TripAdvisor has long drawn the wrath of business owners in Vietnam, as their ranking on the travel website often determines whether they thrive or fail. Many have taken issue with the site’s algorithm that doesn’t seem to rank business in the most logical fashion.
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Travel expert, Rusty Compass, has drawn on his experiences with TripAdvisor across SE Asia to take a closer look at how the website’s "shabby" algorithm is affecting tourist-focused businesses.
“I could write a book of my own experiences traveling around Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with a close eye on TripAdvisor lists and talking with hotel and restaurant owners, wrote Rusty Compass. “It ain’t a good story.”
Hanoi in particular reveals just how out of whack the algorithm can be, as TripAdvisor's rankings show that five of the world’s top 25 hotels are located in the Vietnamese capital.
As a result, Hanoi’s hotel excellence tops the likes of those in Switzerland, Australia and the US, according to the website.
“You’d need a mathematician to tell you just how improbable these results are. And that would be before you travel to Hanoi,” wrote Rusty Compass.
Until TripAdvisor gets its act together, it may be best to concider the website a general reference, rather than an authority.
Head over to Rusty Compass for a more detailed account of TripAdvisor’s seemingly faulty rankings.