Quite simply and frankly, no.
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Why? Are we cynical or something? Well yes and no.
When I first decided that I wanted to try my hand at writing travel articles, posts, etc., I did what I know a lot of people have – I worked for a “content mill”. I wanted to see whether I could and whether I enjoyed it. Well, I did enjoy the writing, and I was always very thorough in my research of destinations that I had not been to. Yes, I earned $4.50(AUD) for 500 words, which in this industry is quite good. It didn’t however cover the cost of 2 cups of coffee in the morning, but I wasn’t in it for the money. It was posted under various names as chosen by my wealthy employers.
People Will Pay for Anything
What I did discover however was how dreadfully unscrupulous some of the offers were. One kid in England was obviously struggling with his course and was outsourcing his assignments to a content mill. I did do one, and he obviously got good marks and asked me to do more. As I didn’t want a black mark against my considerable status, I upped the fee something shocking and he bloody well accepted. Again he got good marks, and I
am not kissing myself here, but as an ex-teacher so I know what is needed to get the grades. He asked again, and I had to say no, this was ridiculous. He offered very good money but at the end of the day I didn’t want to be writing educational articles and it was wrong. I was wrong. I know he would have found someone else, but I also know he would have been busted as writing styles vary considerably, and that is a fact.
When I was teaching, I could pick it a mile off. Sorry kid, but you bought it in yourself. I had spent a long and very fruitful career teaching, and I wasn’t going to spend this valuable time doing the same. I wanted to write about our travels…. with integrity.
Being Asked to Write Fake Reviews, and saying NO
Before I quit, I got an offer to write for accommodation reviews. It was not from the site itself but from competitors wanting me to write bad reviews about various hotels that I had never been to. They also wanted me to write really good reviews about other hotels, again that I had not been to. They specified that my grammar and spelling should not be perfect so that I looked like a ‘real’ person. That nearly got me in as I have never got a grip on those apostrophe things, and that they would come up with a “name”.
I Still Trust Travel Review Sites but am more discriminating
I use reviews from various sites a lot, and I felt sorry for whichever site it was though it was never specified, but I have a pretty good idea who it was. I felt for the site as this is not what the original aim were when they set it up, I know because I have gone over the history of it. This was simply not fair.
No doubt this is about marketing, but it is utterly unscrupulous and unethical. Of course, I did not accept the job and, in fact, left the factory to go out on my own. I was sick of moral and ethical dilemmas, and after about 120 articles I had made peanuts and felt really bad about myself. It was worth it for the experience but when I could not look myself in the mirror, I was gone.
So I decided, well we decided, to write our travel blog and do so with integrity, and also to write honest reviews for travel review sites because we had been there, or knew enough about them, and could make an honest determination. I do not make $4.50 a post that I write, but I do not care. I just pay for my coffee with legitimate money.
How to Use Travel Review Sites?
A lot of the reviews are true. Mine, for example, are where I write under my name or Contented Traveller, and have been there (whether stayed or eaten) and it is the truth about our experience. Check for the apostrophe usage and you will know it is mine.
I now tend to ignore the first few and last few, particularly if the person has not put a photo to their name or it is so petty. Example – “the thermostat was set at 19 degrees when I specifically asked for 21 degrees” – come to think of it this is probably a real comment; like what a wanker.
I cross reference reviews from quite some sites for consistency and try and read through the lines.
These are invaluable tools that we all use, so rival hotels, restaurants or whatever shouldn’t compromise them. These places were set up as invaluable tools for travellers; they don’t deserve this at all.
Just be a little bit cynical is the message.
Reviews are so subjective, and what is important to one person is petty to another. Like you, I look at more than one source, and I prefer independent review sites to the hotel reviews.
I think it pays to look at a number also.
I quite understand what you say… I think sometime when the world went online and there was a huge need for content, writer’s pay, writing quality and the intent of publication went downhill. I have been approached by many for content and despite temptations, I held back. Eventually, I quit all forms of writing including the ones that were honest and offered acceptable pay sticking largely to writing for my own audience and my own publishing platform. And happy to be doing so…
When I’m reading reviews on review websites I tend to ignore the ones that say it’s amazing and ignore the ones that say it’s terrible (your example shows these are the ones that could be fake). I read the middle of the road reviews as they tend to be more honest without moaning about every little detail.
So true, some of the rubbish I have read is ridiculous. Feel sorry for the review sites that were set up legitimately.
I am not surprised by what you have written in here. I have read similar stories plus seen reports of how some of the review sites handle comments (they have questionable algorithms that select what to publish). In addition, I have notice some reviewers loose objectivity and rate places or experiences based in very particular likes or tastes. Do I like to read reviews? Yes. Am I influence by reviews? Sometimes. However, like you mentioned, I like to cross reference and go to other sources. The positive side? I have discovered a lot of new places using these sites (local and international).
Agree with every things you have said. We still read them, but certainly discriminately now. Thanks for the comment, appreciate it 🙂
It’s odd how many hotel booking sites didn’t publish my reviews, especially the negative ones. Most of those sites display the “your review is pending approval” or “…is waiting for moderation”. And if they don’t like it, they just don’t publish it.
There are tons of sites living out of reviews. Publishing this and that just for the sake of content.
Despite all these, I still look around and check the reviews before actually deciding to go any place or book any hotel. It’s always good to check multiple sources…
I think that it is probably not the sites fault but the competitors fault. Interesting however that they don’t publish some of your reviews. I wonder why? Take care
What is the competitor’s fault?
Well, they tend not to publish negative reviews overall (not only my negative reviews). They often remove the negative comments on SM channels.
I hear people complain about their reviews being hidden. Ah well, I had this issue with travel and non-travel sites. If I left 3 stars instead of 5, it was already enough for them to leave my reviews “pending” and the “not approve” them.
I guess this is why people like neutral review sites.