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Bad advice. Is Trip Advisor an effective marketing tool?

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I'm in Egypt, as I write this. I've returned to Dahab on the Sinai Peninsula to see how two revolutions have changed things since I was last here.

As it turns out, the Egyptians are still as warm, hospitable and helpful as ever. The Red Sea remains the home of fish so beautiful you suspect Disney's people were somehow involved. But the military presence on the desert road is obvious and intense, and visitor numbers are way down on previous years.

Revolution aside, what is particularly clear to me, is that my four star hotel is nothing of the sort. I don't really mind - I'm easily pleased, the sunshine is free and I paid very little for the trip.

Nevertheless, on Trip Advisor (and several other sites) the place definitely makes over-inflated claims, awarding itself the aforementioned four stars. In truth, they are struggling to find enough food to sustain the guests.

I understand their motivation, perhaps even their desperation. Egypt is a profoundly unstable nation. The recent troubles have badly damaged the tourism industry, and a business here must deploy any means at its disposal to survive. Which is exactly what the owners of my accommodation have done.

However, this does raise an interesting question about the nature of Trip Advisor (and other review sites) as marketing platforms. Because, no matter how well-crafted and persuasive the text and pictures in a hotel's profile, every tempting detail and promised luxury can be fundamentally undermined by a string of poor reviews below the descriptor.

Of course, many would argue this is simply the democratisation of marketing  - a system which allows the consumer's response the same prominence as the advertising. Testimonials without the filter. And we tend to approve of this notion. Why should the advertiser have all the exposure? Why shouldn't the marketeer have their feet held to the fire?

Well, it's rather more complicated than a simple levelling of the pitch. There is no shortage of restaurants, hotels and guest houses who will tell you how their business was ruined by poor reviews on Trip Advisor. But these reviews didn't originate with genuine guests, they were placed maliciously by competitors and troublemakers. Those affected by this behaviour would probably use some choice words to describe the notion of democratic marketing.

'Ah!' you might say, ' Surely the purpose of Trip Advisor is to aid the purchaser, not the advertiser - and it's true, that is the site's brief. I just wonder how helpful it really is. This very patchy hotel in which I'm staying certainly attracted a fair few negative comments on Trip Advisor, but there were almost the same number praising it. Which posts were genuine and which were created by interested parties, I have no way of knowing. Even the dreadful spelling offers no clue. So all I had was a 50/50 good/bad split, and was no better informed than I was when I started. Ultimately, the site had neither convinced me nor dissuaded me - which doesn't really make for very effective marketing.

For my part, I would simply suggest you give a holiday in Egypt a try. The wonderful people here would certainly appreciate your custom, whatever Trip Advisor might say.

Magnus Shaw is a copywriter, blogger and consultant.

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