TripAdvisor is investigating claims that Meriton Serviced Apartments, Australia's largest residential apartment developer, has been manipulating guest reviews, according to ABC.
The travel website is investigating claims that Meriton is preventing guests at its luxury hotels from submitting negative reviews.
ABC reports that emails show how Meriton guests were allegedly offered bribes to change their TripAdvisor ratings from low to high and that staff allegedly used a 'masking' tactic to ensure guests who complained did not receive TripAdvisor feedback forms.
Often ratings on TripAdvisor are manipulated and fake reviews go unnoticed, the Telegraph UK reports. The travel publication added that two of its readers were offered £180 (R3 700) to delete a negative view they posted of a hotel in Gloucestershire and that a restaurant, which is yet to open, is currently ranked the 17th best restaurant in London.
TripAdvisor considers soliciting reviews fraudulent and could result in the offending accommodation provider being removed from its listings.
