In a move that could raise legal issues and alienate the hotels and resorts that provide the company with a substantial chunk of its revenue, TripAdvisor has begun flagging resorts at which reviewers allege they were sexually assaulted.
Earlier this month, TripAdvisor flagged three Mexico resorts by adding vague warnings, described by the company as "badges," atop the listings of Iberostar Paraiso Maya, Iberostar Paraiso Lindo and Grand Velas Riviera Maya.
The badges, which are light-red-tinted boxes with bold red print, cautiously warn, "TripAdvisor has been made aware of recent media reports or events concerning this property which may not be reflected in reviews found on this listing. Accordingly, you may wish to perform additional research for information about this property when making your travel plans."
The Grand Velas said in a statement last week that the warning, which stemmed from a reviewer claiming to have been sexually assaulted during a massage at the spa, should be removed, asserting, "We firmly believe the alleged incident did not happen."
The statement continued: "Both our investigation and the police investigation concluded that the reviewer's allegations were not supported by any evidence and were inconsistent with various facts. We have provided thorough documentation to Trip-Advisor for their committee to reevaluate the badge's placement and look forward to seeing its removal shortly."
The badge remained in place as of press time Thursday.
TripAdvisor's new policy follows a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report in which a woman said she was raped at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya in 2010. She and other reviewers said TripAdvisor had deleted posts detailing assaults or injuries they had experienced.
"We apologize to the sexual assault victim reported on in the article, who had her forum post removed seven years ago on TripAdvisor," the company said in a statement. "At the time, we had a policy whereby we judged content to be in breach of our guidelines if it did not adhere to family-friendly language. A few years ago, we updated that policy to allow more descriptive reviews and content about firsthand accounts of serious incidents like rape or assault."
As for the warnings, the company said that its "vetting of news reports continues, and it is likely more businesses will receive this badge as more information is reviewed."
TripAdvisor said it would post the badges for as long as three months, though it also said it could extend that time frame "if issues persist."
The new policy raises legal issues for both TripAdvisor and travel professionals. While an agent is not legally obligated to vet every property for TripAdvisor warnings, he or she might have a legal obligation to disclose information to clients that a typical traveler wouldn't know about, and the badges could fall into that category.
Mark Pestronk, the travel lawyer who writes Travel Weekly's Legal Briefs column, said anything that can cast a resort or hotel in a bad light could create a liability for the company. That said, he added that the vague wording keeps TripAdvisor legally protected against libel.
It is not known if such badges will impact travel agency recommendations. Aspen, Colo., travel agent Brian Harris said he would stop short of dissuading a potential client from a flagged property because of the vague nature of the badges. He said he stopped mining TripAdvisor for property information about six years ago because he wanted less bias and more of a professional perspective, and that his clients had since taken it upon themselves to check TripAdvisor before consulting him.
"I would feel more obligated to disclose the badges to the clients if I knew the verification process," Harris said. "I appreciate them taking the effort and the action, but there are still a lot of questions at this point."
Either way, the issue crops up at a time when TripAdvisor has been looking for additional sources of revenue growth. Earlier this month, the company reported third-quarter revenue that, while advancing 4.3% from a year earlier, lagged analysts' estimates, and its net income fell 55% as its traditional OTA and hotel partners reduced spending on the travel-review site.
Cornell School of Hotel Administration professor Chris Anderson questioned if the badges would slow revenue growth further by alienating potential partners. He added that he "would think suppliers would be supportive of measures in which safety is integrated in the review process."
That said, he predicted that the badges might end up being a "short-term fix" and that he could see Trip-Advisor adding safety as a category that could be rated by guests, similar to amenities or cleanliness. By doing so, TripAdvisor would continue what has been a recent movement away from a transaction-oriented site and back toward its roots as a trusted source of information.
"TripAdvisor is moving closer to helping us codify at least one element of safety, and maybe they'll go further," Anderson said. "It will be tricky, but maybe this is a good first step."