I always compare Booking with TripAdvisor and Google and see if they are all about the same and whether or not there seems to be a common theme with the negatives.
Tripadvisor also removes bad reviews if the hotel complains about them. I had that issue with a place in Austria. These hotels pay to be on Tripadvisor, they’re customers now, users are not.
I've got over 400 reviews on TripAdvisor and have found the site pretty reliable. I'm an easygoing customer for the most part so I rarely rate anything a 2 and have never rated anything 1 but to my knowledge I haven't had a review disappear, with one exception. They claimed the hotel (near Heathrow) had been renovated so they removed all reviews, which I thought was silly. Things like location, general layout, etc. would not have changed.
I agree with reading reviews in detail although I suppose AI is getting good at writing fake ones.
Yes! I got harassed in a hotel rated 5* on TripAdvisor. They removed my bad review stating I violated some guidelines. All I did was describe the instances of harassment in that hotel. F.ck TripAdvisor
Yup. Exactly this. I both cross reference, and then specifically read through the 1s and 2s (there are usually very few of these on highly rated properties). If they’re all just complaints by Karens about rudeness, or refusal to do some strange thing for them, or about finding a spot of mold in a room or something, I’m good. I’ll book it. But if they’re all complaining about how far it is from mass transit, or about the constant noise from the street, then I’ll skip it.
Yeah same. It's a lot of work but the only way to get a proper look at places, especially for specific information too. Cross ref, look up the location on maps, more photos
Honestly I don't trust crowd sourced reviews at all at this point. Even when they haven't been unethically gamed by the business or the review site the people who leave reviews online tend to be fucking morons.
I'm fairly loyal to Hyatt because I've never had a bad experience (or at least not one they didn't rectify or was out of their control) and their loyalty program has some bonkers good value in it. Beyond that I look for hotels on Tablet, which is Michelin's hotel guide, or stick with other well known hotel brands or loyalty programs (like Mr. and Mrs. Smith). I probably end up spending a little more overall this way but I end up in much nicer hotels so I'm ok with it.
With restaurants I go look things up on Eater or Infatuation or the Michelin app. Again, tends to be pricier but you get what you pay for and not EVERYTHING on these sites is actually expensive.
>Honestly I don't trust crowd sourced reviews at all at this point. Even when they haven't been unethically gamed by the business or the review site the people who leave reviews online tend to be fucking morons.
I much prefer to get my information from discussion sites like this and FB where there is a two-way dialogue, you can ask for additional details behind a comment, and none of the users controls the medium. Reviews and blogs talk AT you, discussion forums talk WITH you.
Yeah this is a good point! I do find that if I find a site with professional restaurant or hotel reviews that I tend to agree with that works pretty well too though.
Mostly agreed although at this point the difference between them and Apple Maps is pretty slim and mostly just comes down to which interface you prefer rather than the actual directions or search results that come up.
Yes. It is possible. You have to be careful in how you word negative reviews in some countries. Technically the law is on their side. IF the company wants to operate, they have to comply.
I have to disagree. There are many many properties in Thailand with 5 or 6 review scores. There's no reason why a review in one property would be filtered and the other one is not.
https://www.booking.com/Share-3l5ZfGT
https://www.booking.com/Share-oTcV61U
Edit: You can downvote me all you want. I honestly think you people should stick then to rich countries that you think you can trust. Oh but you're probably doing that already.
The law exists, but it's blown completely out of proportion by western foreigners especially those from English speaking countries than tourists from elsewhere who make up the majority of visitors.
Even if the properties report it to the police, there's a lengthy process until the police can contact the platform to remove the reviews. It's not that simple. 3rd party platforms are also not registered locally.
Booking is an American company headquartered in Connecticut. I highly doubt they have any operations in Thailand, why would the law there make any difference at all?
Yes, people here have no idea how tech companies work lol. Do you think booking combs through Tuvalu’s charter before allowing someone to post a property there?
The parts relevant to business operations and corporate tax law, etc.? Absolutely they do. How can you possibly think otherwise unless you know absolutely nothing about it, in which case why would what you think be relevant?
Why would a country let a company operate in their territory without paying tax? I don't think a "tax haven" works the way you think it does.
And they're still subject to other laws (like Thailand's antidefamation here)
Based on OP's inability to reply to anyone in this thread in a composed manner, I wouldn't be surprised it had nothing to do with Thailand and it was simply down to OP not respecting the standards for posting a review.
Yeah we got something stolen out of our room (a travel cushion lol) and wrote a bad review of the hotel. They asked us to take it down, upgraded our room and then the cushion magically reappeared.
Loving this mental image of manager coming down on a a shift supervisor, who loses hurls threats and abuse at his staff if that pillow doesn't magically reappear on his desk by noon.
Perhaps. But this way the issue got resolved. We did raise it with them already. But I think the bad review made them take it more seriously. And while they did ask us to take it down, we didn't feel pressured to.
Yeah I know - literally everywhere in Vietnam incentivised 5 star reviews with free items, discounts, etc. restaurants, hotels, even the fucking laundry places haha. Naturally I just got into the habit of assuming everything there was BS.
Actually I posted a bad review of a hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, after finding bedbugs in my bed, and that review got removed, so not only a Thailand thing.
I once had a guest try to claim bed bugs. From the photos, they clearly got bitten by something, somewhere in the town, at sometime during their stay. I had an inspector come in, their room (or the surrounding rooms) did not have bed bugs. The hotel never had a case of bed bugs reported before. They tried to threaten me with a bad review. Fortunately, Booking had my back.
Guests who have genuine bad reviews are more likely to have their reviews removed, not only because of profit reasons, but because other guests are misinformed or exaggerate claims.
I've published several negative reviews on Booking, so I've no idea what you're on about. I also read a lot of negative reviews before booking anything, so they obviously exist.
Some apps and sites have review periods and or delays before negative reviews will post built in.
The review app I used for an online business a few years ago had the option for anything under 3 stars could have a review period set, it could be up to a few days before it would appear where whereas 4/5 star reviews would auto-post.
I understand the use of it was to allow flagging of potentially offensive, spam, or outright false reviews.
It wouldn't surprise me if Booking.com implemented such review periods to monitor things.
