How TripAdvisor evaluates reviews

TripAdvisor has released a little information about the process they use to evaluate reviews.

Online DNA – how TripAdvisor puts reviews under the microscope

For years TripAdvisor has kept how it vets its reviews a closely guarded secret, prompting calls for verified reviews and column inches from the media on supposed mistreated hotels.

Now, the review giant is shedding a little more light on how it keeps the boosters, vandals and optimizers at bay.
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The process it takes follows a general pattern – review is submitted and goes through an automated process with about 50 filters for integrity and moderation issues.

It then falls into one of three paths:

• no issues are identified and it is published.
• definite issues are identified and it is rejected e.g. for profanity – the system scores words and gets more accurate at removing inappropriate reviews.
• issues are highlighted and the review needs closer scrutiny by an analyst to determine whether it meets guidelines. It is then published or rejected.

TripAdvisor says it has a bank of 300 content specialists, many of who have backgrounds in law enforcement, credit card fraud and even forensic computing.

They look at a lot of factors, such as the IP address, the device that is used, the time of day, and even information in the social media accounts that are linked to the reviewer.

The article also discusses how they approach businesses that pay for fake reviews:

...there are optimization companies out there which promise to write reviews for a price, say $500 for 10 reviews and TripAdvisor responds in a number of ways when dealing with these companies.

• It can examine the reviews submitted for a particular property and identify other clients being written for.
• Where it spots review writing jobs being advertised it applies for them enabling it to write some reviews, identify the property and from the sort of text required, uncover other properties
• It can act as an optimization firm itself

So they're running a sting on fake reviews. I like the idea that an unscrupulous company who hires someone else to write unearned praise may actually be exposing themselves directly to TripAdvisor's fraud team.