Does TripAdvisor influence your decisions?
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381960)
Rockingham, Australia
September 9, 2019 12:51am CST
MyLotter @xFiacre recently wrote about several really bad experiences at an hotel. In my response, I asked if he was going to put a review on TripAdvisor. Do you use this site? We often check out an eating house or tourist attraction on it. We take the comments with a grain of salt but if there are a lot of bad, or good, reviews, there has to be at least some truth to them.
Fiacre’s discussion reminded me of our last visit to our favourite winery. This is a family-owned and managed affair. There is a cellar door with wine-tasting and now they are having tasting plates if you want to stay for a short time and enjoy your coffee and/or wine in the garden. The young lady/wife/mother (let’s call her Emma), who mostly looks after the cellar door, is just a really lovely person; kind and friendly to all. Everyone who meets her loves her.
However, she was telling us about five women who arrived one afternoon and asked to try the wines. They had already been to several wineries and really needed to go home and sleep off the results of their over-indulging. However, they stayed and were made welcome. Emma said they were rude, their language was foul, and one was trying to flirt with her, Emma’s, husband. Another group arrived at the winery, and our friend was so embarrassed by the behaviour of the first group that she gave the second group a free cheese platter. She was very worried that the winery would be given a bad rating on TripAdvisor.
I do think men who behave in this way are more likely to do so in a more appropriate venue, such as a pub, but some women are really obnoxious when they’ve had too much to drink and don’t realise and/or don’t care that their behaviour is highly inappropriate. The other point I wanted to make is that businesses do take notice of reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor.
The photo is an arty shot of Vince's which involves wine and a mirror.
26 people like this
26 responses
@LadyDuck (502343)
• Italy
9 Sep 19
I check TripAdvisor even if I know very well that they do not check if you really tried a hotel before posting your review. Some are real, some are not at all. I know that some give bad ratings for a very simple reason, because they are fiends of another place not far from the one they are reviewing.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (502343)
• Italy
10 Sep 19
@JudyEv Many business have complained, TripAdvisor already faced several fines here in Europe. I was annoyed to see suggested two restaurants here in Switzerland, not far from us, that do not exist anymore from at least 3 years. Imagine if someone moves expressly to go to eat there!
2 people like this
@birjudanak (14316)
• India
9 Sep 19
i never visited that site but one thing i want to share that one time i was finding online work where i got to know that people get to pay for write good or bad review on any site or product so i generally not visit review site after it as they are also preplanned which i think.
3 people like this
@birjudanak (14316)
• India
9 Sep 19
@JudyEv yes that's true and mostly happen in online shopping site. They give task to write good review for their products and write bad review for other products. Its a strange but true.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Sep 19
@birjudanak Oh of course. They pay people to write bad reviews of other people's products. I'm a bit thick sometimes. 
2 people like this
@birjudanak (14316)
• India
10 Sep 19
@JudyEv i actually tried that time to know how it works but they did not approve me haha it before 3 years i think.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44941)
• Preston, England
9 Sep 19
I rarely look on trip advisor - mostly I plan my own trips and accomodation, usually settling for economy over luxury. Apart from a bed for the night, I'm out exploring an area all day so the place I stay has to be really bad for me to fully object to it - A five star luxury hotel would be lost on me
3 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Sep 19
We don't always check and we don't let it influence us too much. And it depends on what's being reviewed. If we want an airBnB and several said the water was never hot and the house smelt of dog, then we might look for something else. As you say, if you just want a bed for the night, the rest of the place doesn't have to be too flash.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
9 Sep 19
i reckon there'd be no laws there 'bout o'erservin'?? here they would'a been denied. how awful that sweet lady'd to put'p with that bunch. her hubs, too. what a sad situation :(
i don't travel 'r eat out, so've no knowledge 'f this trip advisin' thingy. i'm sure such comes'n handy though fer many. i do read reviews (not jest from one source) when i'm lookin' to purchase some items though. 's ya say, sometimes they'd be mixed. one's gotta recall though that these thingies can be caused by the reviewer (like with items, user error 'r didn't bother to see the specs). with that'n mind, i'm more interested'n folks that'd legit troubles'n how the companies handled such.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Sep 19
There are laws but I don't think they were all so drunk that she could refuse to serve them. Only two or three were foul-mouthed and rude, but that's enough. It seemed that might have been their general attitude. Her husband did give them an hour to have their tastings then they had to leave.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
9 Sep 19
@JudyEv 'tis a shame that one can own a business yet fear repercussions regardin' rude patrons :( i'm sad all'd the need to suffer through 'em bein' there fer that hour.