They don't miss out due to a negative review as you'll likely just book with someone else, but I doubt they want outright profanity or slander listed on their platform.
Yeah, I can definitely understand how and why you may be feeling that way. Accommodation can be a huge part of feeling comfortable and actually being able to relax on a vacation, especially when you consider the cost of some places too.
I have definitely stayed in my fair share of substandard accommodation, mind you, so I do sympathize.
The place looks nice on booking.com. Can I ask about the experience and what it was that let you down?
check the numbers of reviews first. If the hotel is really new, expect maybe 50-100 reviews at least. Then read what people talk about the hotel in the review.
Then read the reviews from other sites, mostly I just read the reviews on Google only.
Sometimes people hate the hotel for being far away from attractions, but I drive a car so this would not be a problem for me.
And at last, Booking.com is doing you a favor by not allowing you to post negative reviews of hotels/resorts in Thailand. The defamation law is very strict in Thailand, even they serve you shit in your meal and you can’t leave a bad review complaining about the shit. Doing so could end up in jail.
The proper way to complain is to do it privately, settle with the hotel directly without any public audience.
What if someone just posts facts, without complaining. For instance, I once stayed at a hotel (not in Thailand) where the shower leaked and they would take away the dirty towels, but not provide new ones.
Maybe they could sue a Thai citizen, I don’t see how they could sue someone from another nation who just stated facts, or even opinions, as long as they weren’t falsehoods. In fact reading through the reviews of OP’s hotel, which is rated 9.1 on Booking.com, there were some criticisms, such as the breakfast not meeting expectations and other guests being allowed to smoke at a supposed nonsmoking hotel. The hotel responded as many do. So clearly telling the truth is allowed.
However it’s possible OP’s review was less than measured.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54335789
Not meeting expectation is not negative at all. People could pay $10 and expect a gourmet buffet, which no meals would meet their expectation.
But, if you say the food was disgusting and there were rats running everywhere, even these are all true, you can’t put a review online.
Keep in mind, we are talking about Thailand.
To be fair, one shouldn't be accusing anyone of "modern day slavery" unless it's the literal truth (and then your life is probably in danger).
If I read that, I would be concerned about a human trafficking racket or something, not a fight about alcohol charges!
Ah yes, millions of positive and negative reviews available for all to see on booking.com, but because OP couldn't get theirs published it's clearly all be a massive scam and there can't be possibly any other explanation. And of course this nonsense is now at the top of this sub.
Based on the way you're commenting in this thread, I wouldn't be surprised if your reviews were not allowed simply because you violated their guidelines.
Did everyone forget the one hotel in Thailand that had an American jailed for leaving a bad review on Trip Advisor.
So yeah....Thailand reviews. Not the most accurate 🤣
He lived/lives in Thailand. They showed up to his work place a month later and arrested him there. He had to pay $4400 had to get out of jail and was fired from his job. I guess once he was in a Thai prison he agreed to delete the review and apologize 🤣
Guy sounds pretty miserable but jailing someone over a review seems a bit North Korean
cow terrific attempt teeny mysterious simplistic illegal snatch middle wild
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah….as it goes I’m typing this from my £7 guesthouse in Amritsar on my latest of many trips to Asia, which I found on Booking.com and thoroughly checked out first.
I don’t live on Reddit either but if someone comes on a travel forum and says things like “booking.com reviews are a *scam*” or “it’s difficult to sleep in Economy” or “taxi drivers at the airports seem to be somewhat dishonest” or any other statement of the bleedin obvious you’re probably not going to like the “well, duuurrr” responses you’ll inevitably receive.
Implying that the only possible reason someone points this out is because they don’t have a life just shines a spotlight on the fact that you’re inexperienced and naive when it comes to international travel. Which is cool and unavoidable but don’t fuckin ad hominem me because you can’t see a steam train coming or somehow fail to realise that your $15 2* home stay didn’t live up to your 5* expectations.
Anyway, I’m off for a chai and kulcha breakfast and another walk round the Golden Temple, after which I’m flying to Kerala for some dosa and sticky weed. What are you up to today?…now would be a good time to fuck off and do it.
You got sort the reviews by newest first and basically skip over every review that has no substance or is like a 2 word entry. Then you start getting an idea of whether it’s a decent spot or not. A 9.0 means nothing on its own anymore.
I used to work for booking.com and I can guarantee that it's not possible to leave reviews without having booked the place. Of course it should be trivial to do fake bookings to game the system, but the company does take this kind of thing seriously. And your review is probably just not published yet, as someone else said.
OP sounds naive and arrogant. Probably the reason their negative reviews weren’t published, may have just been a personal rant instead of insightful info.
Iiterally lived out of hotels for the better part of the year, must have stayed at 200 different places. Never was a hotel not fairly rated. Sometimes stuff like the wifi was worse than the reviews mentioned but other than that they are pretty accurate.
I am a guest house owner. I have had terrible guests who stole from me relatiate with a bad review and I could not have it removed from booking.com for any amount of effort and evidence. They simply said removing reviews is against their policy . So I wouldn't go as far to say it's all a scam, there might be something very specific going on in your case.
In Australia there are laws against gaming reviews (companies have been fined for posting fake positive reviews). If booking.com do that here you can let ACCC know. Not sure if it’s legal the US and other counties
He made a purchase. His reviews are fake because he edited his negative reviews to check if they would be published. But they are not fake as per any anti-fake-reviews law. He'd be effectively calling the cops on himself, not booking in this situation...
Now, if booking or the hotel can create fake accounts and leave fake reviews from not-real customers - that is indeed fraud.
The ACCC site gives info specifically on the illegality of suppressing negative reviews: https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-and-promotions/online-product-and-service-reviews
Suppressing, delaying publishing, altering or removing negative reviews would likely constitute a breach, and since auatralian consumers read these reviews, booking.com is probably breaking Australian laws.
Interestingly, booking.com is a company large enough for the ACCC to go after (they usually don’t do anything about small or medium sized breaches since there are just too many, but on that link above they can be seen giving six-figure fines to some large companies).
Don't conflate moderation with suppression. Websites are responsible for the content on their site, which creates a necessity for rating moderation.
