Internet may destroy your reputation just over a night.
I found two pieces of articles from recent newspapers. One is the story about a Chinese restaurant, China Rose, in UK which faces closure of their business after bad rumour spread through internet. The rumour says the restaurant was serving a dog meat, introducing a story about a woman customer who choked on a dog's identification chip. At first, the owner laughed at the rumour, but soon realized it is hard to defend against the urban myth after he received tons of cancellation. It seems that the same comment downgrading the restaurant had been copied over and over again, which finally moulded social proof.The other case is about a UK hotel, Riverside hotel, listed in the travel review website Trip Advisor. The owner was accused of writing fake positive reviews for her hotel and then posted "red flag" by the website. She denies the allegation and claims she lost revenue by 75 % and was forced to cut the rate by half. According to her explanation, a positive comment from a customer using the hotel's Wi-Fi network prompted the Trip Advisor's action.
I just remembered my first trip to Amsterdam in September. I completely relied on a travel website which gave me lots of clues about which hotel is safe, reasonable, clean, kind, and with nice hospitality. Especially for foreign travellers, it is easy to click on the site and make a reservation without talking over the phone. If I saw red flag on the hotel, I would not have stayed there.
So, how reliable are travel websites? How biased are they? The article cites the comment of the co-founder of the reputation management company, pointing out that one fifths of the reviews could be fake. It would be better to double-check the content by hitting primary source i.e. calling the hotel directly or reading several guidebooks.
From the point of view of PR practitioners, they need to know how to make use of social media to counter fake rumours.
References
Alleyne, R., 2011. Dead greyhound myth threatens to close Chinese restaurant. The Daily Telegraph. 14 October. Also available at: < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8824481/Chinese-restaurant-bankruptcy-fear-after-false-dog-meat-rumour.html >
Kenber, B., 2011. Hotelier damned by TripAdvisor for 'fake praise' sues for thousands in lost business. The Times. 25 October. p.11. (The same content of the article is available at Mail Online at: < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2053221/Hotelier-sues-TripAdvisor-accusations-wrote-fake-positive-reviews-causes-revenue-plummet-75.html >
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