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It is a ‘nasty people’s griping charter’ as far as I am concerned. However, it works both ways. As you have pointed out there are a couple of threads on TA about five star reviews that look as if they have been posted by lackeys of certain establishments.

This is a really interesting issue.

Clearly, it would be possible for hotels to find different computers to post positive comments and boost their TripAdvisor ranking. And yes, when you see lots of excellent reviews from a guest who has only ever posted once on TA, that looks suspicious.

However, I feel this whole thing discriminates against the truely awful and truely excellent accommodations. Many of us are apathetic and are not moved to go to the effort of writing a review unless exceptionally good (or bad). So where you have an accommodation that is genuinely exceptionally good, do you ignore the excellent reviews?
Gilly

However, I think the reference to Tripadvisor only allowing guests who have stayed somewhere to post a review about that place, is wrong – anyone can post a review about anyone/anywhere on Tripadvisor.

In fact there are 2 good threads (and maybe more, but I have not come across them) on Tripadvisor’s own forums which illustrate this wonderfully:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g187068-i2109-k1509242-Cotswold_Reviews_Is_it_just_me-Chipping_Campden_Cotswolds_Gloucestershire_England.html

and

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186281-i1114-k2619861-l16480603-Note_to_B_B_Owners_You_Know_Who_You_Are-Cotswolds_Gloucestershire_England.html#16480603

I beleive there are some websites eg Laterooms, which do only allow reviews from people who have stayed, but those websites obviously have to control how the reviews are sourced and posted – they can only do that if the booking is through them.

With Eviivo it has to be a booking via BookDirectRooms.com – apparently Eviivo emails to the guest for a review after they leave, but not if the booking originated through the BandB’s own website. I suppose this stops a BandB booking in a friend who doesn’t stay but writes a 5 star review (ouch!).

One interesting and possibly contentious point about Eviivo’s reviews, against say Tripadvisor’s, is that the person who writes it is clearly identified to the BandB. This means the BandB knows who to contact if they want to discuss the review. It is all very well self-appointed-expert-reviewers enjoying themselves writing defamatory or scathing reviews when they are anonymous, as on TA, but they might feel differently when they receive a direct reply from a very upset BandB.