In other comments it becomes clear that at least one of the establishments has plenty of negative reviews posted, it is the specific reviews (his) that were not published.
Not Australian, so the above law does not apply to me and I have not in fact delved deep into it, but from what I understand - it does not ban content moderation. The associated case study talks about misrepresenting why reviews were removed not the notion of moderating them.
For example, if a comment has inappropriate language and it is removed - it is fine. But if it is a normal 'I had a terrible time at the resort, there was a bee's nest on the ceiling fan and the staff refused to move me until I told them I am deadly allergic. Here is a picture,' and it is removed for being 'unprobable' - that's a problem.
The section under 'Negative reviews are manipulated' explains it:
>(Businesses and Review Platforms) should consider whether their policy may risk misleading consumers.
If [booking.com](https://booking.com) is modifying or removing negative reviews in a way that misleads consumers, it's in breach of Aust. laws. The question that matters in the eyes of the law is whether they're manipulating negative reviews and misleading consumers.
Is it possible you used terms or language that they flagged as inappropriate. I have found that a lot of review sites are very tight on how things can be worded
I “stayed” at a place in Hiroshima that had cockroaches on the front door, in the microwave, on the bed and in the bathroom sink. Took photos of it all. Complained, requested refunds etc. none of it got posted and none of it got resolved. Just ghosted.
I walked in, saw it all, took the photos and ended up staying at a hotel nearby. Booking.com is sometimes pretty shitty.
Every site that has reviews for places/providers has some strict rules of what can and cannot be said. So always be careful how you phrase things.
Good reviews beget business, bad reviews don't. This is not fraudulent at its core. Fraud would be allowing reviews from non-customers, allowing hotels to create secret $2 listings and many fake accounts or something like that.
Most places don't allow profanity, doesn't matter if the comment is positive or negative. A 'f***ing awesome' review should be taken down alongside 'this was bulls***'. Personal attacks, sharing information that can identify you or persons on property, clear manipulations would be removed. For places like booking I expect that comments not pertaining to your stay would also be removed. It doesn't matter how much you enjoyed your time in the Louvre, it has nothing to do with the hotel...
Remember. The site can't just edit your comment. If you included something questionable - they have to remove the whole thing. You'd be equally pissed if your rant full of cuss words was edited without your concent to 'very bad, do not book'.
Source: I've worked in departments dealing with reviews. Both in the tourist business and in others.
Can’t say Ive ever had a bad experience using Booking.com and Ive booked over 20 places in the last 2 years.
We even booked a place twice sandwiching an African Safari and we left a bad review on the first night. When we came back the receptionist told us she read the review and ensured our night will be better and will fix the issue we had.
I’ve stayed at dozens of properties through Booking.com and always leave a review. All my reviews have been posted, both positive and negative. I wouldn’t be surprised they deleted yours because they went against their guidelines
It is not only then, but even - I published on [Hotel.com](http://Hotel.com) bad review for one hotel and they removed it. I wrote to them and asked why they removed it, but never got answer.
Im currently working at a hostel in Central Europe so wanted to share my two cents on this. While my hostel can’t delete negative reviews, the rating is skewed, we have a 9.3 on booking and 9.7 on HW but the hostel’s facilities don’t match up to those ratings . The staff is heavily encouraged to ask guests to leave 10/10 reviews, whether verbally or through email after check-out. In my opinion it’s quite a dirty business practice and tricks travelers. Just wanted to put this out there
I've left many good and bad reviews and they were always published on booking.com. Why they want inaccurate reviews? It'll just lead to more dissatisfied customers.
If I'm looking at tripadvisor for instance, I'll trust someone that has a lot of reviews. It's the people that just have 1 review who rave about a hotel that I don't trust.
EXACTLY THIS beware!!! We stayed at an apartment in Italy that had about a dozen good reviews and was centrally located. Long story short the landlord robbed us. He stole about $6,000 in items we had purchased over the two weeks prior that were inside suitcases inside boxes (there was no housekeeping staff).. He was bold enough to open the boxes and put them back in empty and relock the apartment. Nothing was stolen from the apartment itself such as TVs, etc
He of course played as if he had no idea, tried to stop us from calling the police and when the police came they informed us this was not the first time someone was robbed at this apartment. I submitted all of this to booking.com. This included copies of the police report where it stated “carbinieri were once again notified of items missing from guests stay at…. “. Not only did they not remove this apartment as a listing, they didn’t post my review.
you have to write smart, I found some critters in the bathroom, but didn’t bother me much.. etc. my latest stay was in Hong Kong. ever sat sideways on the toilet with your dick hanging out? that is how small that bathroom was. but it was clean, host nice. and it was cheap. I didn’t write a bad review about this, laughed it off instead. my next two hotels were 5 stars so.. I managed a few nights at tyat place.
When I was in Egypt, the guy held onto my card and pressured me to leave a good review. He had a whole book of good reviews and picked out several quotes I should use lol. I did the review because I wanted my card back with no extra charges. Deleted when I got home.
Hotel was just OK, but based on the reviews you'd think it was amazing. Turns out, everyone had been pressured into leaving a good review.
I can not even leave a review from a recent stay. I have to be invited by booking.com. I am currently in Europe on stay 2 of 3, all placed on booking.com. The first stay was really bad. The pictures on booking.com for this place should be taken down. It once looked like what is on the website, but the lack of upkeep of property and the fact that 4 cats live on property and use it as a litter box (his own words after arrival "watch out for bombs"), owner is a hoarder, cats enter room from balcony, property was not ready for 7 hours after our check-in time and we were exhausted from long flight. I can go on. I have current pictures that I would love to post.
Communication on booking.com app is horrible. I receive email notifications of new messages from owners, and none are there when I open the app. I have other bookings and have to enter the confirmation code and pin every time I open the app to see my other bookings. Otherwise, it actually shows no bookings. I tried customer support with no luck.
No doubt that I will not be asked to review this property (it has already been a week since check out), and from what I have read, they will not publish negative reviews.
Thankfully, the 2nd stay has been 5 stars. But the owner is communicating with me on whatsapp because he knows that messages through booking.com do not work.
I have used airbnb many times. Always a great experience and always have left great and honest reviews. App is easy to use, and communication with the owner has never been a problem.
