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TripAdvisorordered to removereviews after hotel bed bug complaints
TripAdvisorordered to removereviews after hotel bed bug complaints
The watchdog has ruled that TripAdvisor can no longer claim that their reviews are ‘trusted and honest’.
Northolt,
Middlesex,
United Kingdom
(sardnews.org)
31/10/2012
The watchdog has ruled that TripAdvisor can no longer claim that their reviews are 'trusted and honest'.The aim of the TripAdvisor website is to offer reliable reviews from travellers who have stayed at hotels, restaurants and guesthouses and wish to share their review.
As the website, which is the world's largest travel site, does not vet its user comments and therefore it cannot possibly guarantee that they are genuine or accurate.
In the past few years there have been serious claims from businesses such as hotel and restaurant owners that the poor write ups received are inaccurate and written not by customers, but rival establishments to boost their trade. Hotels have even been blackmailed so that they don't receive negative reviews.
AkeelJaffar runs HLA Pest Control in London. HLA Pest Control is London's leading Pest Control Specialist, and is a member of the British Pest Control Association and winner of the National Pest Technician Association Awards. He deals with calls from restaurants, hotels, guest houses and tourist establishments who are suffering with pest problems. He says:
"This all started following an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority after receiving a complaint from British firm KwikChex, which represents several hotels given adverse customer reviews on TripAdvisor, as well as two unnamed British hotels. These not only covered the service the traveller received, but also the state of the hotels including cleanliness and instances of rats and bed bugs. The problem is that once a potential customer learns that a hotel has had bed bugs or a restaurant has experienced rodent infestations it is very off-putting and incredibly damaging to a business' reputation costing hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage. At HLA we can help to tackle the problem by providing regular inspections and confirmation of a bed bug and rodent free status and also to provide preventative advice."
A spokesman for TripAdvisor said: 'We have confidence the 50million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read, which is why they keep coming back. "Small businesses suffer most as they tend to have few reviews and so the impact is greater, although any business with a bad review does suffer, particularly if it is a false accusation of something such as food poisoning or bed bugs."
Notes to Editors
HLA is London's leading rodent control specialist, a member of the British Pest Control Association and winner of the National Pest Technician Association Awards. To find out about how to get rid of rats in commercial or residential establishments click here. To find out more about how we will remove your pests for good with London's most competitive prices and a one-hour response time click here
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About HLA Pest Control Services Ltd
HLA is London’s leading mouse pest specialist, a member of the British Pest Control Association and winner of the National Pest Technician Association Awards.
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