TripAdvisor under review, 400 may sue

Not so wise: TripAdvisor faces a possible 400-strong class action from hoteliers for defamation

The popular hotel reviews website TripAdvisor may be sued by over 400 hotels for alleged defamation, who claim that some of the comments made by travellers are damaging their business.

The US-based website may be faced with a group defamation act, to be headed by the UK-based reputation management firm KwikChex, Travel Monitor reported.

Many of the hoteliers believe that the reviews posted on TripAdvisor are invented, exaggerated, or placed by competitor hotels with the intent of tarnishing reputations.

"Next week we will present TripAdvisor with details, including some of the worst cases, and ask them to make corrections", KwikChex founder Chris Emmins said.

"They will be given seven days to respond and, if they don't, I think it's highly likely a class action will follow."

TripAdvisor declined to comment on threatened litigation, but defended the accuracy of its reviews.

"We believe our more than 35 million reviews and opinions are authentic and honest from real travellers, which is why we enjoy tremendous user loyalty and growth", it said.

"If the reviews people read didn't paint an accurate picture, users would not keep coming back."