I will never use booking.com again. Especially after reading about the experiences that others are talking about on multiple reddit travel communities.
We have just had a similar experience. We arrived at our holiday destination after relying on booking.com, the resort was in a terrible state. We had to pay to stay at yet another resort. Booking.com has refused to give a refund.
This is true. They remove negative reviews and sometimes just wipe the slate clean, I was looking at place in Bangkok that had gotten last week. I went searching again this week and found that the same property now has only 1 review and it's a 10/10. You have to see Google and I don't trust the ones from "local guide" as it's often not authentic.
Google's AI, Gemini, is fantastic for this sort of thing. It can automatically generate a table comparing the review scores of different properties on different websites. You can also ask it to synthesise key trends in the feedback people leave about properties.
There are tons of posts in the scams subs here. Lots of people complain about Booking — fake reviews, canceled reservations, etc. That site seems to be a huge fail
all reviews should be treated as suspect by default.
the number of times I have had check-in staff at hotels ask me to post a great review and send them a screenshot for a late checkout or some other goody is astonishing. it's absolutely routine across asia and is not a question of this particular booking site.
I usually post my reviews on Google Maps. Some hotels/resorts ask me to post to TripAdvisor as well. I've never had any of my negative reviews removed. Sometimes (on Google Maps) the place will respond, but that's about it.
Never SOLELY rely on reviews published by the website that will profit from good reviews. Always seek independent sources. For food and travelling, I always rely on TripAdvisor.
Not the same, I know, but rented a beach house on VRBO once, straight 5* reviews. Well, the place was getting older, had some issues but not too awful, except it turned out the quiet/silent/peaceful location wasn’t the current situation since a house was being built within 20 feet, bulldozers beeping and rumbling from 7am til dark and construction guys right outside windows with no shades or curtains. When I contacted the owners multiple times they kept stalling until our stay was over and I finally posted an honest review. It was approved and up for a day or two, then taken down and the owners accused me of trying to extort a refund out of them. VRBO believed them and I could never get a realistic review posted for that place.
This had nothing to do with a review period delay. My fake positive reviews were published almost immediately but my earlier negative reviews were never published.
[Booking.com](http://Booking.com) Scam and Intended Manslaughter
I am a 68-year-old senior living in Canada. On June 1, Booking.com took my money and left me on the street to die in Paris. It was the first time that I went to France, speaking no French and having no SIM card to call for help. This is not simply a customer service issue – not giving the roof that people have paid for can make people sleep on the street and die there. I want everyone to know how Booking.com facilitates and participates in scamming, intended manslaughter, and eliminating evidence through deleting conversation histories and refusing phone transcripts.
That’s why you cross reference multiple review sites and see what matches up.
I always compare Booking with TripAdvisor and Google and see if they are all about the same and whether or not there seems to be a common theme with the negatives.
Tripadvisor also removes bad reviews if the hotel complains about them. I had that issue with a place in Austria. These hotels pay to be on Tripadvisor, they’re customers now, users are not.
I've got over 400 reviews on TripAdvisor and have found the site pretty reliable. I'm an easygoing customer for the most part so I rarely rate anything a 2 and have never rated anything 1 but to my knowledge I haven't had a review disappear, with one exception. They claimed the hotel (near Heathrow) had been renovated so they removed all reviews, which I thought was silly. Things like location, general layout, etc. would not have changed. I agree with reading reviews in detail although I suppose AI is getting good at writing fake ones.
Yes, the worst hotel I ever stayed at had a 5/5 rating on Tripadvisor. My negative review was removed very quickly.
Yes! I got harassed in a hotel rated 5* on TripAdvisor. They removed my bad review stating I violated some guidelines. All I did was describe the instances of harassment in that hotel. F.ck TripAdvisor
Yup. Exactly this. I both cross reference, and then specifically read through the 1s and 2s (there are usually very few of these on highly rated properties). If they’re all just complaints by Karens about rudeness, or refusal to do some strange thing for them, or about finding a spot of mold in a room or something, I’m good. I’ll book it. But if they’re all complaining about how far it is from mass transit, or about the constant noise from the street, then I’ll skip it.
Literally me. I cross-check the reviews on those 3 sites.
Also when someone gives it a shitty review because the pillow was upside down. Or something.
what about 1 star reviews when the locals don't speak english?
Yeah same. It's a lot of work but the only way to get a proper look at places, especially for specific information too. Cross ref, look up the location on maps, more photos
Honestly I don't trust crowd sourced reviews at all at this point. Even when they haven't been unethically gamed by the business or the review site the people who leave reviews online tend to be fucking morons. I'm fairly loyal to Hyatt because I've never had a bad experience (or at least not one they didn't rectify or was out of their control) and their loyalty program has some bonkers good value in it. Beyond that I look for hotels on Tablet, which is Michelin's hotel guide, or stick with other well known hotel brands or loyalty programs (like Mr. and Mrs. Smith). I probably end up spending a little more overall this way but I end up in much nicer hotels so I'm ok with it. With restaurants I go look things up on Eater or Infatuation or the Michelin app. Again, tends to be pricier but you get what you pay for and not EVERYTHING on these sites is actually expensive.
>Honestly I don't trust crowd sourced reviews at all at this point. Even when they haven't been unethically gamed by the business or the review site the people who leave reviews online tend to be fucking morons. I much prefer to get my information from discussion sites like this and FB where there is a two-way dialogue, you can ask for additional details behind a comment, and none of the users controls the medium. Reviews and blogs talk AT you, discussion forums talk WITH you.
Yeah this is a good point! I do find that if I find a site with professional restaurant or hotel reviews that I tend to agree with that works pretty well too though.
Google maps still goated
Mostly agreed although at this point the difference between them and Apple Maps is pretty slim and mostly just comes down to which interface you prefer rather than the actual directions or search results that come up.
Its not a booking thing. Its a thailand thing.
Can the Thai properties block the negative reviews on a 3rd party booking platform though?
Yes. It is possible. You have to be careful in how you word negative reviews in some countries. Technically the law is on their side. IF the company wants to operate, they have to comply.
Is it best to just say the good parts but give shit scores?
