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| TripAdvisor admits removing reviews critical of Wakehurst Place estate | TripAdvisor admits removing reviews critical of Wakehurst Place estate |
| (1 day later) | |
| TripAdvisor, the travel website used by millions of people for advice on where to stay, has admited deleting reviews critical of a venue, reportedly after a request by the venue's PR team. | TripAdvisor, the travel website used by millions of people for advice on where to stay, has admited deleting reviews critical of a venue, reportedly after a request by the venue's PR team. |
| The travel site deleted more than 200 reviews of Wakehurst Place, a National Trust estate leased by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. | The travel site deleted more than 200 reviews of Wakehurst Place, a National Trust estate leased by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. |
| Many of the negaive reviews had noted a £10-a-day parking charge and complained about staff at the property. | Many of the negaive reviews had noted a £10-a-day parking charge and complained about staff at the property. |
| An article on the Mail Online website reported that the reviews were removed after they had been flagged to TripAdvisor by a member of Kew's Digital Media team. | An article on the Mail Online website reported that the reviews were removed after they had been flagged to TripAdvisor by a member of Kew's Digital Media team. |
| The Mail Online quoted a TripAdvisor spokesman as saying: "In the case of the reviews we removed, they were talking about a parking charge - but they weren't actually talking about them going to the attraction." | The Mail Online quoted a TripAdvisor spokesman as saying: "In the case of the reviews we removed, they were talking about a parking charge - but they weren't actually talking about them going to the attraction." |
| Speaking to the Independent, TripAdvisor confirmed that a "sizeable number" of reviews had been removed but said that none were removed as a result of direct communication with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and stressed reviews were only removed where they assessed the reviewers had not been to Wakehurst Place. | |
| The site does not accept reviews from people who have no first-hand experience of the venues they are reviewing. | The site does not accept reviews from people who have no first-hand experience of the venues they are reviewing. |
| Royal Botanic Gardens Kew confirmed it had flagged a number of reviews, but said in a statement in response to the Mail Online article: "There has not been direct communication between RBG Kew and TripAdvisor requesting the removal of reviews." | |
| TripAdvisor users noticed last week that negative reviews of Wakehurst Place were disappearing from the website. | TripAdvisor users noticed last week that negative reviews of Wakehurst Place were disappearing from the website. |
| Wakehurst place in East Sussex is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens and is a centre for Kew's Millennium Seed Bank project. | Wakehurst place in East Sussex is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens and is a centre for Kew's Millennium Seed Bank project. |