I think that the tourists have every right to know where there money is going in advance. All I can say is check the website for Trip Adviosr for hotels on Caye Caulker. That's what I did, and listened to a few bloggers who advised well. You may find blogs that are possibly phoney on Trip Advisor.......in other words check all the submissions and if you see 5* ratings and then read for more over all.....you will get closer to reality. Some hotels had very poor reviews going back to the spring, with a few brillant 5* rating just recently. Figure things out for yourself. We consumers DO have the right to know what are getting for our hard earned cash for maybe only once a year holiday!!! That's no joke to us!!! And I am sure that your C.C. businesses do not want us going to other locations in Belize.

Did you know that over 70% of the people logging on to this site are owners/managers/marketing staff to check the status of their property. Take them away and Tripadvisor no longer gets the hits to make it the number one, so Tripadvisor imprisons owners once they are registered by a guest on the site? Many owners are there because members of Tripadvisor put them there not at their own request!! Should that be an acceptable method of joining?

Did you know that because of this amount of people logging on to the site, it is creating traffic through the site and thereby making it the No 1 site by moving it up the search engines etc?

Did you know that everytime you check on a link like hotels.com etc that you are making money for Tripadvisor because all the links on Tripadvisor are pay per click??

Did you know that TA is in the only site World Wide that refuses to allow property owners/managers/marketing representatives delete their property from the site? They delete the members who speak out, but never the owners they just BLACKLIST them and they never get another positive review, but now we have other sites to review Tripadvisors on - google Tripadvisor and find out all about them.

The figures are false because many property owners/managers and marketing representatives do not need this type of cheap marketing to advertise establishments that have taken years to build up, have a good standard and a large percentage of repeat business?? Many of negative reviews are rants, over exaggerated with management response edited before posting if they post them at all!!

The figures are false because if Tripadvisor deleted when requested the hotels, restaurants and guesthouses that made that request, the owners would not be logging on to check their properties and then Tripadvisor would soon become as far down as number 5 or 6.

Did you know that it is Tripadvisor that is holding the owners/managers and marketing executives to ransom by refusing them their right to delete their property from their site?

Do you know that many owners/property managers& marketing representatives actually tell people not to post on Tripadvisors for them because the site is open to abuse from Whingers, Cranks, Fake Reviews & False reporting? It is now more socially accepted within hospitality circles not to have any reviews on Tripadvisor than even 100s of positives . It is not the place to have your property listed. Full Stop!!

Do you know how many of the reviews (even positive ones ) have been disputed, but Tripadvisor ignore those disputes? Reviews on properties closed or that have changed ownership still remain on the site. It is the most antiqued Travel Site on the web with review remaing for years on end.

How many properties are listed on Tripadvisors that are no longer in business, with some not trading for up to 2 years?

Tripadvisor is holding management & property owners - many owners now reporting that guests are threatening tripadvisor on them if they charge cancellation fees, refuse to upgrade or allow late check out - Is this a fair system of review???

DO YOU KNOW THAT TRIPADVISOR HAS AN UNFAVOURABLE RECORD FOR BUSINESS DEALING ACCORDING TO THE MA BBB - WHY NOT ADD TO THE RECORD BY LOGGING ON AND MAKE YOUR COMPLAINT TOO !!!!

I use the TripAdvisor Forums every time I take a trip to a new destination and lots of times, only for dreaming of a new destination. I've been doing this for years. I'm able to sift the wheat from the chaff, thank you very much.

I will agree that it may be a bit harder for someone that just signed onto Tripadvisor to be able to do the same.

Sorry you are having a bad experience with TA. Why not tell us what brought it about for you?

I do the same thing. You have to go through a lot of posts and after a while you can spot a trend and also if somebody is trying to covertly affect the ratings.

I have stayed in resorts that were reported to be under construction after reading the posts that stated that the noise etc wasn't a problem - and you know what - it wasn't a problem and we got to stay in a $500 suite for $150 a night! Sweet.

If I question a post, I look up the poster and see what other posts they've made and if they've made any other reviews. It really doesn't take all that long to figure out what is going on. For example, if one were to look up a well-known denizen's backpacker type place, one might see a glowing post from a lovely young woman. I haven't checked lately, but I don't think she's ever posted for any other places. ;^)

IMO Trip Advisor is a dreadful site. My business and those of very competent hoteliers here were much maligned by deliberate spiteful posts that were evidently just that, yet Trip Advisor refused to do anything about removing or even flagging these posts. They're still there. I have often implied that I regard AC.com as too heavily and partially moderated, but I infinitely prefer that to the way that Trip Advisor is totally unmoderated.

I have seen good businesses go under because of malicious posting campaigns on TA. Don't forget that TA is partners with Expedia Travelocity, Hotels dot com etc. So when they do business with you and get your commission, they are more willing to remove bad posts. I know someone who gets his bad posts removed each and every time. When you don't do business with them, they keep you hanging to dry. The people that man TA have got no clue what so ever about the destinations they talk about. Some people posting on there are really miserable. The whole site radiates negative energy.