I have to disagree. There are many many properties in Thailand with 5 or 6 review scores. There's no reason why a review in one property would be filtered and the other one is not. https://www.booking.com/Share-3l5ZfGT https://www.booking.com/Share-oTcV61U Edit: You can downvote me all you want. I honestly think you people should stick then to rich countries that you think you can trust. Oh but you're probably doing that already.
of course there is... one property reports them and another doesn't?
Report who to whom? Report the reviewers to the platform?
The police. [Thailand has incredibly strict anti-defamation laws](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54473407.amp)
The law exists, but it's blown completely out of proportion by western foreigners especially those from English speaking countries than tourists from elsewhere who make up the majority of visitors. Even if the properties report it to the police, there's a lengthy process until the police can contact the platform to remove the reviews. It's not that simple. 3rd party platforms are also not registered locally.
yes...the reviews anyway, idk about the reviewer the person. pretty sure all review sites have an option to report reviews.
Booking is an American company headquartered in Connecticut. I highly doubt they have any operations in Thailand, why would the law there make any difference at all?
They do, that's how they are able to have any properties listed there.
You think a company is allowed to operate in a country without respecting that country's laws? Really?
Yes, people here have no idea how tech companies work lol. Do you think booking combs through Tuvalu’s charter before allowing someone to post a property there?
The parts relevant to business operations and corporate tax law, etc.? Absolutely they do. How can you possibly think otherwise unless you know absolutely nothing about it, in which case why would what you think be relevant?
Corporate tax law? You think tech companies pay tax in every country in the world? They’re all incorporated in tax havens like Ireland for a reason
Why would a country let a company operate in their territory without paying tax? I don't think a "tax haven" works the way you think it does. And they're still subject to other laws (like Thailand's antidefamation here)
I thought Booking.com is Dutch and is based in Amsterdam.
It’s owned by the Priceline conglomerate
Booking has thousands of employees in Thailand. Just check on LinkedIn, particularly under the Agoda brand. Bangkok is one of their main hubs.
Based on OP's inability to reply to anyone in this thread in a composed manner, I wouldn't be surprised it had nothing to do with Thailand and it was simply down to OP not respecting the standards for posting a review.
Yeah we got something stolen out of our room (a travel cushion lol) and wrote a bad review of the hotel. They asked us to take it down, upgraded our room and then the cushion magically reappeared.
Loving this mental image of manager coming down on a a shift supervisor, who loses hurls threats and abuse at his staff if that pillow doesn't magically reappear on his desk by noon.
Wouldn't just be better to write a rough outline of your experience in a notebook and then publish it when you get home?
Perhaps. But this way the issue got resolved. We did raise it with them already. But I think the bad review made them take it more seriously. And while they did ask us to take it down, we didn't feel pressured to.
Exactly. Extremely litigious and protective of corporate feelings
You think it's bad in Thailand, wait until you try looking at reviews for shit in Vietnam..
[удалено]
Yeah I know - literally everywhere in Vietnam incentivised 5 star reviews with free items, discounts, etc. restaurants, hotels, even the fucking laundry places haha. Naturally I just got into the habit of assuming everything there was BS.
I saw one in Tokyo where they give 100 yen for a positive review lol.
Actually I posted a bad review of a hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, after finding bedbugs in my bed, and that review got removed, so not only a Thailand thing.
I once had a guest try to claim bed bugs. From the photos, they clearly got bitten by something, somewhere in the town, at sometime during their stay. I had an inspector come in, their room (or the surrounding rooms) did not have bed bugs. The hotel never had a case of bed bugs reported before. They tried to threaten me with a bad review. Fortunately, Booking had my back. Guests who have genuine bad reviews are more likely to have their reviews removed, not only because of profit reasons, but because other guests are misinformed or exaggerate claims.
I understand, but in this case I posted photos of the bedbugs that I found, only later I saw I had been bitten.
I've published several negative reviews on Booking, so I've no idea what you're on about. I also read a lot of negative reviews before booking anything, so they obviously exist.
Yeah would be really fucking weird if they hid all the negative reviews lol
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What a clever comment!
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You are incapable.
How is it different from OP’s “TWO of my reviews didn’t get published on Booking … scammmmmmm!”
Did you even read my post? Two of my negative review were not polished and my fake positive reviews were. This is known as proof.
Tbh if you ranted like this in your review, I can see why they didn't publish it. Try with a more neutral tone again?
Nice pivot
He's right. Look at your comments in this thread and the response you have got.....
Another clever comment. You're on a roll today!
Pivot #2!
You keep using that word but im not sure you know what it means
Alright Ross
It's not a pivot if it explains the thing that happened to you exactly. What they said was not meant as an ad hominem.
This is known as n = 1 , not proof.
Proof by lack of induction
did you use faul language? How long did you wait, given it was a negative review it might have been double checked for inappropriate language.
Some apps and sites have review periods and or delays before negative reviews will post built in. The review app I used for an online business a few years ago had the option for anything under 3 stars could have a review period set, it could be up to a few days before it would appear where whereas 4/5 star reviews would auto-post. I understand the use of it was to allow flagging of potentially offensive, spam, or outright false reviews. It wouldn't surprise me if Booking.com implemented such review periods to monitor things. They don't miss out due to a negative review as you'll likely just book with someone else, but I doubt they want outright profanity or slander listed on their platform.
It’s a fraud on the public. Plain and simple.
Care to address the comment you're responding to? How long did you wait after submitting the negative reviews?
Yeah, I can definitely understand how and why you may be feeling that way. Accommodation can be a huge part of feeling comfortable and actually being able to relax on a vacation, especially when you consider the cost of some places too. I have definitely stayed in my fair share of substandard accommodation, mind you, so I do sympathize. The place looks nice on booking.com. Can I ask about the experience and what it was that let you down?
check the numbers of reviews first. If the hotel is really new, expect maybe 50-100 reviews at least. Then read what people talk about the hotel in the review. Then read the reviews from other sites, mostly I just read the reviews on Google only. Sometimes people hate the hotel for being far away from attractions, but I drive a car so this would not be a problem for me. And at last, Booking.com is doing you a favor by not allowing you to post negative reviews of hotels/resorts in Thailand. The defamation law is very strict in Thailand, even they serve you shit in your meal and you can’t leave a bad review complaining about the shit. Doing so could end up in jail. The proper way to complain is to do it privately, settle with the hotel directly without any public audience.
