TripAdvisor’s ‘bad reviews’ (part 4)

TripAdvisor, an online review platform, has dominated the travel e-commerce arena and now claims to be the largest travel site in the world, with more than 60 million members and over 170 million reviews. Readers are encouraged to post their own reviews of hotels, restaurants, attractions and destinations worldwide, online, and free of charge.

You will have read our recent posts on this topic and now we venture into the cut throat space of the hotel industry for a sneak peek. In this post, hotels rather than government authorities are in the spotlight. Read on for part 4 in this series.

Hotel receives astonishingly ‘bad review’

An attempt by a small English family run hotel to enforce a ‘no bad review policy’ on TripAdvisor and 2 guests who dared to speak ill of their experience hit the headlines late in 2014. This unprecedented attempt by a hotel to shift power away from reviewers on the forum was met with strong public backlash, potential legal consequences and bad press for the already struggling business.

Sinking into a ‘Blackpool’

The retired couple who paid £36 for a night in a double room at the Broadway Hotel in Blackpool (North of England) were surprised to find a further £100 charge to their credit card (almost 3 times the cost of their room and breakfast) after leaving a damning review on TripAdvisor. The reviewers said they were appalled by the conditions and general cleanliness of the place and described the budget hotel as a ‘filthy, dirty rotten stinking hovel’.

The hotel claimed it was entitled to the £100 ‘penalty’ as the guests had agreed to a ‘no bad review policy’ in its booking terms and conditions. The small print stated:

‘Despite the fact that repeat customers and couples love our hotel, your friends and family may not. For every bad review left on any website, the group organiser will be charged a maximum £100 per review.’

However, after the matter was brought to the attention of the BBC, the Blackpool hotel soon refunded its guests’ bills, vowed to improve its facilities and cancelled its ‘no bad review policy’.

Do not disturb

Clearly hotels want to avoid nasty reviews, particularly when customers threaten their business with bad online reviews to make unfair (sometimes defamatory) posts and perhaps even seek to obtain discounts.

We do live in an online world inundated with consumer review sites. So surely, hotels can be more creative than wielding a ‘no bad review policy’. With the hotel in question recently ranked 862 of 902 Blackpool hotels, this writer leaves you to your own conclusions about the fairness of the review.

In a further twist, officials from the UK Trading Standards Institute are investigating whether the hotel has breached the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

(Suit)case closed

In a similar case¹ that reached its conclusion in the Scottish courts, the owners of a Scottish guesthouse failed in their bid to make TripAdvisor reveal the identity of reviewers that they considered had ‘defamed’ them.

The Court refused their appeal, agreeing with TripAdvisor that:

the Court had no jurisdiction over the American company; and
TripAvisor’s terms and conditions were unambiguous and did not convey that the company could be bound by an order of the Scottish Courts.

Our review

Clearly sites like TripAdvisor are open to abuse. Trying to control the online behaviour of customers is not only difficult (like herding cats) but could be counterproductive. So, hotels need to carefully choose the provisions they include in their Booking Terms and Conditions to ensure they are legally enforceable and will not be met with backlash. Please provide your reviews of our TripAdvisor 4 part series – we welcome all of your positive reviews!

TripAdvisor’s ‘bad reviews’ (part 1)
TripAdvisor’s ‘bad reviews’ (part 2)
TripAdvisor’s ‘bad reviews’ (part 3)

¹Martin Clark and Jaqui CLark against TripAdisor LLC CSIH 110 P869/13 [2014]