As a Blackpool hotel gets caught fining guests for leaving negative reviews online, we take a look at TripAdvisor’s fraught relationship with the travel industry
When it comes to reviews, the travel industry is late to the game. It’s only really since the rise of websites such as TripAdvisor that hotels, B&Bs, hostels and guesthouses have had to face up to the kind of public criticism we’re used to seeing for film, music and literature. TripAdvisor may only have been around for 14 years, but in its brief history of publishing user reviews, it has forged a fraught relationship with the hospitality industry. This came to the fore on Wednesday when it was revealed that a Blackpool Hotel had charged a couple £100 after they posted a critical review on the site. It’s just the latest in a string of incidents and disputes that TripAdvisor has found itself in .
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