@rodperezto
Latest posts by rodperezto (see all)
- 7 of the World’s Most Unusual and Most Unique Hotels - November 3, 2011
- Fake Online Hotel Reviews and Other Demons - October 24, 2011
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Power to the people! Long gone are the times when we had to trust solely on product advertisement and/or paid reviews on magazines. Back in 2001, Google was still a relatively young enterprise, Amazon was starting to consolidate its business and late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs, was shaking the technology world with its sturdy, attractive and groundbreaking iPod. Only 10 years ago tripadvisor was still a nascent company and we had almost no review sites to help us make our decisions and if we bought magazines it was hard to tell a real review from an ad. But all that has changed… or has it?
The internet has allowed for a boom in the availability of information. I compare the birth of the internet to the invention of the printing press. Not only does it allow people to have almost unlimited and quick access to information but it also allows them to create the content. This, naturally, leads to a number of bogus information, so now, more than ever, we as consumers need to be alert. Here are a couple of common practices used by fake reviewers:
The Self-Promotion Review
It is no secret that online reviews are normally taken advantage of by authors trying to push their books’ sales. Not long ago, Amazon had a number of cases were authors were inflating their own scores by giving their own books positive reviews. How did they respond? They asked their reviewers to become members before posting but their anonimity was and still is an issue.
“Negging” Competitors
Another usual fake review practice focuses on leaving negative comments on your competitors’ products, therefore lowering their overall score. This can be seen, for example, all throughout the hotel industry, with hotels “negging” their closest competitors.
The Angry Ex-Employee
Tripadvisor made the headlines in 2010 after a group of hotel owners complained that the negative reviews of their hotel were unfair. It was discovered that some of the reviewers had been employees who had been previously laid off and were looking for a way to get even.
The Craigslist Entrepeneur
Numerous listings have been found on Craigslist offering good reviews for money, as The New York Times reports. One person offers their reviewing skills for $5.
These are just a few and the more creative reviewers get, the even better their methods become…
So, what is the solution to all this?
There are websites, such as hotel.info, which only accept reviews from users who have completed their hotel stay, therefore minimizing the amount of fake reviews. This seems to be one of the best current practices, as the reviews you’ll get (whether objective or emotional) are left by real customers who have indeed spent time at the hotel. Strangely enough, this more honest type of practice has not yet caught on with mainstream audiences.
The internet has opened a pandora’s box and in spite of sites like “tripadvisor-warning” popping up every once in a while, online review sites seem to be getting more popular than ever. It is in our hands to weed out the cheaters.
Twitter: esther96
This is a great practise. I trust reviews by customers better than I do those of the hotel spinners themselves. As you said though, lately you couldn’t tell who’s who because people are getting more shifty as the Internet has more and more power.
Pity about the Amazon thing, though. I’d love to do some positive reviews of my own books there.
annelg recently posted..What Is Love
Twitter: kezanari
It doesn’t matter what you really do because people will always be creating fake reviews to use to make their businesses look more than what it really is.
It’s a little bit like spam you can limit it but you can’t never eradicate it totally.
Twitter: rodperezto
rodperezto recently posted..Weird and Wonderful Events: Horses, snorkels and (wacky) automobiles with tomato topping
It’s really nice to know about that website. I think I’ll visiting that more often when traveling and looking for a hotel. Thanks for the article, I know it’s going to help me and many others.
Twitter: TechieSaves
There are a lot of things that can mess up your research process. The fake reviews you find can really mess up your experience
Marty recently posted..How to Update to iOS5 using iTunes
Twitter: doupto2
there are so many sites nowadays that gives tourist and travelers traps on shopping areas that will create extra expenses.
Timothy Smith recently posted..DoUpTo- The Fastest Way to Make Money Using Your Talent updated Tue Jul 26 2011 1:56 am CDT
Twitter: rodperezto
They really can, Marty. Really sad to see that many of those reviews are plain advertising….
Good post,
I think that will be the right thing if you are going on a vacations than you can take each and every information on website.
sam recently posted..Goa Carnival 2012
Another way for me to weed out those fake reviews is by reading through the comments. If some real person did go to that hotel, I’m sure they’ll be happy enough to bust those false reviews.
Woah! those scammers are really getting all over the place, they can even get to magazines and craiglist? It’s nice that you have introduced a better source of reviews for hotels, thanks for that.
briant recently posted..How to Get your Products in Google Product Search updated Thu Dec 30 2010 11:12 pm CST
Twitter: rodperezto
Jorge, true. however, internet users rarely have time to really read all comments. i think the internet could slowly change the way we read so that we most of the time “scan” what we read instead of fully reading.
Briant, to be fair, there are other websites with a similar policy. A good way to see whether you can trust the reviews is to see the “review policy” each website has.
