TripAdvisor slams Kwikchex for undermining confidence in review sites. Fighting talk from TripAdvisor as it launches a direct attack on Kwikchex in probably its strongest statement to date around its perceived light-touch stance over alleged fake reviews.
UK-based Kwikchex has attempted to be a thorn in the side of the user review giant ever since launching what it claimed would be a legal action against TripAdvisor in the summer of 2010. However, more than 18 months since the battle between the two commenced and with TripAdvisor until now defending its position in general terms, it has reacted angrily to recent moves by Kwikchex. According to TripAdvisor, the reputation management firm has its own “clear commercial interests in undermining confidence in open user-generated platforms.” It goes on to say: “It therefore comes as no surprise that the criteria set out entirely favours the company publishing it and the related services the company provides. What is wrong with TripAdvisor? NB: This is a guest article by Chris Emmins, chief executive of Kwikchex When KwikChex first started publicly challenging TripAdvisor, many were concerned it was an attempt to suppress freedom of speech.
Some had the impression that it was being driven by sub-standard businesses which simply couldn’t take criticism. On both accounts, nothing could have been further from the truth. We are now about to release a report titled “What’s Wrong With TripAdvisor?” Which will demonstrate the issues we encountered and explain what KwikChex has been doing, the reasons and likely results. In the interim, with a ruling due on the first of the ASA complaints and a second investigation underway, we have been asked to explain what lay behind these actions. The businesses that have been contacting KwikChex have high standards. They had tried contacting TripAdvisor, but had been either fobbed off with a standard template email -or completely ignored.
We examined every case. NB2: Image via Shutterstock. War on fake travel content intensifies - now it is time rate the hotel review sites. In a bizarre twist in the battle to rid the industry of fraudulent reviews, reputation management firm Kwikchex has unveiled a star-rating system for review sites.
Under the system, review sites are awarded a star-rating from five (for sites where reviewers are identified and purchase of a product or service is verified) to one star (those that have little means to authenticate the content). In this latest move, Kwikchex is setting itself up as the consumer champion and the company plans to publish its ratings, with companies welcome to challenge them if they disagree. Chris Emmins, boss of the reputation management firm, stresses consumer reassurance has always been a core focus for the company which has been building up a ‘global consumer group’ and plans to extend it to act as part of its ‘quality assurance resource’. Here is the rating criteria in full: NB: Rating image via Shutterstock. Goodbye TripAdvisor, welcome to Verified Reviews on Expedia. Purely coincidental, of course, but with TripAdvisor now successfully spun-off, Expedia is now pushing hard with a marketing message about how its hotel reviews are verified.
Just a day before CEO Steve Kaufer fronted TripAdvisor’s first public listing on the NASDAQ, Expedia started telling a number of its global markets about the launch of its new hotel review system. Known now as Expedia Verified Reviews, only guests that stayed at a property can submit a review, by way of a form emailed to the customer after a trip. Expedia says the Verified Reviews platform has yet to be officially launched in the US and most of its other large markets, but consumers in Australia and New Zealand are already using a new feedback system and site visitors are being reassured about the authenticity of the reviews.
TripAdvisor to get verified vacation rental reviews from Interhome guests. TripAdvisor has been making a push for verified hotel reviews and plans on adding verified reviews from vacation-rental guests, as well.
The vacation-rental reviews, slated to go live around June, would come from Switzerland-based Interhome, which offers professionally managed vacation homes and implemented an agreement with TripAdvisor a couple of weeks ago. The TripAdvisor-Interhome guest review model differs from the way TripAdvisor units Holiday Lettings in the UK and FlipKey in the US currently handle reviews from vacation rental guests. For FlipKey and Holiday Lettings, which were acquired in 2008 and 2010, respectively, anyone can submit a review, although it won’t get posted until the homeowner confirms that the review writer actually stayed at the property.
Interhome guests are informed when writing reviews that their email addresses will be sent to TripAdvisor as part of the review submission and collection process.