How Badly Did TripAdvisor Blunder?

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

The case involves Mr. Ziggy Hussain who runs the popular Ziggy's Spice House in downtown Halifax (Nova Scotia), Canada.

According to the Halifax Courier, TripAdvisor summarily removed 280 reviews after its "fraud detection system indicated suspicious activity."

The result: Hussain's restaurant was demoted from the number one position in the town to the bottom of the list. Worse, TripAdvisor actually claimed the restaurant was engaging in "criminal activities" by breaking the law in publishing fraudulent reviews.

Hussain cried foul. The businessman wants the reviews independently investigated and says he is prepared "to take court action" to protect his reputation and his business.

Hussain asked online reputation service Kwik-Chex to step in, and he then asked for an independent IT expert to verify TripAdvisor's claims.

What started out as an ordinary but familiar dispute between a restaurant and TripAdvisor now has the makings on an ugly libel fight. Hussain wants his reviews and his reputation back.

Chris Emmins, co-founder of Kwik-Chex says that since Hussain has asked for an independent review, the burden of proof is on TripAdvisor to show how and where the restauranteur broke the rules and committed a fraudulent act.

TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay affirms that  the review giant "can identify patterns of suspicious activity by utilizing sophisticated filters and behavioural modelling to scan reviews."

That may be. But detecting fraudulent reviews is one thing. Accusing of criminal behavior, and removing reviews and demoting an establishment is altogether another thing.

A quick glance at the Spice House website shows a mix of good and bad customer reviews. It also shows that the owner has answered negative reviews with comments and explanations.

Unless TripAdvisor exonerates Hussain or explains who is responsible for what they are alleging, Emmins believes TripAdvisor's actions could constitute "legal defamation."

[Shannon Farley]

thanks!

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

Well, in case you have the time, here is the article I did on the subject, for what it's worth :) http://newmediatravel.com/social-media-bullies-hold-hotels-hostage/

As a side note, I'm not sure I know your company, focus, etc. Do send a list of clients, if you wish, and maybe I can help out from time to time. We also publish to Travel Weekly, Technorati Travel Home page, Family Travel Forum, etc. Our vid ssite has 5+ million views, and so on. Apologies if I sound promotional :)

[e-mail]

[Shannon Farley]

Thanks Kaleel for more information. You bring up a very good point about social bullies. I have been on the lookout for one such individual who upon arrival at a hotel client of mine demanded free tours, room upgrade and other freebies -- threatening that if they didn't give him what he wanted, that he would publish a nasty review on TA. Needless to say the poor manager caved in under the pressure, but was still in fear that the gentleman would write negatively nonetheless. So far, thankfully, no such review has appeared.Apparently social bullying happens all of the time unfortunately.

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

Thanks, Shannon. The story gathered quite a bit of steam as it unfolded. TA is under a lot of pressure relative to the veracity of their reviews, social bullies threatening hotels with bad reviews if they don't comp them a meal or give a free drink, etc. Its a jungle really, and because reviews have exploded in significance and are the life blood of a hotel or destination the problems will continue

But TA is nimble. I have met he CEO several times and was there in the beginning when TA was in a cramped space in Needham, Massachusetts. He is an honorable guy and has great integrity. Very smart too. So I suspect TA will bob, weave and fine tune. But they do have to be kept honest.

Sorry for such a long answer. Thanks for writing in. New Media Travel has covered these kinds of TA-related stories, and KwickChex is always the most reliable gadfly

Cheers

[Shannon Farley]

Good for Mr. Hussain for taking prompt action against TripAdvisor; and good for you for reporting. TripAdvisor is good and serves a good purpose, but they are not God. I've had my own run-ins with TripAdvisor when I worked as a hotel manager. Anyone can write whatever they like, true or not true, and it's not fair for businesses when it happens. TripAdvisor does nothing to protect the businesses.

[Kaleel Sakakeeny]

It would be nice to think so, Donna :)! But I suspect the cumulative pressure and publicity made TA rethink its position, and back down...some.

Always good to hear from you, though!

[Donna Esposito]

I'm a Canadian so I had to look up ziggys on tripadvisor. Now the restaurant is ranked 7 out of 136. Do u think kwikchez or you may have made tripadvisor restore the good comments today?