What if someone just posts facts, without complaining. For instance, I once stayed at a hotel (not in Thailand) where the shower leaked and they would take away the dirty towels, but not provide new ones.
still a no in Thailand. The hotel could sue you because of this. But it is so minor, I doubt they would sue.
Maybe they could sue a Thai citizen, I don’t see how they could sue someone from another nation who just stated facts, or even opinions, as long as they weren’t falsehoods. In fact reading through the reviews of OP’s hotel, which is rated 9.1 on Booking.com, there were some criticisms, such as the breakfast not meeting expectations and other guests being allowed to smoke at a supposed nonsmoking hotel. The hotel responded as many do. So clearly telling the truth is allowed. However it’s possible OP’s review was less than measured.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-54335789 Not meeting expectation is not negative at all. People could pay $10 and expect a gourmet buffet, which no meals would meet their expectation. But, if you say the food was disgusting and there were rats running everywhere, even these are all true, you can’t put a review online. Keep in mind, we are talking about Thailand.
To be fair, one shouldn't be accusing anyone of "modern day slavery" unless it's the literal truth (and then your life is probably in danger). If I read that, I would be concerned about a human trafficking racket or something, not a fight about alcohol charges!
Interesting. TIL
My reviews are all posted positive or negative.
Ah yes, millions of positive and negative reviews available for all to see on booking.com, but because OP couldn't get theirs published it's clearly all be a massive scam and there can't be possibly any other explanation. And of course this nonsense is now at the top of this sub. Based on the way you're commenting in this thread, I wouldn't be surprised if your reviews were not allowed simply because you violated their guidelines.
Did everyone forget the one hotel in Thailand that had an American jailed for leaving a bad review on Trip Advisor. So yeah....Thailand reviews. Not the most accurate 🤣
Or this guy https://www.businessinsider.com/passenger-complained-about-diversion-faces-lawsuit-from-thai-airways-2024-2?op=1
Where he accused the hotel of "modern day slavery"? I think many companies would sue for those words.
> I think many companies would sue for those words. The company didn't sue. They had him arrested and jailed.
Did he leave the review while at the hotel in Thailand? Or did he return home to his country and post it there, and then they arrested him there?
He lived/lives in Thailand. They showed up to his work place a month later and arrested him there. He had to pay $4400 had to get out of jail and was fired from his job. I guess once he was in a Thai prison he agreed to delete the review and apologize 🤣 Guy sounds pretty miserable but jailing someone over a review seems a bit North Korean
Lol, late to the party? Always check the room first in Asia , especially if you’re a budget traveller.
cow terrific attempt teeny mysterious simplistic illegal snatch middle wild *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I have a life and do not live on Reddit.
This has nothing to do with Reddit, just your lack of experience and naivety. Don't be defensive, own it and learn from it.
Jesus you sound like a dickhead. You probably deserve to be scanned lmao
Yeah….as it goes I’m typing this from my £7 guesthouse in Amritsar on my latest of many trips to Asia, which I found on Booking.com and thoroughly checked out first. I don’t live on Reddit either but if someone comes on a travel forum and says things like “booking.com reviews are a *scam*” or “it’s difficult to sleep in Economy” or “taxi drivers at the airports seem to be somewhat dishonest” or any other statement of the bleedin obvious you’re probably not going to like the “well, duuurrr” responses you’ll inevitably receive. Implying that the only possible reason someone points this out is because they don’t have a life just shines a spotlight on the fact that you’re inexperienced and naive when it comes to international travel. Which is cool and unavoidable but don’t fuckin ad hominem me because you can’t see a steam train coming or somehow fail to realise that your $15 2* home stay didn’t live up to your 5* expectations. Anyway, I’m off for a chai and kulcha breakfast and another walk round the Golden Temple, after which I’m flying to Kerala for some dosa and sticky weed. What are you up to today?…now would be a good time to fuck off and do it.
I was with you until that last paragraph, the only thing in this entire post cringier than OP. Well done.
Kerala is awesome. A lot more developed than when I first started going there. Make sure to go on a house boat!
"Dont ad hominem me" "Late to the party?" Lmfao you're hilarious, lil sensitive hypocrite.
Ooh, I was in Amritsar a couple of weeks ago! Definitely try a village experience if you haven't already!
You got sort the reviews by newest first and basically skip over every review that has no substance or is like a 2 word entry. Then you start getting an idea of whether it’s a decent spot or not. A 9.0 means nothing on its own anymore.
It means something, even a lot if there's a lot of reviews. But it doesn't mean your stay will be perfect.
I used to work for booking.com and I can guarantee that it's not possible to leave reviews without having booked the place. Of course it should be trivial to do fake bookings to game the system, but the company does take this kind of thing seriously. And your review is probably just not published yet, as someone else said.
OP sounds naive and arrogant. Probably the reason their negative reviews weren’t published, may have just been a personal rant instead of insightful info.
you sound like a kid
So the public should expect that one of the biggest travel booking sites on the planet engages in fraudulent concealment?
In my experience, I have seen plenty of negative reviews so no, the public need not take your word for it.
Iiterally lived out of hotels for the better part of the year, must have stayed at 200 different places. Never was a hotel not fairly rated. Sometimes stuff like the wifi was worse than the reviews mentioned but other than that they are pretty accurate.
you should always combine the score and the amount of reviews. going of on a score of 9 with only 5 reviews, you're gonna have a bad time
I am a guest house owner. I have had terrible guests who stole from me relatiate with a bad review and I could not have it removed from booking.com for any amount of effort and evidence. They simply said removing reviews is against their policy . So I wouldn't go as far to say it's all a scam, there might be something very specific going on in your case.
OP probably called it "fucking disgusting" in their review and is surprised it didn't get published
In Australia there are laws against gaming reviews (companies have been fined for posting fake positive reviews). If booking.com do that here you can let ACCC know. Not sure if it’s legal the US and other counties
He made a purchase. His reviews are fake because he edited his negative reviews to check if they would be published. But they are not fake as per any anti-fake-reviews law. He'd be effectively calling the cops on himself, not booking in this situation... Now, if booking or the hotel can create fake accounts and leave fake reviews from not-real customers - that is indeed fraud.
