Apr 16, 2008
Does TripAdvisor refuse to publish negative reviews of hotels with which it has a business relationship?
Though it has nothing to do with Hawaii, a recent item about TripAdvisor over at Beat of Hawaii raises interesting questions. I'm passing on the point they imply, without comment from me, because I have no factual evidence to either support or deny the claim.
First, a bit of background. TripAdvisor is owned by Expedia, a billion-dollar corporation whose highly-paid CEO shows great interest in the bottom line. Expedia also markets properties that belong to ResortQuest, and one such property is the venerable Pacific Monarch Hotel in Honolulu.
According to one of the authors of Beat of Hawaii, he has twice submitted negative reviews of the Pacific Monarch Hotel in Honolulu to TripAdvisor. His complaints in each instance were standard commentaries, claiming the hotel was "dingy," the airconditioning "substandard," the furnishings "dated and junkie," the tv not bolted to its stand (it nearly crashed to the floor), and citing many other defects. All in all, he wrote, it was "one of the worst in Waikiki; no monarch would stay there".
"I submitted the same review twice for publication," he writes. "Both times I was told by TripAdvisor that my writing 'did not meet review criteria.'" His review has never appeared.
"Conflict of Interest?" he asks. "TripAdvisor is owned by Expedia which markets Resort Quest properties that include the Pacific Monarch Hotel. While it may just be a coincidence, is it in their best interest to publish a negative review?"
"The problem is I no longer feel that I can always trust their site," he concludes.
So to all those readers who have, in the past, criticized me for my skepticism about TripAdvisor: what do you make of this? Do you really believe a billion-dollar corporation has any special regard for principle?
Write and read comments about this post.
First, a bit of background. TripAdvisor is owned by Expedia, a billion-dollar corporation whose highly-paid CEO shows great interest in the bottom line. Expedia also markets properties that belong to ResortQuest, and one such property is the venerable Pacific Monarch Hotel in Honolulu.
According to one of the authors of Beat of Hawaii, he has twice submitted negative reviews of the Pacific Monarch Hotel in Honolulu to TripAdvisor. His complaints in each instance were standard commentaries, claiming the hotel was "dingy," the airconditioning "substandard," the furnishings "dated and junkie," the tv not bolted to its stand (it nearly crashed to the floor), and citing many other defects. All in all, he wrote, it was "one of the worst in Waikiki; no monarch would stay there".
"I submitted the same review twice for publication," he writes. "Both times I was told by TripAdvisor that my writing 'did not meet review criteria.'" His review has never appeared.
"Conflict of Interest?" he asks. "TripAdvisor is owned by Expedia which markets Resort Quest properties that include the Pacific Monarch Hotel. While it may just be a coincidence, is it in their best interest to publish a negative review?"
"The problem is I no longer feel that I can always trust their site," he concludes.
So to all those readers who have, in the past, criticized me for my skepticism about TripAdvisor: what do you make of this? Do you really believe a billion-dollar corporation has any special regard for principle?
Write and read comments about this post.
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