Insights into Suspicious Online Ratings: Direct Evidence from TripAdvisor

TLDR

Online ratings and reputation management are increasingly important, yet manipulation through fake reviews is common and suspicious ratings are underreported in academic research. The study examines empirical evidence of suspicious online ratings using 41,572 TripAdvisor reviews. The authors analyze 41,572 TripAdvisor ratings to detect suspicious patterns. Quantitative analysis reveals a significant gap between overall and individual ratings—especially in lower‑class hotels—, a roughly 20 % proportion of suspicious ratings at a 0.5 threshold, and that reviewers who post excellent ratings are less likely to create large gaps; the study also provides managerial implications and future research suggestions.

Abstract

Online ratings and online reputation management are becoming increasingly popular and important. With this increasing importance, attempts to manipulate online reviews through fake reviews have become more prevalent. Suspicious online reviews (ratings) exist on many e-commerce platforms, but these reviews have rarely been observed and reported as manipulation in academic studies using different test methods. In our research, we examine empirical evidence of suspicious online ratings based on 41,572 ratings on TripAdvisor. Applying quantitative analytics, we find three important results: (1) the gap between overall rating and individual ratings does exist and is significant, especially among the lower class hotels; (2) the proportion of suspicious ratings is about 20% at a standard of 0.5; and (3) reviewers who tend to post excellent ratings are less likely to generate big gaps when posting ratings. We offer specific managerial implications for hotel managers on online reputation management and selected suggestions for future research based on the empirical findings.