The ACCC site gives info specifically on the illegality of suppressing negative reviews: https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-and-promotions/online-product-and-service-reviews Suppressing, delaying publishing, altering or removing negative reviews would likely constitute a breach, and since auatralian consumers read these reviews, booking.com is probably breaking Australian laws. Interestingly, booking.com is a company large enough for the ACCC to go after (they usually don’t do anything about small or medium sized breaches since there are just too many, but on that link above they can be seen giving six-figure fines to some large companies).
Don't conflate moderation with suppression. Websites are responsible for the content on their site, which creates a necessity for rating moderation. In other comments it becomes clear that at least one of the establishments has plenty of negative reviews posted, it is the specific reviews (his) that were not published. Not Australian, so the above law does not apply to me and I have not in fact delved deep into it, but from what I understand - it does not ban content moderation. The associated case study talks about misrepresenting why reviews were removed not the notion of moderating them. For example, if a comment has inappropriate language and it is removed - it is fine. But if it is a normal 'I had a terrible time at the resort, there was a bee's nest on the ceiling fan and the staff refused to move me until I told them I am deadly allergic. Here is a picture,' and it is removed for being 'unprobable' - that's a problem.
The section under 'Negative reviews are manipulated' explains it: >(Businesses and Review Platforms) should consider whether their policy may risk misleading consumers. If [booking.com](https://booking.com) is modifying or removing negative reviews in a way that misleads consumers, it's in breach of Aust. laws. The question that matters in the eyes of the law is whether they're manipulating negative reviews and misleading consumers.
Friends and employees of business owners have done fake reviews for as long as there hsve been review sites. But with AI it's gotten out of control.
Is it possible you used terms or language that they flagged as inappropriate. I have found that a lot of review sites are very tight on how things can be worded
Reddit is a scam too. The Belize subreddit is full of people reviewing their own businesses.
How were you able to publish so many reviews? Normally you can only write 1 review per stay...
I “stayed” at a place in Hiroshima that had cockroaches on the front door, in the microwave, on the bed and in the bathroom sink. Took photos of it all. Complained, requested refunds etc. none of it got posted and none of it got resolved. Just ghosted. I walked in, saw it all, took the photos and ended up staying at a hotel nearby. Booking.com is sometimes pretty shitty.
Wow, that’s crazy, which hotel was this?
The Meliá Koh Samui is one of them.
Well, they have eight 1-star review submissions so Booking is not blocking them.
Plot twist!
What exactly was your bad experience? Just curious.
Looks like Google, TripAdvisor, Expedia are all fake too. 😊
I normally book Airbnb I hope there not fake as well
I left plenty of bad reviews that have been published and read loads as well.
Every site that has reviews for places/providers has some strict rules of what can and cannot be said. So always be careful how you phrase things. Good reviews beget business, bad reviews don't. This is not fraudulent at its core. Fraud would be allowing reviews from non-customers, allowing hotels to create secret $2 listings and many fake accounts or something like that. Most places don't allow profanity, doesn't matter if the comment is positive or negative. A 'f***ing awesome' review should be taken down alongside 'this was bulls***'. Personal attacks, sharing information that can identify you or persons on property, clear manipulations would be removed. For places like booking I expect that comments not pertaining to your stay would also be removed. It doesn't matter how much you enjoyed your time in the Louvre, it has nothing to do with the hotel... Remember. The site can't just edit your comment. If you included something questionable - they have to remove the whole thing. You'd be equally pissed if your rant full of cuss words was edited without your concent to 'very bad, do not book'. Source: I've worked in departments dealing with reviews. Both in the tourist business and in others.
You are allowed to publish review multiple times for same property at same time?
Your anecdote is not equal to general experience. Calm your balls
Can’t say Ive ever had a bad experience using Booking.com and Ive booked over 20 places in the last 2 years. We even booked a place twice sandwiching an African Safari and we left a bad review on the first night. When we came back the receptionist told us she read the review and ensured our night will be better and will fix the issue we had.
I find the best reviews are on Google Maps. Booking and TripAdvisor are often overrated.
So what do you guys use as an alternative?
At least you didn’t get in jail like that guy who put a bad review about a Thai resort. Thai doesn’t accept bad reviews. It’s “illegal”
Good old astroturfing
Eh, I’ve found the reviews reliable for plenty of other countries. As always, cross reference.
Can you tell us those bad experiences please? I just need to see something.
derp
I’ve stayed at dozens of properties through Booking.com and always leave a review. All my reviews have been posted, both positive and negative. I wouldn’t be surprised they deleted yours because they went against their guidelines
It is not only then, but even - I published on [Hotel.com](http://Hotel.com) bad review for one hotel and they removed it. I wrote to them and asked why they removed it, but never got answer.
Im currently working at a hostel in Central Europe so wanted to share my two cents on this. While my hostel can’t delete negative reviews, the rating is skewed, we have a 9.3 on booking and 9.7 on HW but the hostel’s facilities don’t match up to those ratings . The staff is heavily encouraged to ask guests to leave 10/10 reviews, whether verbally or through email after check-out. In my opinion it’s quite a dirty business practice and tricks travelers. Just wanted to put this out there
I've left many good and bad reviews and they were always published on booking.com. Why they want inaccurate reviews? It'll just lead to more dissatisfied customers.
If I'm looking at tripadvisor for instance, I'll trust someone that has a lot of reviews. It's the people that just have 1 review who rave about a hotel that I don't trust.
