HOTELMARKETING.COM

Online reviews raise liability questions

September 02, 2008 | Hospitality Industry

According to some online legal experts, more companies should review what terms-of-service agreements they have posted on their websites, and the wording.

Aside from rather lengthy terms-of-service agreements, the companies have other layers of protection in an effort to ensure that the persons giving the review — in the case of most business websites — are, in fact, who they say they are, and not a competitor trying to trash a rival’s product or pump up their own.

Aside from a specific terms-of-service agreement that prohibits posting under a false name, Expedia spokesman Michael Eggerling noted that only users who have actually booked a trip through the online travel agency and stayed in a given hotel can post a review. And a link to the review site is sent to travelers only after they’ve booked their trip and actually stayed at the hotel or traveled on the airline, he added.

“The reviews usually seem reliable and objective,” he said. Eggerling said that, in his opinion, someone from the Westin trying to trash a Hyatt hotel “would just be too much effort” in the long run.

Get the full story at Bizjournals.com

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