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[davinakb]

Like others, I take the reviews on average, but still consider TA a valuable tool. More often than not, the reviews have been pretty accurate. You also need to look at the area. Orlando has tons of hotels; most hotels in the top 100 are probably very good. Then Kissimmee is so hit/miss IMO; there may be a few decent ones, but it's b/c that side I'd not want to be on, no matter how cheap.

• I discount 1-hit wonders - or pans.
• I take with a BIG grain of salt 5* raves for 2* properties. The best Motel 6 in the world is still.. a Motel 6.
• Read the write ups carefully; if there are specifics, it's probably legit. But if it's a rave and the comments are generic "good location, helpful service, value" that could describe anything - I'll give it second thought.

 

[tcufrog]

One thing to really watch in online interviews are the dates posted. A lot of hotels go through periods of good and bad service. I try to only look at the most recent reviews because a lot can change at a hotel within a few years.

 

[Doogan]

Heard this on NPR this morning and remembered this thread. Thought it might be interesting to those following the topic...

 

[shalom]

Heard this on NPR this morning and remembered this thread. Thought it might be interesting to those following the topic...

Points three, four and five have already been made on this thread (I posted #3 myself). I certainly knew the first two but I can't remember if they've been mentioned here.

I try to only look at the most recent reviews because a lot can change at a hotel within a few years.

Second that, although in my experience it's less an issue at TripAdvisor than it is at a lot of other review sites.

 

[waynesgirl]

As a hotelier, with what I feel is an awesome hotel, I do understand that not everyone is going to be satisfied or hateful. I utilize TA but I also can weed out some of the fake reviews as well. But, on that vein, let me supply some insider information:

Trip Advisor is owned by Expedia, the online travel agency. They say they don't but they tend to promote the hotels that either pay to advertise or that give Expedia a large chunk of business. Take that with a grain as well.

Hotels CAN and WILL remove bad reviews from Trip Advisor, and depending on the advertising fees or if you know someone on the inside, this does happen frequently. All hotels can file to have a false complaint removed but, and in my personal experience, unless you jump through hoops with their company and notarized statements from the President (exaggeration but you see the point), they will not remove it. Generally, only a couple per year can be removed by a non-insider hotel, even with proof and validation.

Many hotels, even though it is not allowed and you can have your account shut down, will have friends and families post fake reviews to elevate their standings. This doesn't seem to affect the resorts and such, as they have 1000+ rooms. But smaller chains like mine can be impacted with just 3 or 4 fake reviews, whether good or bad.

Take this FWIW. I do utilize TA but I also go on other sites like Expedia and such, because they also allow reviews to be posted. I utilize the message feature on TA to send a few private messages to get the real story or hints or tips- anyone totally blasting a hotel on TA usually has an axe to grind and someone praising to a point of obsession generally got something that most guests will not. I am always fair in my reviews, and I make sure to preface mine with the fact that I do work for a hotel so my expectations are a lot higher than some folks, but again, if I see something that is wrong, I will tell it straight. If I see something fantastic, I will tell it straight...also FWIW, I have done reviews of the Disney properties and been told in a private message that my reviews were dead-on, fair, and written well enough for people to see both sides to a story. I think a well-written review is more important than an angry or over-the-top review.

Hope this helps.

 

[waynesgirl]

Also, for this place, I couldn't find information available on any other site. It was quite surprising to me too that the owner was very disappointed and upset by my three star Trip Advisor rating and even said something to me about it, but agreed my written review was balanced / reasonable. My one rating dropped them from number 1 to number 3 in this little city.

kathy- as a hotelier, this is what I was speaking of in my previous post. My hotel is consistently #1, but 1 bad review will knock us in the dirt. I don't mind a bad review- I welcome them because they show me the things that I might normally miss because I see it every day- but I want a fair, concise, well-written review and not one simply meant to slander me on a website because you didn't get what you felt was owed to you. Even with a few 4s and the sometimes 3, we still maintained a #1 and I have never removed a review, even one that was falsified by the guest. One look at that review will show my potential guests that it was made out of anger and spite.

 

[BensDaddy]

I still post all hotel stays on TripAdvisor, but I've become a big fan of Yelp for just about everything else.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

i read TA when choosing hotels and value the info on it.

I can say that we stay at a certain hotel often and I have had very opposite experiences there. We drive to Nashville to fly and once had a great stay pre flight. Our stay the week later at the same hotel had a nasty room in need of repair. We have since had very good stays and another terrible room. Hard to believe it was the same hotel!
This makes me understand a little better varying reviews. We cruise a lot and someone on the same week sailing as me complains about slow service in the dining room and awful entertainment whereas we and others with us enjoyed both.
I read today about a hotel and one review talked about all the restaurants nearby and the next review complained there was no where to eat.
I try to read at least 10 recent reviews to get a balanced idea. I have chosen not to stay at places because of bad reviews and I have tried chains we normally don't visit because of very good reviews.

 

[Duzzygirl]

...
I try to read at least 10 recent reviews to get a balanced idea.
...

Same here. You have to take everything with a grain of salt. I try to keep in mind that you can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time.

 

[DanInMN]

I use TripAdvisor, but really watch out for misleading reviews.

My older brother owns a nice B&B. He told me that sometimes guests will demand a discount or threaten to do a bad write-up on TripAdvisor!

I own a vacation home that I rent out through a management company. Last summer one couple waited to complain until the 6th day of a 7 day stay that the water smelled bad, the house was full of bugs, and it was the worst experience they had ever had. The management company was unable to find any of their complaints as true, but gave them a full refund anyway. These people are professional scammers. Nothing written on TripAdvisor in this case, since they got the free vacation they wanted.

Some people were brought up wrong.

 

[wishing4PA]

Well, since I just wrote my first tripadvisor review, I guess I'd have to consider it a useful source of information.
I tend to not look at the lowest 1/3 or so of hotels, but beyond that, I generally care as much about the general tone of reviews (good and bad) as the actual number of stars or whether a hotel scored 1st, 10th, or 37th in its city. More than one credible-sounding recent review mentioning roaches might steer me toward a similar level hotel without cockroach stories and/or pictures. Glowing reports I take with more than a grain of salt, and try to look at where the posters are coming from. Around my current city, poor customer service is pretty common (though not so bad since the recession started), so if someone from my area is pleased with the service, I know that tells me next to nothing. I'll take it more seriously if the glowing review comes from someone from a region where I have experienced more consistent good customer service. Or from someone who stays at WDW often and knows what decent service is.
I also like to see the general tone of some recent negative reviews. Did 10 people in the last year mention the hotel seeming to be in a shady area? Or was that only mentioned by the one person who couldn't find anything positive to say about the hotel (the desk staff were rude, there was dirt all over the room, there was mold on the ceiling, the hair dryer was an electrocution waiting to happen, and s/he found glass around the dirty pool? Really? All that and you're the only person who mentioned this? And management denied you an upgrade and a free stay and replied with their side of the story? Hmm.)

It's better than the good old days when all you knew about a hotel in a new city was its name.