Can You Get Bad Reviews Removed from TripAdvisor?
This is one of the most common questions we receive from hoteliers. Sometimes, a GM or owner will disagree with the content of a review. After all, there are two sides to every story. So, can you get a bad hotel review removed from TripAdvisor?
The short answer: only sometimes. TripAdvisor will remove a bad review only if it violates their guidelines. In their terms, if you think a review is “fraudulent or otherwise improper,” you can report it for review. Rather than replying immediately, you might be able to have it removed. If the bad review doesn’t meet the guidelines below, you should follow best practices for responding to negative reviews. Here’s how you can know if a review is fraudulent and what you can do to have it removed.
TripAdvisor will remove reviews that include:
Profane or Vulgar Language
TripAdvisor requires that reviews are family-friendly. Any mention of the reviewer participating in illegal or illicit activities will be removed. The reviewer also cannot make threats or personal insults.
Intolerant Language
The reviewer should not express “harmful opinions.” That means that personal thoughts about politics, religion, race, and sexual orientation are not allowed. This also extends to personal attacks from one reviewer to other reviewers.
Irrelevant Information
Sometimes, people try to ask questions to other travelers or the owner. These are removed because they belong in the separate questions section, so these are removed from reviews. Other times, hotels receive reviews for other businesses not associated with their hotel, like an attached restaurant or spa. These reviews should be reported so they appear on the restaurant’s business listing, not the hotel’s TripAdvisor listing.
Bias or Blackmail
TripAdvisor only wants real reviews. If an ex-employee or nearby competitor leaves bad reviews to lower the score, they should be reported. Likewise, don’t try to obtain positive reviews using friends, employees, or family members. When you’re caught, your property will be punished. Hotels that engage in this behavior are hit with a drastic ranking drop. Also, they’re never eligible to win a Certificate of Excellence.
Old Stays
Reviews must be from within a year of a guest’s stay. If you suspect that a guest stayed more than a year ago but is writing a review as if they recently visited, report it. You’ll want to search your reservation system to find proof to submit to TripAdvisor.
Rumors
Reviews must be about experiences that the reviewer had. Reviews that contain second-hand information or rumors (“I didn’t stay here, but my sister did and she said there were bugs!”) can be reported and removed.
How to Report a TripAdvisor Review
To report a review that you think violates these guidelines, follow these steps.
- Go to the Business Management Center at http://tripadvisor.com/owners
- Under the Reviews tab, click Report a Review
- Fill out the form and explain why you think the review should be taken down
Someone from TripAdvisor will read your report and decide if the review violated their guidelines.
Other TripAdvisor users can also report that a review violates guidelines. There is a flag icon on every review that any TripAdvisor user can click. Once reported, someone from TripAdvisor will review the report.
Because only reviews that have violated guidelines will be removed, most reviews will remain on a business listing. TripAdvisor does check reviews as they come in, but because they process so many, some do make it through. This means that most reviews are posted publicly and considered valid until otherwise flagged or reported.
How Long Does it Take to Remove a Review on TripAdvisor?
Because TripAdvisor processes over 10,000 reviews per day, the time it takes for their staff to review reports depends on their workload. Just as posting a review can take anywhere from hours to weeks, reporting a review can take up to weeks to complete.
The best action to take when a bad review is posted is to write a management response. Provide a response that is helpful to both the reviewer and other travelers reading the reviews. Read more about the best practices for responding to TripAdvisor reviews.
The only way to combat negative reviews is by getting newer, more positive reviews. If you’re struggling with your TripAdvisor rating and reviews, then we can help. Reputation Management will help increase the number of positive reviews you get and send you helpful guest feedback. Want to free up even more time? Check out Respond & Resolve, our review response platform. We’ll respond to every review on every website.
Reputation Management: Encourage more and better reviews
Respond & Resolve: Professional responses to every review
13 Comments
Hotel Marketing Resources
I have a local person posting bogus reviews, even slanderous. I am taking legal advice this week. We will be asking for an IP/server address. To whom do we send that request?
We have had 4 negative reviews, all similar, from different user names, but we believe it is the same person. How do I confirm that?
Hi James, you’ll need to contact TripAdvisor directly to resolve this. You can do this in two ways. First, you can click the flag on the right of each review to report that the review could be fraudulent. When you click the flag, you can choose “It’s biased or written by someone with an affiliation to the property” then provide more details in a text field about why you think it is fraudulent. You can also click the “Is this your business?” link on the bottom of the reporting window. You’ll be taken to your property Management Center where you can contact TripAdvisor for further assistance. We hope this helps!
I have a comparator/fraud posting bogus negative reviews on my property on tripadvisor.
How can i get rid of fake reviews?
Hi Fabian, you can follow the steps in the article to flag the reviews you believe are fraudulent. TripAdvisor will review them and decide what to do from there. Be sure to provide as much evidence as you can to support your claim when you create the report. Good luck!
There have been slanderous and false claims about the San Juan Scenic Jeep Tours in Ouray, CO posted by 2 competitors and is driving business away. How can this be taken care of as quickly as possible since July is the busy season and is coming up fast?
Hi Mitch,
We’re sorry to hear about the negative reviews. We recommend you report the review and provide as much proof as you can. Keep in mind that if TripAdvisor cannot identify a violation, there is no guarantee that it will be removed. On the bright side, your TripAdvisor page shows incredible reviews on its main page. Keep up the great work.
Hello
We have had a negative review as Deliveroo took an hour to deliver our food and it arrived to the customer cold. As this is clearly an issue with Deliveroo (we have complained to them) and we fulfilled our side of contract by giving driver hot food ordered what can we do to request this is removed
Hi Lucy,
Without seeing the exact review, it’s hard to know if it will fall under one of the categories of reviews that TripAdvisor will remove. If the review is talking specifically about the late delivery and issues with Deliveroo, then you may be able to follow the steps in our article and make a case that the review falls under the category of “Irrelevant Information.”
However, if the review also contains criticism that is specific to your restaurant and the food you serve, it may not qualify for removal. In this case, we recommend that you reply to the guest and reassure them that the food they received did not meet your standards and you are disappointed that the delivery service took so long to deliver their meal. Let them know that you’ve addressed the issue directly with Deliveroo. Finally, invite them to try your restaurant again in the future.
We hope this information helps!
I have documented 1500-word review on this place which deserves space – two-hour cancellation on Bank Holiday; no do not disturb facility; foul language etc etc. how long can a review on TA be?
Hi Peter, TripAdvisor currently has a 20,000 character count limit on reviews. We recommend saving a version of your review in a word processing program and using the character count tool to trim the content as needed. Best of luck!
If a hotel undergoes a renovation or restoration and the reviews are no longer relevant because issues that were mentioned in a negative review have been resolved, are you able to request for the reviews to be removed? Do you have to provide evidence to prove that these issues have been resolved? What is the proper method for going about having these reviews removed?
Yes, it’s possible to get the reviews removed following a major renovation, but TripAdvisor won’t just remove negative reviews – they will remove all of your reviews and photos; So, it’s important to weigh all of your options before doing a complete re-set of your TripAdvisor page. Much like with a property sale, you have to provide proof to get your TripAdvisor business listing wiped clean. A renovation must include structural changes. Only changing carpet and wallpaper isn’t enough to get a new business page. You can read more in our article about it.