Hi there,

Well, you're right that Tripadvisor can provide free feedback for hotel.
However, the negative aspects of Tripadvisor outweigh the positives.
Consider the following:
1. A review can be left by someone who never stayed at the hotel.
2. A review can be left by the hotel owner posing as a guest.
3. A review can be left by a hotel's competitors.
4. The hotel management are very limited in what they can say in their management response.
5. The reviews are not checked by Tripadvisor for fact.

I own a small hotel and out of the 6 reviews we have, only two of them are from genuine guests. One review was left by what I suspect is one of our competitors. Two reviews were left by guests who tried to blackmail us (give us a discount or we'll leave a bad review). One review was left by someone who was going through a marriage break-down when they stayed with us and they were probably insane if judged by their behaviour. So, I wonder how much all those fake reviews have cost me. Do you agree that Tripadvisor runs a fair system?

Put it like this: if you think Tripadvisor is fair, then you would also agree that it would be fair if I were to tell the police that you were a pedophile (even though presumably you're not), then not allow you to defend yourself in court.
It's an either/or situation.