TripAdvisor slammed for fake hotel reviews
08 September, 2019
US travel and restaurant website TripAdvisor has failed to do enough to stop fake hotel reviews, British consumer association Which? said in a study published on Friday.
A total of 15 out of 100 top-rated hotels around the world displayed TripAdvisor reviews showing "blatant" signs of being fake, the study found.
TripAdvisor responded that it was committed to ensuring accurate information and catching fraudsters, while Which? added that the website had taken down hundreds of reviews after its investigation.
"TripAdvisor's failure to stop fake reviews and take strong action against hotels that abuse the system risks misleading millions of travellers and potentially ruining their holidays," said Naomi Leach, head of the Which? travel division.
She added: "Sites like TripAdvisor must do more to ensure the information on their platforms is reliable, and if they continue to fall short they should be compelled to make changes so holidaymakers are no longer at risk of being duped by a flood of fake reviews."
TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay told the BBC that it would "very aggressively" weed out fake reviews.
"We are doing this more than any other platform out there," he added.
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