That is a very wonderful idea! thanks again!
briant recently posted..How to Get your Products in Google Product Search updated Thu Dec 30 2010 11:12 pm CST
I think that is true.. yeah your right.. it has become harder to weed out the weeds from the crops this time.
briant recently posted..How to Get your Products in Google Product Search updated Thu Dec 30 2010 11:12 pm CST
Twitter: LoneWolfMuskoka
This is another symptom of the lack of integrity in our society. Just this morning I was directed to an offer for a WordPress plugin that allows you to spam comment your own blog to make Google think that you’re popular. It ranks up there with fake testimonials.
It seems that some people feel that lying is okay as long as you’re doing it to line your own pockets 8=(
Twitter: TechieSaves
There will always be someone trying to gain the unfair advantage. Most times those people fail again again until they realize that they just need to work harder to achieve their goal.
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Twitter: jenniferdrai
I like the concept of allowing reviews by only consumers who have used the product or service. That way we can make a better judgement of whether to use the product/service or not. This practice would be a huge break-through for online consumers.
I live in Bali and every hotel I know is doing fake review. I do not know what is wrong with them. They have great hotel but why still have to do fake reviews?
jhon manoke recently posted..Phen375 Reviews
You need to read hotel reviews with a bit of sense as well! I routinely see people whinging about the weather (how can the hotel control that ) or being unreasonable – no turn down service in a budget hotel (shock horror!)
Lissie recently posted..Where to Stay in Phuket?
i dont know what to say.. but that is not too good !!
Twitter: rodperezto
Bill, I don’t know… blame it on capitalism, hehe. Get rich or die tryin’. I definitely agree with you. maybe that’s why I’m not a millionaire.
Jennifer, it really is beyond me why people keep flooding “unproven” review sites. I guess website owners need to market them better.
Twitter: myhdmicables
I don’t think this can be stop, some business ask their employee to give a good rating and review about the business. I’d say trust your friend, or your gut instead!
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I don’t believe there will ever be a fix to this. For instance google local search you can do the same for the review. Create a new email and review your own product. Unless you can get the ip address and not allow that ip address to review for a site the ip address comes from there will be nothing you can do.
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yeah.. Pretty sad…
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Twitter: jonpaulwade
It is such a minefield. I went to Dublin last month and spent so much time trying to determine the fake reviews from the good. Google Streetview actually saved me once – one hotel was right next to a railway line and a nightclub, but nothing be positive comments in the reviews!
Twitter: BlogStashDotCom
It truly is sad. I mean, you can go on fiverr and buy fake reviews for almost any kind of business. Its just shady and unethical.
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Twitter: rodperezto
That’s right, satrap. I have to admit I was a “believer” in the whole online reviews world.
Nice headsup call for anyone that can easily be tricked! that includes me.. tsk.. thanks for the headsup again.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PatreceSmith
Like the idea, in someway I couldn’t understand how those people think. Instead of managing their business they waste resources to pull down others, why not pull their selves up.
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It’s similar to those who are hiring people to click on Facebook “likes”. It short shortsightedness will eventually catch-up with them. Google is far smarter than the typical moron engaged in this type of practice. Sure they get away with these type of tactics for a while, but these same people are the idiots we see crying in their beer because Google dropped their site from the rankings.
That is why I do not read reviews. I ask people I know. It is so much simpler that way. I know a lot of people so it makes it pretty easy.
Ricky Strode recently posted..Animal Planet: My Extreme Animal Phobia
Fake reviews are in all sort of bossinesses, maybe it’s about time Google stop to pay attention to any of them, as it is simple unfair, if someone has got better ranking because has got more friends
but it doesn’t mean that has got better business. I see loads of crappy, dodgy pages on the front of Google, makes me wonder how did they get there.
This is such a heart breaking information which is I think from before until now still exists. THe only difference I guess before and today is that people are more vigilant and much more aware on this. THe solution would be to do a gazillion of research online for forums,review sites, blog sites and all. And if you can ask a gazillion of questions then do so.
Twitter: rodperezto
Agreed. Google will indeed get smarter with time, let’s hope some companies do, too.
rodperezto recently posted..The Very First Yeti Photos! – Abominable is the New Cool!
Hotel reviews should always be taken with a pinch of salt (Even the genuine ones) as a disgtruntled customer is much more likely to write a bad review compared if they had an unhappy stay compared with one that had an enjoyable one
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sometimes it’s just plain competition, but sometimes it is also rage from ex employees..
kevin recently posted..Reviewing The Casio CTK-2100 61 Key Personal Keyboard
I think you have to take any online reviews with a grain of salt. If it is too over the top, it is probably fake.
Fake reviews are especially rampant in the restaurant industry. When a bad review surfaces, you will suddenly see a flood of great reviews all within a couple of days to push down the bad review. Tell me that was just a coincidence.
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It’s very true that most of them self-promote and this is a very big issue that causes confusion to everyone.
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It many times happen with me that i get a nice review on a website but the actual review was expectation killing for me. I think they heir people to post good review on their website.
