Arthur's Blog: Another UGC Travel Site's Reputation Has Suffered a Blow in Great Britain

Having launched a major, months-long campaign designed to challenge the reliability of TripAdvisor.com, a British "reputation management" company called KwikChex has now moved against still another travel website that relies almost solely on user generated content (UGC). This time the object of scorn is an Internet service called AirlineQuality.com that purports to print objective reviews of airlines and airports by the passengers who have allegedly used those airlines and airports. Responding to a claim that these critics may never have actually used these facilities, the prestigious Advertising Standards Authority of Great Britain has ruled that AirlineQuality.com has no proof that the reviews it publishes aren't fakes. Similar allegations, of course, have been made against TripAdvisor, although it should be pointed out that the latter are simply allegations that haven't yet been conclusively proved one way or another.  Nevertheless, as we noted in an earlier blog, the Gannett Corporation (which publishes  USA Today ) is apparently promoting a new user-generated review site called HotelMe.com, which will require proof that a critic actually stayed at the hotel he or she has criticized or praised before that review will be published ("Verified Reviews Based on Real Stays" is its slogan). Currently, it is a matter of sharp contention as to whether TripAdvisor.com has proof of the bona fides of the people who declare that they have either loved or hated a particular hotel. And so it goes. How many of the user-generated reviews are from actual users, and how many have been sent in by friends or competitors of the hotels or restaurants that are the subject of the review?