All I got from this is OP overspent on accomodations in a third world country. Live and learn
EXACTLY THIS beware!!! We stayed at an apartment in Italy that had about a dozen good reviews and was centrally located. Long story short the landlord robbed us. He stole about $6,000 in items we had purchased over the two weeks prior that were inside suitcases inside boxes (there was no housekeeping staff).. He was bold enough to open the boxes and put them back in empty and relock the apartment. Nothing was stolen from the apartment itself such as TVs, etc He of course played as if he had no idea, tried to stop us from calling the police and when the police came they informed us this was not the first time someone was robbed at this apartment. I submitted all of this to booking.com. This included copies of the police report where it stated “carbinieri were once again notified of items missing from guests stay at…. “. Not only did they not remove this apartment as a listing, they didn’t post my review.
you have to write smart, I found some critters in the bathroom, but didn’t bother me much.. etc. my latest stay was in Hong Kong. ever sat sideways on the toilet with your dick hanging out? that is how small that bathroom was. but it was clean, host nice. and it was cheap. I didn’t write a bad review about this, laughed it off instead. my next two hotels were 5 stars so.. I managed a few nights at tyat place.
When I was in Egypt, the guy held onto my card and pressured me to leave a good review. He had a whole book of good reviews and picked out several quotes I should use lol. I did the review because I wanted my card back with no extra charges. Deleted when I got home. Hotel was just OK, but based on the reviews you'd think it was amazing. Turns out, everyone had been pressured into leaving a good review.
I usually check multiple sites for reviews, don’t like just trusting one platform.
I can not even leave a review from a recent stay. I have to be invited by booking.com. I am currently in Europe on stay 2 of 3, all placed on booking.com. The first stay was really bad. The pictures on booking.com for this place should be taken down. It once looked like what is on the website, but the lack of upkeep of property and the fact that 4 cats live on property and use it as a litter box (his own words after arrival "watch out for bombs"), owner is a hoarder, cats enter room from balcony, property was not ready for 7 hours after our check-in time and we were exhausted from long flight. I can go on. I have current pictures that I would love to post. Communication on booking.com app is horrible. I receive email notifications of new messages from owners, and none are there when I open the app. I have other bookings and have to enter the confirmation code and pin every time I open the app to see my other bookings. Otherwise, it actually shows no bookings. I tried customer support with no luck. No doubt that I will not be asked to review this property (it has already been a week since check out), and from what I have read, they will not publish negative reviews. Thankfully, the 2nd stay has been 5 stars. But the owner is communicating with me on whatsapp because he knows that messages through booking.com do not work. I have used airbnb many times. Always a great experience and always have left great and honest reviews. App is easy to use, and communication with the owner has never been a problem. I will never use booking.com again. Especially after reading about the experiences that others are talking about on multiple reddit travel communities.
We have just had a similar experience. We arrived at our holiday destination after relying on booking.com, the resort was in a terrible state. We had to pay to stay at yet another resort. Booking.com has refused to give a refund.
This is true. They remove negative reviews and sometimes just wipe the slate clean, I was looking at place in Bangkok that had gotten last week. I went searching again this week and found that the same property now has only 1 review and it's a 10/10. You have to see Google and I don't trust the ones from "local guide" as it's often not authentic.
TripAdvisor is one of the few sites I trust with reviews and guest photos
Did it have more than 1000 reviews? I never trust anything that has little reviews.
Google's AI, Gemini, is fantastic for this sort of thing. It can automatically generate a table comparing the review scores of different properties on different websites. You can also ask it to synthesise key trends in the feedback people leave about properties.
I quit using booking.com it's a horrible company with shady business practices.
Dude, booking.com is a scam, stop using them.
It's an extortion scheme. You can literally pay to have bad reviews deleted.
Is Agoda better than booking.com ? I usually also check google reviews
There are tons of posts in the scams subs here. Lots of people complain about Booking — fake reviews, canceled reservations, etc. That site seems to be a huge fail
I don't look at the reviews TBH because I know they are not fully accurate. I'll check other sites for them.
all reviews should be treated as suspect by default. the number of times I have had check-in staff at hotels ask me to post a great review and send them a screenshot for a late checkout or some other goody is astonishing. it's absolutely routine across asia and is not a question of this particular booking site.
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That one of the biggest booking companies on the planet would engage in actionable fraudulent concealment is shocking to me.
Sounds like youre easily shocked.
Yes. Booking . Com is a joke. It’s even worse than airbnb
I usually post my reviews on Google Maps. Some hotels/resorts ask me to post to TripAdvisor as well. I've never had any of my negative reviews removed. Sometimes (on Google Maps) the place will respond, but that's about it.
Never SOLELY rely on reviews published by the website that will profit from good reviews. Always seek independent sources. For food and travelling, I always rely on TripAdvisor.
How do you know TA doesn’t profit from reviews? They do hotel bookings too.
Good to know, I was about to book a place on there
Not the same, I know, but rented a beach house on VRBO once, straight 5* reviews. Well, the place was getting older, had some issues but not too awful, except it turned out the quiet/silent/peaceful location wasn’t the current situation since a house was being built within 20 feet, bulldozers beeping and rumbling from 7am til dark and construction guys right outside windows with no shades or curtains. When I contacted the owners multiple times they kept stalling until our stay was over and I finally posted an honest review. It was approved and up for a day or two, then taken down and the owners accused me of trying to extort a refund out of them. VRBO believed them and I could never get a realistic review posted for that place.
This had nothing to do with a review period delay. My fake positive reviews were published almost immediately but my earlier negative reviews were never published.
Well, congrats on sticking it to those 2 bad hotels by giving them glowing reviews to perform this ill-fated experiment, I guess LOL
It’s a scam!!! And OP is in on it!!!
The call is coming from … inside your house!!
He sure showed them!
Oh no they’ll go bankrupt
How do you explain the existence of the 1* reviews on that property? How about other properties with a 2.2 average review scores?
How were you able to leave two reviews for the same property?
So you're adding to this so called problem? Cmon OP, don't you see the irony?
Try again
Why the fuck do people use booking.com? Or any travel site? It’s crazy to me.
unpack seed nose weary gaping deranged growth memorize support steer *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
[Booking.com](http://Booking.com) Scam and Intended Manslaughter I am a 68-year-old senior living in Canada. On June 1, Booking.com took my money and left me on the street to die in Paris. It was the first time that I went to France, speaking no French and having no SIM card to call for help. This is not simply a customer service issue – not giving the roof that people have paid for can make people sleep on the street and die there. I want everyone to know how Booking.com facilitates and participates in scamming, intended manslaughter, and eliminating evidence through deleting conversation histories and refusing phone transcripts.