Trip Advisor gives the hotel management the ability to reply to every review that is posted. The opinions expressed on the site are not those of Trip Advisor, but of their members who have stayed at the hotel and posted reviews. I do not see any way that the hotel can win this suit unless they can demonstrate that they advised Trip Advisor of fraudulent reviews or incorrect information and Trip Advisor did nothing about it. Trip Advisor is pretty good about taking down reviews that can be shown to be fraudulent. If a hotel can show that the reviewer did not actually stay at the hotel, that the review is being posted by management of a competitor, was posted by disgruntled ex-employee, etc. then Trip Advisor will take down the review and banish the person posting it. The site does what they can to ensure that the reviews posted are genuine reviews from customers. They want the site to give good information so that people know they can trust what they read. Without that, the site would not be as popular as it is. With the huge number and percentage of reviews rating this hotel as terrible, they do not appear to have a leg to stand on in this lawsuit.

I just went to the site and could have posted a review without having ever been to the place that I was going to post a review on. I didnt because that would not be fair, but it was really simple. Anyone could write anything.

mbush-- at tripadvisor, the review is not posted in real-time. They actually vett the reviews for signs of obvious graft (multiple posts of the same review to increase rating, etc) and only post them once they're fairly certain that the reviews are genuine. It is true that anyone can post, but they do make attempts to ensure accuracy. That's part of the reason that they offer the manager an option to respond to any given review.

"Fairly certain", hmm, that is enough doubt in my mind to not use their review system. I am not saying that the hotel is going to win the case or anything or that people shouldnt review if they feel it is only right, but maybe people who read the reviews should take into account that the people vetting them are only "fairly certain" that the person actually stayed at said hotel. I mean you dont require a reciept or anything, do you?

You are right. I hope if it makes it to court the judge laughs it right out of court and tells the hotel owner not to come back and makes him pay ALL court costs plus a thousand dollar penalty for troubling the court to start with.

mbush, why would someone want to review some place they've never been or stayed? I know there are people who would get their jollies in doing so, but for the most part people are trying to help others when they travel. Trip Advisor is doing just that!

it could be a flawed system, but it is probably better than almost any other method out there.

that being said, remember the way Napster was held liable for the content even though they didn't post the songs in question. tough case...

mbush, as you note, anyone is free to ignore the ratings and comments of tripadvisor members. If you doubt the quality of the reviews, by all means pay no attention to them. I do use the reviews and have found them useful in making decisions about lodgings and restaurants when I go on a trip. I have also written reviews on hotels and restaurants, most of which have been positive. I do this because I think it's helpful to guide people to places that I have enjoyed myself. No other motive. Lord knows, no one is paying me to write positive reviews, and I don't have the time or inclination to review facilities that I have not visited myself. I can't imagine having so much free time that someone would want to waste it trashing a business that he has no experience with.

LS-415070 & Rollicking George

"...why would someone want to review some place they've never been or stayed?"

Most people don't, but the competition often does. It wouldn't be the first time a competitor has done damage to another hotel by posting, or by giving discounts to regular guests, for posting negative reviews of a competing hotel. It happens all the time.

TripAdvisor has been successfully sued before over negative reviews, and because of that they say they try to make sure every review is genuine, but how could they possibly do that without proof that someone has stayed there?

I'm not saying these particular reviews aren't real and this hotel isn't a piece of crap, just pointing out the possibility that it's being unfairly targeted.

"Eltex

it could be a flawed system, but it is probably better than almost any other method out there.

that being said, remember the way Napster was held liable for the content even though they didn't post the songs in question. tough case..."

This case is nothing like Napster. Napster allowed users to download copyrighted materials. That is very different from a website that expresses opinions.

In my own experience, TripAdvisor reviews have been extremely reliable and helpful. Of course you have to use your own common sense in drawing conclusions from the reviews, like disregarding the occasional obvious outlier.

I've actually stayed at that hotel. One of those 'awful' ratings was probably mine. I was treated terribly by them, thanks to whoever was making our reservation; we were put in a low-quality affiliate across the busy highway from where our convention was, our "non-smoking" room bordered a room that WAS smoking, and the scent came through the connecting door, the "fold-out sofa" claimed to be enough for two, but was only wide enough for two if you piled on top of each other and was horrifficly stained, TV remote was missing, another given to us was broken/didn't work for that TV... And because we'd paid up front, we couldn't get a refund. Upon complaining at the hotel that supposedly booked us, they gave us the presidential suite... which was nice despite some dirtyness and ripped wallpaper, but even so, the hotel itself was falling apart... A heavy rainstorm caused the roof to leak badly in the room where we had our art gallery and dealer's room set up. (everything was rescued, thannkfully) The storms also caused the pool in the lobby to flood, so you couldn't walk around the lobby without getting your feet wet.

So, no, Grand. You deserve that rating. F-.

I have both used TripAdvisor as a source of information and have posted multiple reviews on the site. Their ratings have been very accurate pertaining to the hotels, sites, and attractions that I have visited. They DO vet their reviews; when I recently tried to review a nice Thai restaurant in Oregon, they took information on the business and then said they would get in touch with me after having checked out the business. I trust their ratings, and of course I check out how many reviewers have commented on each business. If only a half dozen have reviewed, one or two persons who didn't like the personality of the owner or clerk on duty can skew the results even though the business provides a good service or value. But the information is all there for you to see.

