TripAdvisor reviews scrutinized: A U.K.-based consumer organization, Which?, says TripAdvisor is failing to stop fake reviews that falsely boost the rankings of hotels on the travel website. Which? analyzed almost 250,000 reviews for the 10 top-ranked hotels in 10 popular tourist destinations around the world, finding one in seven had what it called “blatant hallmarks” of fake reviews. According to Which?, TripAdvisor admitted that 14 of the hotels had already been caught with fake positive reviews in the past year. At the “best hotel in Cairo,” according to TripAdvisor’s traveler rankings, 79% of 5-star reviews were left by profiles that had made no other contributions on the site.
Downturn in China travel: Southeast Asia is seeing an abrupt decline in the number of Chinese tourists amid that country’s economic uncertainty, but it’s coming after a few boom years and is creating economic ripples in places like Thailand, which depends heavily on those tourists, according to Bloomberg. The slump is expected to continue in 2020 if trades war continue to weigh down the Chinese economy, one economist said.
Atma acquires two: North Carolina-based owner and manager Atma Hotel Group added a 132-room Courtyard by Marriott and the 168-room Sheraton Europa to its Chapel Hill hotel portfolio of four hotels. The Courtyard is located next ot the University of North Carolina campus; the Sheraton Europa will undergo a renovation by fall 2020. The company is also building a 98-room Tru by Hilton hotel in Chapel Hill that’s slated to open in early 2021.