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/lifenleisure
I have to agree with Lissie. When reading reviews, we really need to do so with a bit of common sense. Yes, there are some reviews that are written with the full intention to promote or negate the image of a hotel. Then again, there are reviews written by those that stayed at these hotels written by those driven by their emotions (either they really enjoyed their stay or they really hated it). I’ve had my share of visiting places with its share of bad reviews and leave pleasantly surprised, and went to places with raving reviews and was entirely disappointed to say the least.
Adeline recently posted..Food and Wine Pairing: a Feast for the Senses
Twitter: hbusinessteam
Amazing! I often go to sites that offer reviews that are unsolicited from customers for hotels and other destinations. Granted some people portray some places as “brutal” when they are actually just average. Take all the comments you find with a grain of salt and form your own opinion if this is somewhere you want to stay or go.
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Twitter: AlisonMSmith
There are fake reviews everywhere. Amazon.com is rife with them. :/
Alison Moore Smith recently posted..Natural Cures for Depression
Fake reviews and non-updated reviews makes the danger to put all net system in an unwanted – “everything is false on Internet” or “other who use Internet for scams”. A lost for all in Internet Marketing.
This is how scepticism comes. Usually you can recognise a fake review, but sometimes you will take care only after first mistake you did.
cosmo recently posted..Page Rank Theory
I just love those reviews where there’s like 20 bad ones and between them you will find two glowing reviews raving how wonderful the place is. In the end the truth comes out.
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As the number of reviews grow there will inevitably be a spectrum of opinions – some good soem bad and some entirely fictional.
Good luck trying to figure out which is which.
This is very true, customer’s mouth of words are a reliable source.
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I have been the victim of a fraudulent hotel review and I applaud you on bring up this topic. As concerns negative reviews, however, I have heard that sometimes people write them about their own sites because they, actually, get more presence with search engines. Perhaps, in a future article you might consider posting on this.
Well anytime you provide a public forum to review a hotel room or even a product, there is bound to be diversity.
The problem with forums is that it is so hard to weed out fake reviews because people use fake names or emails and can continue creating new accounts. It is very similar to people commenting on articles, they don’t need to register their actual names, they can lie their way through an easy registration and begin bashing the article or product.
I think I’d be awesome if hotels could only allow paying customers to write about their experiences, but I don’t see how that could be enforced.
Sometimes fake reviews comes their competitors also. Stop making fake reviews and move on with your lives!
I guess in the internet community, it is inevitable to have fake reviews. Afterall this is what we called open communication isn’t it? If there are too many restrictions, reviews can no longer be too realistic as it will be too troublesome to leave reviews
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Twitter: @reviewsin
This is a rampant problem in the auto industry as well as every other industry I am sure, business employees and owners leaving negative reviews on their competitors websites to make their own company look better. It is a gutless and pitiful practice for anyone that has to cheat to try and get ahead. I did notice a few review sites putting some restrictions in place specifically for this issue, who knows, maybe we will eventually get to a point where you can “kind of” trust what you are reading online… maybe.
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There needs to be an independent review site regulator that has the power to penalise repeat offenders that keep publishing ‘fraudulent’ reviews
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It will be interesting to see how these sorts of things are handled legally. Can a website be held responsibility for spreading false statements about another company? What if someone like Oprah made a negative statement about your product line and cost your company tons of money? Are you able to sue for damages? (assuming her statements were false)
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Its important to weed out the cheaters. But with so many hackers and online scams. the question is, can we weed them out? If we can, then how far can we go?
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Twitter: aidacarbone
I liked your view on solving this problem.It is simple practise and above all effective.I have heard about negative comments to competitive products,but never before this story about Amazon. I have been many times mislead by inaccurate informations-reviews which relep the consumers and slander the entrepreneurs.Webmasters using effective practises as you said may stop this.
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Twitter: chantel_mario
Well, this is more like a shame. I mean, faking stuff like hotels is not really a cool thing. Being honest is what matters, and as they say respect people, it should be followed everywhere.
Mario recently posted..Aweber Review. The Email Software
Well, fake hotel reviews can really be an issue. I don\’t think however, that in large booking sites you are allowed to do it. Usually what happens is a hotel visitor gets to review a hotel after their check-out date, which is verified by the hotelier. From my experience with one of those hotel booking websites, all reviews were given after the person actually stayed at the hotel. I think, if things follow this line of action, we could say that 90% of reviews can be considered legit. What I personally dislike is the fact that most hotel booking sites allow for the users to remain anonymous, and do not provide an opportunity for the hotelier to stand up their grounds in the cases where even actual customers go too far complaining or making up stuff. because there are people that really do that.
Twitter: @bestofshayari1
great notifier people need to be aware from such scams
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Twitter: adamshealthinfo
Great information thanks for sharing. I think that there are a lot of opportunities out there and you have to read the right Internet Reviews to find legitimate opportunities for scams, because there are many out there.
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