TripAdvisor attacked over 'out of date' reviews

A version of this story appeared in Travel Trade Gazette on 10 November 2010

In a heated session at WTM, TripAdvisor's head of sales for Europe, Martin Verdon-Roe, faced questions from hoteliers concerned about old and "fake" reviews appearing on the site.

"The Social Revolution" session veered away from social media in the question and answer session, and Jes Paine, managing director of Hospitality Travel and Leisure Management, asked Verdon-Roe to justify why hotel reviews that were eight to 10-years-old were allowed to remain on the site.

"These reviews still tell a story", said Verdon-Roe. "Travellers want to understand how hotels perform over time – that is part of their research process."

TripAdvisor started in 2000, and reviews posted at any date since then still appear on the site, although Verdon-Coe stressed that reviews are ranked and ordered according to what the site's users have shown that they find useful and relevant.

Speaking exclusively to TTG after the session, Paine said: "Reviews that are years old are a nonsense.

"This is something TripAdvisor could control, and they could really make their reviews a lot more relevant.

"Reviews that are even one year old are irrelevant. Any good business tries to change problems that are highlighted to them within a month, so old reviews are irrelevant."

Earlier in the session a representative of Harmony Resorts asked Verdon-Roe what was being done about "fake reviews", saying they were "getting annoying".

In response Verdon-Roe said TripAdvisor was "constantly trying to work and improve", before going on to sing the praises of TripAdvisor's Owners' Centre, which opened in 2009 and "gives hoteliers a forum to talk to us" about reviews they suspect of being fake.

Speaking to TTG after the session, Verdon-Roe said: "There are a lot of processes to catch people writing fake reviews.

"People have to be registered TripAdvisor users in order to write reviews, and our users will highlight reviews that might be fake for us.

"They will send us a message and if we believe the review to be fake it will be removed.
TripAdvisor is currently facing the prospect of a group defamation from online reputation company KwikChex.com over businesses being damaged by “false allegations” and “misrepresentation”.

Basque cuisine highlighted at Spanish Tourist Office evening

Originally published on ttglive.com on 22 October 2010
Three Michelin-starred Basque country chefs cooked up a culinary storm for 250 guests of the Spanish Tourist Office at London’s Wallace Collection last night.

Andoni Luis Aduriz, Martin Berasategui and Pedro Subijana hold eight Michelin stars between them and provided a showcase of Basque food that included prawns with flambeed orujo liqueur, caramalised millefeuille of foie gras with smoked eel, and grey clay baked potatoes.

Juan Mari Arzak, who has three Michelin stars, wasn’t present but contributed his baby squid broth to the evening.

Basque cuisine has developed a reputation for creativity, with new Basque chefs using pioneering techniques, and the food at the Wallace Collection was served in a similarly innovative style.

The clay baked potatoes were made to look like pebbles on a sandy beach; waiters wore sandwich boards decked with anchovy, olive and chilli tasters; and a gazpacho-style soup was served in plastic medicine bottles.

Gastronomy attracts 5.5 million people to Spain each year and has been a key focus for the country in 2010.

The Spanish Tourist Board said: “We hope that this collaboration will further help promote the Basque country and its fantastic gastronomic offering and inspire travel industry partners and guests.”

Based on simple hearty ingredients, Basque cuisine has a broad variety thanks to the region’s blend of cultures, combined with its proximity to mountains and the sea. It takes in fresh seafood, cured meats and vegetables from the area’s fertile valleys.

Of the chefs present on the night, Andoni Luis Aduriz’s Mugaritz restaurant in Errenteria was placed fifth in The World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2010, while Martin Berasategui’s eponymous restaurant near San Sebastian came in 33rd.

Click here to see photos from the event.