Do you visit online travel review sites? We have one here at Families.com. Personally, I find them quite helpful. I try to visit multiple sites for a single destination to see if the reviews are similar in nature. Prior to leaving on our most recent trip to Hawaii I searched various sites to read reviews on a particular hotel I was unfamiliar with. I was shocked to read a review posted by a guy I went to college with (believe me I know it was him because of his unique name). In any event, it got me thinking about the accuracy of cyber-reviews.
There are thousands of travelers who surf the web in search for reviews on the best place to stay or where to eat while on vacation. Some actually book their trips based on the comments. But, how does one really know if it wasn’t the hotel’s PR director who wrote that rave review about Hotel So-and-So?
Not just that… once I wrote a review for a hotel I felt treated my family like royalty. After I submitted my comment I looked at what others had contributed to the site and found one review that said the hotel was within walking distance of the beach. I felt the comment was misleading since the beach was located more than two miles away from the hotel. Then again, I suppose if you are willing to hoof it a couple of miles, then you are technically within walking distance.
So how can you tell if you are reading a true-blue review? I did some research and found that larger sites such as Tripadvisor use a complicated math formula and actually employ a technician who looks at every single bit and bite and uses the formula to detect fraudulent reviews. Most other travel review websites rely on the honor system.
The bottom line, most destinations, hotels, restaurants, etc. list multiple comments for each entry, even if some phonies get through you have to figure at least 75% of the reviews are made by legitimate people who want to share their opinions (both good and bad) to help others make informed travel choices.
My tip: if you’re planning a trip, volume is key: Look at multiple reviews before making a decision about whether you’ll visit.
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