotels I booked for the trip, 14 were booked on basis of TripAdvisor rating and reviews (with 'conditions' below) and 3 I booked without reference to TA.

Of the 14 i booked using TA rating and review, 12 were excellent, 1 was good and 1 was mediocre.

Of the 3 I booked without reference to TA, well, all 3 were disasters.

The biggest surprise was the 2 star hotel i booked in Cadiz based on TA. It was rated 2nd of all hotels in Cadiz at the time. I had my doubts given its star rating, but went ahead. The hotel and room were brilliant considering how cheap it was...it would have put many 5 stars to shame!

It should be noted that I usually book all hotels directly through hotel's website and well in advance (to get deals). I'm a big believer that this can result in much better rooms than if booking through a online booking agency (or otherwise). I've heard this is a myth...and maybe it is...but my personal experiences suggest otherwise (so far anyway).

When looking at TA ratings and reviews, I ignored:

- any hotels that had a small amount of reviews
- reviews (and ratings) by people that had not made many review contributions
- any hotel that did not have a decent website (unless hotel was in a relatively low key town/city)

Having said all that, I think it might be location specific...ie manipulation of results is apparently more rife in certain cities. For example, I've been advised by a Turkish friend who actually lives in Turkey to avoid completely TripAdvisor for hotels in Istanbul (I am planning a trip to Turkey this year) as certain 'dodgy hotel owners' contribute in some way to TA that TA ignores reviews and ratings that they submit themselves. Just what I've heard...no way to confirm it.

 

[amaroo]

I've done 22.....need to pick it up a little.

hahaha - just got this email......and with only 22 reviews



[TABLE="width: 620, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]100 million[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]reviews and opinions[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Congratulations![/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]amaroo, you're among the top 1% most-read reviewers of all time![/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Thank you so much for helping make TripAdvisor what it is today: the world's largest travel site, now with 100 million reviews and opinions.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Where have you been lately that's worth the visit?[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[eric2011]

hahaha - just got this email......and with only 22 reviews



[TABLE="width: 620, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]100 million
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 2, align: center"]reviews and opinions
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Congratulations!
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]amaroo, you're among the top 1% most-read reviewers of all time!
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Thank you so much for helping make TripAdvisor what it is today: the world's largest travel site, now with 100 million reviews and opinions.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: center"]Where have you been lately that's worth the visit?
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Got the same email, I've only done 6 posts