is trip advisor dying?

Gundy thank you for letting us know you are connected to TA.
My complaint is that I asked a question about a place I wanted to visit,a reply was "should you be going"
I did a "report" posting yet the reply is still there,the reply added nothing to the question I was asking.

I'm off tonight to stay in a holiday home in France during June. I was reading the TripAdvisor reviews this morning, all 5* French reviews, until one in German complaining about the uncomfortable slatted bed, dirty crockery and cutlery, along with cleaning the house which took them 12 hours. Yikes! It's from 2022 so maybe they were worried about covid. I'll see tomorrow.
So yes, I read TripAdvisor, but only after I've booked the place I like!! Oops 😆

I’m writing this in menorca after posting on Tuesday the hotel is fabulous the food is wonderful and I needn’t have worried! Might not look at trip advisor again!

We booked a lodge in the Lake District last year, which generally had good reviews, then a couple of days before travel I looked again, and the party in the lodge before us left a scathing review, asking why it was called ‘luxury’ when it clearly wasn’t (the price they paid should have given them an idea of the standard) and how filthy it was.

I didn’t say a word to my OH and others who we were going with but held my breath til I arrived. Pleased to say it lived up to our expectations and whilst not luxurious, we were not expecting it to be. It was just a little dated and perfectly clean inside (though the decking could have done with a wash)

Horses for courses

Following my post I do have to say that our Trip Advisor boys (now married with families) sold their business a while back… when they got an offer they couldn’t refuse.

You make your fortune and go build something new somewhere else!

I think TA is still very useful but I do not know how it is being run.

Gundy,thank you for your reply.

I'm surprised so many people rely on these reviews. If you go far enough down the list, you'll find they all contradict each other. I just rely on hard facts nowadays : Is there parking on the premises? Is it free? Is there WiFi(although this might not always function in all rooms). Is breakfast included? Is there 24h reception? What size are the rooms?

Even photos can be enhanced and taken at such an angle as to disguise any eyesores.

I once posted a review listing a couple of minus points and was asked to take it down. It wasn't even that bad. But as the hotel addressed me as "Herr Schneider", I'm not even sure they were referring to my review. If they can't even get my name (and gender!) right, then they certainly don't merit a more positive opinion. (I think this was a Google review, not TA)

I wouldn't say I 'rely' on reviews, but I do use them as a useful starting point to get a feel for the place I'm thinking of booking.

Thank you GNHQ for correcting the thread title.
It was really annoying me

I always consult TA and try to ignore the top and bottom, say, 10% of comments.
I do think tho that it’s important to leave positive comments. People , in my experience, are very quick to criticise And much slower to praise.

Just arrived at my rental house in France for the month of June. As 5* perfect as stated on TripAdvisor. Maybe half a point off for a few crumbs in the cutlery drawer and the sunloungers are old-fashioned deckchairs. I'll forgive them that, we can always buy some new ones tomorrow. Dog has settled nicely too.
Now to open the bottle of wine and later discover the beach 500 yards away.

TA reviews are usually accurate I rate quite a few places only occasionally is it negative. Google and some other reviews I take less notice and are often fake

Some people say you should never respond to poor reviews as that makes the negatives stand out among the positives.

I disagree. If you dont respond then it makes it look that you dont care.

I have only one poor review in my Ebay shop and that was due to a customs delay at the other end in dealing with the package. So I felt it important to post that some things are entirely beyond the seller's control.

In another of my shops a buyer stated that she received "poor communication" despite a prominent notice to the effect that I was closed for vacation. My response made it clear that the issue was dealt with immediately. The next buyer to leave a review made a point of saying that the help and communication she had was excellent.

When you get one or two bad reviews amid mainly good ones it says more about the reviewer than the business being reviewed. Often the complaints are fairly petty or they refer to matters the company could not be held responsible for - such as bad weather/strikes/etc.