That being said, I also look at TA, but don't look for the top rated hotels. It is pretty tough looking through their smokescreen, but the best hotels are usually not in the top 5. Their rating system is pretty subjective.

I'll agree with your position on the top-rated hotels. Regardless, it's a list with which one can start a search. I particularly like the candid tourist pictures. That said, I repeat, that I rarely actually read the hotel reviews. The majority of my research is done through the forums.

I've never booked a trip through TA and don't know why I ever would.

As for the people that post on the forums at TA, I haven't noticed them to be any more miserable nor any more upbeat than posters on lots of other message boards, whether those boards be related to travel or whatever.

Yes, I've seen posts deleted by TA admins, but in my experience, it has been the deletion of people like Soma or someone blatantly and repeatedly posting expressly for their hotel or to get hired as a guide, etc. In this regard, I can give specific examples, if need be, to support my position.

I've also seen the hotels be allowed a rebuttal to negative posts (including a very popular hotel on AC).

I don't know to what you refer when you say that the people "that man TA have no clue what so ever about the destinations they talk about". I'm sure that posters like Hon, JeanH and Barb would be pretty surprised to hear that said about themselves.

In an attempt for clarity; I read TA forums for all my destinations throughout the world and have most recently received very good advice on Peru, Greece, Jordan and Frankfurt.

The people who man the site; the admins, mods, powers that be. I have seen posts that were clearly about a different hotel (on multiple occasions) that could not be moved or deleted according to the hotel in question after corresponding with TA.

In my experience TA rating is dead wrong for destinations in Panama and Mexico that I visited recently.

OK, thanks for the explanation.

Myself, I just had a recent experience that directly mirrored a posting about a hotel in Jordan. In that case, I'd done no upfront research, but upon having the most horrible experience, I looked up the hotel. The postings were mostly leaning the way I saw things, but one posting was almost exactly what I'd experienced. It was uncanny. Of course, there were other posts that leant towards a better experience but none were particularly glowing. I suspect that these "good" posts were more supportive because the hotel has a bar and large rooms. Frankly, I don't know how drunk I would have had to get . . . lol.

If you go to the Lonely Planet board and ask about a specific place, sometimes people will respond back and I feel that their responses are honest, particularly because it is a forum and not a ratings site.
What other trip review sites are there? I know that Yahoo! has one.

Igo Ugo, Boots'nall, and numerous others that escape me at the moment. Isn't Lonely Planets board called the Thorne Tree?

I hadn't realized the flip side of Tripadvisor for some, I say some business owners. I have been encouraged by several hotels to write a review when I returned (which I did). I use Tripadvisor to read reviews, read and post questions on their forums. I have never used them directly to book a trip (nor do I use the affiliates; travelocity, hotels.com, etc) - always go directly to the individual business. I never look at the ranking when I'm reading about a hotel. I do what others have said - read through and sift out the inflated reviews/comments. I have even gone as far as sending a private message to several people about their specific experience and have benefited greatly from those conversations.

If there is a review and forum site that doesn't do this to businesses, I'll gladly use it instead.

No-one will deny that Tim Jeffers ("Banana Beach") runs an excellent operation, but you ask him his opinion of Trip Advisor and why he holds it.

I know why he holds it.

For my last several international trips, I have used a travel agent. I found quite a gem with a sense of humor and he has never steered me wrong so far. I absolutely love having someone else do all the work (or at least giving me choices on what is available to see, do and where to stay). More than that, I love having tour vouchers in hand and skipping the long lines and hassles.

You are right Seashell, LP's board is called Thorn Tree

Thanks Gela. Lonely Planet board would be a good idea. I didn't realize that I would stir up a hornet nest when I mentioned Trip Advisor. However, Carib Queen, looks like you must be a business owner. OBVIOUSLY! This came about due to the issue of the Tropic Hotel discussion earlier. And that sounded like I might have half believed the guests after reading old posts on TA. But I have already booked from listening to people on this board so Trip Advisor was only one bit of research. This board is maybe the best way to get some good insights on Caye Caulker at least. And now I have been educated!! Thank you/all of you.

Like Gela, I've also written directly to posters through the private message area on Trip Advisor. By the same token, I've had people write to me. In this regard, I think TA works quite well.

I've made at least one hotel report and it was on a hotel in Madrid. I'm inclined to make another good report on a hotel in Jordan, a candid favoring good report on a hotel in Wadi Musa (Petra) and a real miserable report on the misery of my first night's stay in Amman. You guys have got me to thinking that it is almost my (web) civic duty.

