Travelers are using TripAdvisor reviews to blackmail hotels and restaurants in order to get free meals and stays.
Those in the hospitality industry have been warned that there is a trend of guests telling staff that they will post negative comments on the travel review site if they are not given better service, meals or upgrades according to a report on the Telegraph.
Restaurant, hotel and Bed and Breakfast owners have seen an increase in the number of customers who make threats involving TripAdvisor reviews. They say it starts when a guests makes a complaint and they follow up by saying they'll post a bad review to the site unless they are given something like a free bottle of wine, dessert or a low bill. Some have gone as far as to say that they work for the site and they will post several negative comments unless they are given free upgrades.
Officials are trying to work with TripAdvisor on the issue. Martin Couchman, the deputy chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said he was in talks to the company to improe the service.
"People threatening restaurants and hotels with bad TripAdvisor reviews to extort free things is a problem which has been growing," Couchman told the Telegraph.
"While it's very difficult to put an exact figure on how widespread the problem is, it is clear that a small minority of online reviewers are directly blackmailing - or sometimes subtly blackmailing - restaurants for their own gain.
"People will either attempt to blackmail during the meal, or sometimes, more worryingly, people who have not even been to the restaurant will post a bad review to try to get a free meal, or a free stay in a hotel's case. While it can be difficult to prove that somebody has blackmailed you, we would advise that business owners do not respond - or make free offers - to reviewers they suspect are malicious."
Couchman urges others in the travel industry to get in touch with TripAdvisor if they are having issues.
According to Craig Savage, who manages the Double Barrel Steakhouse and Grill in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, TripAdvisor threats are real. He says that out of about 1,000 meals that are served each week, 30 of them will be to customers who threaten the restaurant unless they get something free.
"What usually happens is that a customer will come to the bar, or say to the waiting staff, 'I am a senior TripAdvisor reviewer' and then you know that something will definitely go wrong," Savage told the Telegraph. "What we are finding is that these so-called reviewers will complain about the meal or the service and when you ask how to put it right, you can guarantee it will be some sort of freebie.
"And it's not just our restaurant that's being affected, every restaurant owner I speak to is concerned about this phenomenon." Sarah Bird, Savage's partner, said. "TripAdvisor needs to have a policy where reviewers should not be able to tell restaurant staff that they are a reviewer."
TripAdvisor responded to the claims, saying "Allegations of blackmail or threatening behaviour by guests against property owners are taken very seriously. If an owner experiences this, we urge them to contact us immediately. We have a way for owners to proactively report threats before a corresponding review is submitted."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
