TripAdvisor Now Removing Old Negative Reviews After Hotels Renovate
Photo Credit: The redesigned Standard room with two double beds at the Millennium Hotel Minneapolis. Millennium Hotel Minneapolis / Millennium Hotel Minneapolis
Skift Take
Some hotels see TripAdvisor as an adversary, and that's especially true of those that felt the wrath of negative reviews. In recent years, TripAdvisor has worked closer with hotels, or perhaps hotels have just come to accept founder Steve Kaufer's underlying message to the industry: "Adapt or die."
In response to hotel owners' request for a fresh start following major renovations, TripAdvisor added a review removal policy last October, and updated the policy for clarity in July 2013.
The odds are big for hotels: In exchange for proof of major renovations, a hotel's old reviews are wiped clean -- a fresh start.
Hotels must produce proof of structural changes including the installation of new guest rooms or bathrooms, alterations to hotel layout, or complete property overhauls. Cosmetic changes like new paint or curtains do not count.
According to TripAdvisor's Help Center (screenshot embedded below), hotels need to provide building permits, materials invoices, or press releases to prove that the renovations were indeed structural and completed.
All old reviews are then deleted from the live site and cannot be accessed by traveler
