One third of hotel reviews are 'fake' finds Channel 5’s Budget Hotels - Here’s which reviews to trust

Around “one third” of hotel reviews on major sites could be “bogus”, reveals Channel 5 ’s Budget Hotels: Are They A Con? Here are an expert’s top tips for spotting fake reviews.

The programme looks at the best and worst hotels Britain has to offer, with this week's episode focusing on the lengths that some will go to mislead customers. In the show presenter Alexis Conran reveals just how easy it is to rack up an undeserved five-star online reputation by launching his fake hotel.

To boost the online ranking of Alexis’ fake hotel, "Hotel Alexis" - which is actually a tiny building in Bekonscot's Model Village in Buckinghamshire - he purchases fake reviews from a website which promises to add them to trusted review sites. The “fake review farm” delivers dozens of believable five-star reviews, proving just how easily buyers can be manipulated.

Read More: I stayed at the hotel near Piccadilly Gardens where rooms start at £30 and can't believe what I got for my money

Saoud Khalifah, CEO of Fakespot, said faking reviews had become big business due to how important it is for businesses to rank well on search engines. He said: “I think the internet has kind of spiralled out of control on the basis of fake information.”

Saoud added: “People want to be in the first top five ranking position because that's where all the eyes land. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a lot of fraudulent tactics - fake reviews, fake upvotes, fake likes - to get to that top five ranking because of the amount of money you can make.”

On the show Saoud shared his top tips for spotting fake reviews. Despite the best effort of major review sites to monitor fraudulent activity, Saoud believes that many allow fake reviews to slip through the net.

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