2 people like this
@xFiacre (14801)
• Ireland
9 Sep 19
@judyev I only pay attention to reviews if they are consistently bad. Also, so as not to damage the business, I try to make complaints privately to the business owner - the bad experience could be a one-off or something beyond owner’s control. I’m wondering what Vince was drinking when he magicked up that’s photo - really dreamy.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (208821)
• United States
9 Sep 19
Yes, I try to go to places that have good reviews. Although it is true some people don't like anything, as you say if there are a lot of positive or negative reviews there is usually a reason for that.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Sep 19
And if say, someone says there's no wifi and you need it, you can then email and check for yourself.
@psanasangma (7910)
• India
9 Sep 19
Tripadvisor and like other travelling site may have good review but sometimes when we are in reality, the reality show something else.. Some often says reviews are done by paid person... they write good thing about the place and we believe it
2 people like this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
10 Sep 19
I always take the too positive and the too negative reviews with a grain of salt. I also look at how many reviews the person has written, I have written many. If they have only written one I pretty much discount their review. I try to get to the actual truth about any place I plan to stay and I realize that it is impossible to please some people.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Sep 19
That sounds a sound way to evaluate the evaluations! (It seems I'm short on words this morning!) lol Knock out the best and worst for starters. And if you have concerns, you can always do a bit more investigating or make a phone call or whatever.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135664)
• Marion, Ohio
9 Sep 19
I never use it, but I dont travel much either. I do look at reviews when I am trying something new. Like you said there is always going to be some bad. But if a lot are good I will try.
2 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21741)
• Canada
9 Sep 19
We look at the review....they do influence our decision.
If a place has only one or two reviews I might even look at other reviews that the reviewer has submitted. Some reviews feel the need to diss everything....even if I give a place a negative review I still try to find something that was good.
2 people like this
@HazySue (39265)
• Gouverneur, New York
9 Sep 19
That is an interesting photo. I like it. I don't base my opinion on another person's opinion. Things happen oddly sometimes and the place can not always put a stop to it. What a shame that the winery had the experience of an inconsiderate group.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Sep 19
She was really upset about it but I haven't seen any bad reviews on their website so hopefully it was all okay. A free cheese board might have helped too.
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
9 Sep 19
i do if the rating is really low. I don't if it is is in the middle.
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
10 Sep 19
@JudyEv i use Yelp in the US. I always figure a bunch of low ratings means, well food cooked by Roos and served by Lemurs!
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
14 Sep 19
Beautiful photo!
..
Yes indeed, some people lose all decency when they get a little tipsy ..
I've never browsed any sites like tripadvisor ...
..
Yes indeed, some people lose all decency when they get a little tipsy ..
I've never browsed any sites like tripadvisor ...1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
29 Sep 19
I look at trip advisor... but like you do not pay much attention to what the reviews say... I use it more for information about what to see and do in the area I'm going to...lol...
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
30 Sep 19
@JudyEv yes it does... plus everyones standards are quite different... so what wouldn't bother me would orcould bother someone else...
1 person likes this
@Daljinder (23193)
• Bangalore, India
9 Sep 19
I tend to read reviews often and they do influence my decision. By now, I am able to pinpoint which reviews to take into consideration and which one to ignore. I also sometimes try things which have no reviews or rating for a change. Sometimes it turns out good and sometimes even after many good reviews the product is not up to mark.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
20 Sep 19
I glance at them but take everything online with a grain of salt.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112804)
• United States
10 Sep 19
As much as I travel for both work and leisure, you'd think I'd be interested in a site like this. Yes, there ARE hidden truths somewhere in between all of the garbage people post on sites like this. But I mostly find that most of the time people posting on sites like this are mainly the disgruntled ones, and are the ones who spend an awful lot of time dissing place after place, partly in spite and partly in fun. I don't pay much attention. If I have a bad experience somewhere I simply never return.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112804)
• United States
11 Sep 19
@JudyEv Very true. Still, most people who post to these sites aren't being totally forthcoming. I kind of liken it to the writing world. When you cannot write, you become a reviewer, and reviewers are ALWAYS hard on a book. Their reviews rarely tell the whole story of how good or bad the book is.
1 person likes this
@WackyDecor (306)
• United States
18 Nov 19
I have never used tripadvisor.com to book hotels. But I read reviews there to compare with other similar websites to determine if a hotel I am interested in was a good one. Then, I called the hotel directly to book it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381960)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Nov 19
We usually do that too. Just check out the reviews.
