Meriton fined $3m for manipulating TripAdvisor reviews
Meriton Serviced Apartments has been fined millions of dollars for misleading customers on TripAdvisor and manipulating reviews on the platform.
In November 2016, the ACCC alleged Meriton had engaged in “misleading or deceptive conduct” by preventing guests from giving poor reviews. It did this by altering unhappy guests’ email addresses before they were submitted to Tripadvisor’s ‘Express Review’ service.
Meriton has been fined millions of dollars by the ACCC
The hotel has now been ordered to pay $3m by the Federal Court.
ACCC Commissioner, Sarah Court, said in a statement: “Meriton’s management directed staff to engage in ‘masking’ to stop potentially negative reviews from appearing on TripAdvisor. This gave the impression Meriton accommodation was of a higher standard than otherwise may have been the case.
“People often make purchasing decisions for accommodation based on the rankings and reviews they read on third party sites like TripAdvisor. Manipulating these reviews is misleading to potential customers, who deserve the full picture when making a booking decision.”
A TripAdvisor spokesperson told Mumbrella: “It is incredibly important to us that our site remains a useful and accurate source of information to travellers. This is why we work with our business owners to understand the strict guidelines and policies they need to adhere to when they use our platform.
“It is important to note that when allegations of suspicious activity in this particular case came to light in October 2015, TripAdvisor took action to investigate and self-regulate, ensuring that any issues identified were addressed immediately and to the satisfaction of TripAdvisor’s strict guidelines.”
Court said this case sets an example for other businesses and reminds companies that they will be reprimanded if they are found to be manipulating third party review websites.
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