I travel alot and TA is handy but its accuracy is questionable. About a third of the time I am offered money or discounts to post on TA about a place I stayed at. If I write something bad I don't get the money most of the time so the nature of a bribe affects the review from people who will do anything for money or whatever. Also I find the most wonderful reviews don't have a email address or a way to contact them but the bad reviews usually do. I also fine people are reluctant to write a bad review. They don't want to but the experience was so bad they have to say something to save folks from the hotel or whatever.

We stayed at the Hotel Mago in St Lucia and if you want a laugh look at all the wonderful reviews and the bad reviews. I can tell you this place is poorly managed and poorly maintained. I will point out I am not picky and funky is OK but this place does not look like its website. They couldn't even keep the beer cold at the bar. Something as basic as cold beer is not hard to do. Water was dripping down the wall and if you touched anything electrical in the bathroom you got a shock. Nice huh... now go look at the website and see what they potray. TA has a place but don't take anything without additional research as the truth.

i couldn't agree more. tripadvisor is awful. a bad joke.

I would never rely on a stranger's opinion of something, whether it is a fake review or not - there are just too many variables on opinions. What is fabulous for one person may be the dumps for another. I take all advice on those websites with a grain of salt.

Geez louise! Look at most pictures of hotels on their own websites, let alone TA. Even my most favorite is shown to its finest advantage. No hotel is going to go around and take the worst pictures it can nor paint itself in its truest light and that's why reviews can be helpful. One still needs to do some research and try to sift the wheat from the chaff . . .either that or just take your lumps upon arrival.

Completely different thing and not comparable. It's like your favourite photo is going to be a nice one shot in good light showing you at an advantageous angle with a nice posture. It's still you, as is the crappy one shot in the worst conditions that makes you cringe. Which one do you show when someone asks to see a photo? It's still an honest representation.

Phil, my comment was addressed to Oregonian who was complaining about how the pictures didn't match the reality. I hope merely intended your post as an extension of the sentiment expressed in mine.

Gee Seashell if you looked at a website and see a beautiful
pool when you get to the hotel wouldn't you be upset if it
was green from neglect. Instead of the beautiful room wouldn't
you be upset if the bed netting had big holes in it. Wouldn't
you be upset if the spa they said was on site was closed and
long gone. This is so far beyond showing the best side of things.
So Geez Louise yourself. I come from a family of resort owners
so I know a little about the business.

Not a hotel owner but a manager and have been a victim of blackmail by guests. Trip Advisor says they do not tolerate hearsay or personal insults. but refuse to remove posts that do just this. When you try to put a management's response it is refused. I know for a fact that repeat customers have put good reviews and they where never posted.
At least Lonely Planet has class. They simply omit a hotel from their listings until they feel that it deserves to be back in the book.
I would suggest to anyone making a booking in advance at a hotel they are not entirely sure about, is check the cancellation policies. Or only book one or two nights, so if it is not for you, you can move on.
One person may love a hotel and another may hate it for whatever reasons, perhaps different.
Caye Caulker has such a huge variety of prices and places to stay for every budget.
It is good that this topic came up, to give people a chance to voice their opinions, as TA does not allowed a open forum like this.

Sorry, caribqueen, it hasn't been my experience that TA doesn't allow an open forum like this. They do have rules for sure, but I've seen lots of banter back and forth and been involved in it as well.

Oregonian, of course, I would be upset, but then, I have travelled often enough that I am aware that the pictures rarely match reality. But sometimes things just happen too. You could arrive somewhere that normally would be fine, but there is some construction going on . . or who knows?

I'm glad you know a little bit about the business. I know alot about staying in differernt places all over the world.

Arrogance rules!

Well, there's a lot of it going on in this thread Jesse. Enough for each of us to get a little on us . . .you included. :^)

Yes, totally true. A certain a$$h0le on this island posted factual lies about me and my business, which had they been true would have been quite damning. I gave TA documentary proof that these were just that, lies, yet they refused to remove the slanderous and unfounded posts. They're still there.

Interesting points being made here - but what I get mostly from it is that nothing replaces a GOOD travel agent.
A good travel agent who knows people and senses what they want, who has actually visited a place and knows for sure what it is ...... a good travel agent who you can call directly to sort out problems if what they booked for you turns sour ...... conscientious personal service is almost a lost art, but IMHO it is worth it's weight in gold.

Caribqueen, you are right about positive posts from repeat guests, I have heard quite a few times before that they are not posted. We can't get too positive about hotels (according to TA) now can we? It is that selective moderating that aggravates me.

As for owners responses, when a guest posts something, it immediately goes online, but when an owner responds, it always takes more than a week before the response is displayed when not refused. When a hotel owner complains about a post, it takes them even 2-3 weeks, but the hotel owner gets no feed back - very frustrating. I know a hotel owner here who got banned for defending his property.

Diane, you are totally right about Travel Agents (and Wholesalers), TA can never replace that! That is actually what TA wants to become, a Super Travel Agent, they have already invited some properties to become affiliates and push their sales. Think about that before you go to TA!