How to Spot Fake TripAdvisor Reviews
In a recent Wall Street Journal report, Fakespot, a website that helps track fake reviews, estimated that over one-third of reviews on major websites like Amazon and Walmart.com are bogus and created mostly by robots or just people sponsored … write good reviews. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise if you’ve ever looked at product or restaurant reviews.
Last month, BuzzFeed News also wrote about the fake reviews that Amazon suffers from; Yelp has also dealt with scam review controversies in recent years. (And of course, Airbnb has been criticized for failing to contain a scam in which “homeowners” deliberately canceled guests at the last minute – using fake reviews to boost the appeal of their ads, to lure them into a trap – which we are about also wrote about .)
On top of that, there may now be good reason to be skeptical about reviews on TripAdvisor, a massive travel website known mostly for user reviews of tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants. According to a new Eater report , reporter Diana Hubbell spoke about several restaurants in the NYC area that are considered some of the best in the city; However, thanks to her findings, some of the reviews of these high-rated restaurants were worth taking another look at.
“More than 60 percent of the five-star reviews on the Olio e Piú page come from user profiles who have never reviewed another restaurant,” she wrote of a Manhattan restaurant page. “… In some cases, identical or nearly identical review text, including server names, appeared in several restaurants. Many accounts have used the same stock images for their profile pictures, and many seem to have intended to mention special promotions such as Olio e Piú’s weekly discount on wine bottles. “
While text like this might not necessarily mean that these are fake reviews, it became even more suspicious that many of the five-star reviewers only rated other restaurants belonging to the same restaurant exclusively.
To top it all off, TripAdvisor ratings are also incredibly easy to manipulate – this Vice UK story has proven that very few high-rated reviews can make a big difference. Take, for example, the top-rated San Francisco restaurant on TripAdvisor, with just 185 reviews, compared to 1,128 for the runner-up restaurant . (73 of the 185 listed reviews are written by users who have no other reviews on the site.) The best restaurant in Miami has 197 reviews, while the second has almost 4,000.
But that’s not just a problem for TripAdvisor. Yelp has this problem too, but TripAdvisor prioritizes its ranking system higher, which makes the user experience less user-friendly.
Watch out for duplicate words and double-check reviews
What does this mean to you? Well, as we wrote earlier , it’s always a good idea to show some healthy skepticism about review sites. The repetition of certain words or phrases can usually be a sign that you are reading scam reviews. And those that seem to point to certain deals, promotions, or offers without asking can also be a sign that you are dealing with a fake user.
And double-check if possible; city or country specific Reddit subreddits can help you find restaurants or otherwise find local attractions. (Both Eater and Bon Appetit are also useful for finding local attractions.) But TripAdvisor remains a good resource as well, especially for finding hotels. Personally, I am much less inclined to use it for restaurants as it heavily distorts reviews from travelers, not necessarily locals as we mentioned.
While we’re at it, if you want to avoid the tourist traps altogether, here’s our travel guide like a real local.