I use TripAdvisor religiously - both to get feedback and give feedback. It's been invaluable to my travels. Of course, an occasional review may be fraudulent, but the vast majority are from people who want to help others in the travel community. It's a pretty strong niche of people - die-hard TripAdvisor users can spot a fake review a mile away and often help police the site.

The beauty of TripAdvisor though is how big its gotten. As more people leave reviews, one bad review shouldn't matter so much because a reasonable person can identify the trends inherent in the postings.

This hotel wasn't brought down by a competitor or one pissed off customer. It was brought down because it's a terrible hotel which is evident in the sheer volume of bad reviews. I agree with the poster that the hotel's owner would be better off fixing the place, than wasting time and money in the court system.

"Free speech" as protected by the US Constitution is a restriction on what the Federal Government can do to limit the rights of individuals.

It has nothing to do with two private entities involved in a tort over bad publicity.

BTW, TripAdvisor, newsvine and every other private website has the right to restrict your ability to "speak," through their conduit, at their discretion for any or no reason.

They slammed your dirty hotel too, eh?

It's not just the reviews on Trip Advisor, it's the same on Orbitz, too. I stayed there about 12 years ago, and it wasn't bad. Like I said, that was 12 years ago.

The dirtiest hotel in America? No, I've been in a lot worse, like the Days Inn at Laredo, TX. Now that place was dirty!

I gave your post a thumbs-up just because of the "sour drapes" pun (groan)... :D

they rather spend money to sue than clean up the filth. How about the judge mandating the lawyers to spend a few nights at that hotel before they proceed?

People are NEVER going to figure this one out. It really does boggle the mind, doesn't it? My guess is that most of the people posting here are partially educated and everything and yet still they have almost no understanding as to how freedom of speech works. I sometimes do not know whether I should laugh or cry.

Agreed. TripAdvisor is an excellent resource. I cannot praise this website enough. I assume that there are some fake reviews, but overall I think most of the reviews are real. If you travel a lot, TripAdvisor is invaluable. All hotels look great on their website. The photos are staged and often photoshopped. What you get from TripAdvisor are real traveler photos and reviews. I have personally had a lot of luck using TripAdvisor. I have found great hotels that I otherwise would not have even heard of. TripAdvisor is generally GOOD for a hotel's business, not bad.

Watch out, brave Susan...you may get sued! (giggle)

Untrue, Bobtastic. When I have been truly joyed with my experience at some great places, I write about it. I "bother" doing this because I truly appreciate the great quality or fine experience I was given and that hotel deserves to be recognized (just as some crappy ones should be pointed out, too). Additionally, many of the owners/managers of the hotels have replied or commented on my comments and even recalled my events, knowing my comments were true.

So this guy that is suing had the opportunities as noted above, to reply to any of the comments made--either good or bad. Most people do not have the time to just sit around and make up crappy comments about hotels they never visited all day. Sure, there may be a few losers out there, but if the masses are saying the same thing. Come on! Sometimes it is easy to see if somebody is just being a nitpicky whiner. They never count.

Actually slq, Bob is correct to a degree. There have been several studies conducted by various research and marketing companies that show negative experiences are about 10 times more likely to be reported than positive ones. Many of these studies concluded that those who have even a slightly negative experience tend to expound on the negativity and comment/report it, while only those who have had an outstandingly positive experience will take the time. In other words, the bottom 50% are willing to complain, but only the top 5% are willing to praise. The ease with which some companies are willing to hand out "restitution" for certain negative events has led to a significant number of "negative" experiences all in the hope of cashing in...there are hundreds of websites that list "tips" on how to get companies to pony up plenty of complimentary discounts/services by properly phrasing complaints. Some customer service people even refer to themselves as the "comp"-laint department because most people want something for even the slightest inconvenience.

I think that most people's FIRST reviews are negative because that negative experience provided the impetus to check out a new site online and take action. BUT, those who found value in posting that review, and scanned other reviews, are more inclined to come back and review both good and bad experiences.

I found TripAdvisor because I had a terrible experience at a restaurant and needed to vent. But when I started browsing the site, I really saw the value in it and have been a die-hard user for good and bad ever since. I also think that TripAdvisor does a good job of communicating why reviews should be authentic and what is helpful for the greater travel community and I think that avid travelers care enough about the community to leave fair reviews.

TripAdvisor clearly states how many reviews each poster has left. If someone has only left one review and its negative, people should take it with a grain of salt. If someone has left 20 reviews and they range from good to bad, you can rest assured you are getting something fairly accurate.

I just got back from a trip and dropped six reviews. One was terrible, one was good and the rest were excellent.

Way to avoid the context of what I wrote by pointing out the typos. Whatever, you know I have a valid point.

mbush - Actually, I did speak directly to your 'context,' albeit a bit sarcastically, in the first paragraph.

Consumers look to reviews to help them with their choices. As with most evaluations, throw out the high and low, and go with the remainder for a pretty reliable barometer.