TripAdvisor accused of deleted negative reviews about drugging, rape and murder at resorts.

Bandage · Nov 1, 2017

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...juries-mexico-resorts-tourists-say/820094001/

Since July, when the Journal Sentinel began investigating the mysterious death of a Wisconsin college student in Mexico — and found widespread problems with tainted alcohol, derelict law enforcement and price gouging from hospitals — more than a dozen travelers from across the country have said TripAdvisor muzzled their first-hand stories of blackouts, rapes and other ways they were injured while vacationing in Mexico.

There's a lot to unpack here. Posts warning about the dangers of certain resorts being deleted (including reviews and posts about rape, druged drinks and robberies at the resorts). Members being given special permissions as favors. Seems the entire company is covering up a lot of negativity to try and curb the loss of customers from their resorts but at what cost?

resident_UA · Nov 1, 2017

Drugging, rape and murder?? Shouldn't this be police work instead of TripAdvisor?! It does seem like a weird thing to post on social media. I mean the best they could do is probably have links to news stories or something...

5taquitos · Nov 1, 2017

resident_UA said:
Drugging, rape and murder?? Shouldn't this be police work instead of TripAdvisor?! It does seem like a weird thing to post on social media. I mean the best they could do is probably have links to news stories or something...

I think you're missing the point? TripAdvisor is covering these incidents up, and a news outlet is investigating it.

Bandage · Nov 1, 2017

resident_UA said:
Drugging, rape and murder?? Shouldn't this be police work instead of TripAdvisor?! It does seem like a weird thing to post on social media. I mean the best they could do is probably have links to news stories or something...

The problem is that Trip advisor is actively deleting first hand stories of horrible experiences.
It completely undermines the point of a review system and puts people in danger.

Indy in the Fridge · Nov 1, 2017

Gary Davidson, a Miami attorney who specializes in travel law, said TripAdvisor has an ethical obligation to warn tourists about dangerous situations, though not necessarily a legal one.

Unbelievable.

resident_UA · Nov 1, 2017

Bandage said:
The problem is that Trip advisor is actively deleting first hand stories of horrible experiences.
It completely undermines the point of a review system and puts people in danger.

5taquitos said:
I think you're missing the point? TripAdvisor is covering these incidents up, and a news outlet is investigating it.

If they are covering up crimes then they are breaking a law. I don't think there's much moral grey area here... But if they are deleting posts with unconfirmed criminal acts I can't blame them for this. I mean TripAdviser posts are often as reliable as youtube comments.

Squarehard · Nov 1, 2017

I don't even use TripAdvisor anymore.

Far better review options out there nowadays.

xbhaskarx · Nov 1, 2017

The resorts probably pay TripAdvisor to delete the worst reviews, the same thing happens on many review sites...

Bandage · Nov 1, 2017

resident_UA said:
If they are covering up crimes then they are breaking a law. I don't think there's much moral grey area here... But if they are deleting posts with unconfirmed criminal acts I can't blame them for this. I mean TripAdviser posts are often as reliable as youtube comments.

You should read the story.
These are crimes that were reported to the resorts and some even to the police (though trying to deal with police in a foreign country can be a nightmare itself).
The problem is that Trip Advisor doesn't fall under the same category as travel agencies despite being used that way and thus, they can delete posts they deem negative regardless of how truthful they are.
They're actively putting people in danger for profit.

resident_UA · Nov 1, 2017

xbhaskarx said:
The resorts probably pay TripAdvisor to delete the worst reviews, the same thing happens on many review sites...

Resorts pay to get good reviews for themselves and bad reviews for others and the others pay to get bad reviews removed and good added... I would say it's probably full circle at this point.

Bandage said:
You should read the story.
These are crimes that were reported to the resorts and some even to the police (though trying to deal with police in a foreign country can be a nightmare itself).
The problem is that Trip Advisor doesn't fall under the same category as travel agencies despite being used that way and thus, they can delete posts they deem negative regardless of how truthful they are.
They're actively putting people in danger for profit.

Why are you saying "even"? All of this should be reported to police without hesitation. Also it's not like Mexico is some sort of Wild West. Police might not be the best there, but they will give a shit. I mean I'm originally from Ukraine and the police there is as corrupt as you can get, but if you are foreigner and you report a serious crime they will take it seriously.

EDIT: Also I would never equate Tripadviser to a travel agency. Tripadviser is a social media website. Taking it seriously is like taking youtube seriously. A lot of it is complete BS.

Just_a_Mouse · Nov 1, 2017

Terrifying that they would cover that up. This isn't just a bad food review, people have a right to know if their lives are at risk.

Saganator · Nov 1, 2017

I recently read an article about alcohol being served in Mexico making a lot of people sick and causing some deaths, was amazed it wasn't a bigger story.

Mr X · Nov 1, 2017

"But then we lose the clicks!!" This is pure villainy.

EssBeeVee · Nov 1, 2017

TripAdvisor always felt shady when i tried to use it. Yikes.