57 thoughts on “How Karma Killed TripAdvisor Reviews”
MichaelM
Aloha everyone.
I must say I will go regularly to Tripadvisor for reviews. I would also compare reviews with the individual sites, whether hotel, air, restaurant or activity. Usually, I book things directly, but the reviews certainly help. I can’t think of any major failure….or have I just been lucky?
I feel things would be worse without Tripadvisor.
Once again, Mahalo Jeff and Rob for posts and updates.
1
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Michael.
Next time we’ll share some crazy personal review stories and will leave it at that for now. Best to you. And hope you escape that UK wind storm.
Aloha.
Susie S
I really value TA when choosing activities and destinations. In return, I enjoy leaving detailed reviews that I hope will help other travelers. It’s been a fantastic resource for me to find many worthwhile excursions. I joined TA Plus for a significantly reduced hotel rate in Vegas, as well as general savings of $10 per person on most daytrips and cruise excursions. I think you can usually tell which reviews are legit. The vengeful and manipulative spirit of Yelp, Google, fb helps nobody.
3
ED O
I have been doing reviews on TripAdvisor for many years. We eat local, travel quite a bit. Last year, 2021, we spent on average $700.00 a month at restaurants. Somebody has to be the good guy! As far as looking for reviews I check several others…
3
Richard C
In past years I was an avid user of TA’s Maui forum found it loaded with upbeat knowledgeable posters offering great trip planning advice.
It has since been hijacked by a couple of individuals living on Maui who feel the need to offer negative reviews of restaurants and resorts that they themselves have not visited in several years.
I prefer Yelp reviews.
With all the negative reviews allowed on Yelp if your business has a positive 4 or 5 star rating you earned it.
2
Dot S.
I remember when Trip Advisor first started, before it strayed from its path. The reviews were pretty honest back then, and I contributed many reviews and tried to be balanced. Now it seems there are reviewers on many sites who seem to be out for revenge, so not only are the reviews unbalanced, but the contributors too! I research several places for reviews whether it’s a product or vacation related before making a decision.
2
Jeff S.
So who’s reviews are to be trusted?
1
Marian H
I count on TripAdvisor for restaurant reviews (and occasionally hotel and activity reviews). When I read the reviews, I discount the ones that are “generic” and focus on the ones specific to someone’s experience. If fake reviews are being posted to Trip Advisor, why wouldn’t we expect them to be posted to other sites too? We can be discriminating by choosing the quality of the reviews we read on any site.
6
Debi S
Aloha! I stopped using TA as most of the ratings had gotten stale (over 3 years old). Not only was it chaotic to use, but it had become cumbersome because it was loaded down with so many old pictures. Several of the hotel sites had visitor pictures dating back to 2006, some that were tagged with the wrong hotel, and rarely had the room number associated with the ratings. I often wondered why TA didn’t clear those off their site since they were essentially useless. I now check Google and Yelp for ratings, etc. Please stay safe and be well.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Debi.
Thanks again.
Aloha.
CAPT A.
I dropped Trip Advisor 2-3 years ago and never looked back … the information they provided was a complete waste of time for me and they send an annoying amount of unsolicited emails, even when asked not too …
IMO, Trip Advisor is basically zero help unless you know zero about travel and have no ideas, don’t know how to investigate destinations, confused by booking accommodations, and overwhelmed by choosing airlines or other means of travel — all on your own.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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Aloha everyone.
I must say I will go regularly to Tripadvisor for reviews. I would also compare reviews with the individual sites, whether hotel, air, restaurant or activity. Usually, I book things directly, but the reviews certainly help. I can’t think of any major failure….or have I just been lucky?
I feel things would be worse without Tripadvisor.
Once again, Mahalo Jeff and Rob for posts and updates.
Hi Michael.
Next time we’ll share some crazy personal review stories and will leave it at that for now. Best to you. And hope you escape that UK wind storm.
Aloha.
I really value TA when choosing activities and destinations. In return, I enjoy leaving detailed reviews that I hope will help other travelers. It’s been a fantastic resource for me to find many worthwhile excursions. I joined TA Plus for a significantly reduced hotel rate in Vegas, as well as general savings of $10 per person on most daytrips and cruise excursions. I think you can usually tell which reviews are legit. The vengeful and manipulative spirit of Yelp, Google, fb helps nobody.
I have been doing reviews on TripAdvisor for many years. We eat local, travel quite a bit. Last year, 2021, we spent on average $700.00 a month at restaurants. Somebody has to be the good guy! As far as looking for reviews I check several others…
In past years I was an avid user of TA’s Maui forum found it loaded with upbeat knowledgeable posters offering great trip planning advice.
It has since been hijacked by a couple of individuals living on Maui who feel the need to offer negative reviews of restaurants and resorts that they themselves have not visited in several years.
I prefer Yelp reviews.
With all the negative reviews allowed on Yelp if your business has a positive 4 or 5 star rating you earned it.
I remember when Trip Advisor first started, before it strayed from its path. The reviews were pretty honest back then, and I contributed many reviews and tried to be balanced. Now it seems there are reviewers on many sites who seem to be out for revenge, so not only are the reviews unbalanced, but the contributors too! I research several places for reviews whether it’s a product or vacation related before making a decision.
So who’s reviews are to be trusted?
I count on TripAdvisor for restaurant reviews (and occasionally hotel and activity reviews). When I read the reviews, I discount the ones that are “generic” and focus on the ones specific to someone’s experience. If fake reviews are being posted to Trip Advisor, why wouldn’t we expect them to be posted to other sites too? We can be discriminating by choosing the quality of the reviews we read on any site.
Aloha! I stopped using TA as most of the ratings had gotten stale (over 3 years old). Not only was it chaotic to use, but it had become cumbersome because it was loaded down with so many old pictures. Several of the hotel sites had visitor pictures dating back to 2006, some that were tagged with the wrong hotel, and rarely had the room number associated with the ratings. I often wondered why TA didn’t clear those off their site since they were essentially useless. I now check Google and Yelp for ratings, etc. Please stay safe and be well.
Hi Debi.
Thanks again.
Aloha.
I dropped Trip Advisor 2-3 years ago and never looked back … the information they provided was a complete waste of time for me and they send an annoying amount of unsolicited emails, even when asked not too …
IMO, Trip Advisor is basically zero help unless you know zero about travel and have no ideas, don’t know how to investigate destinations, confused by booking accommodations, and overwhelmed by choosing airlines or other means of travel — all on your own.