I heard that
I also heard hoteliers who had some legitimate complaints about blackmail, but mostly just hated the idea of customers being able to review them at all, for fear of getting anything less than a glowing report.
It's a review site, some people will go on there with an agenda, hopefully other people realise that. Some people are never, ever, ever happy with a hotel. My mother is one of them, and these picky people that give terrible reviews over a single speck of dust are useful to her. I'm a lot easier to please so I'll take more of an overview. We can both spot the fakes though.
I think if trip advisor stop marketing themselves as infallible, then where's the issue? It's a forum for collecting reviews from the public.
The real problem is that there are so many hotels in the world, particularly the UK and Australia IMHO, that are terrible quality, were last updated in the 1960s, and are charging the same price (and claiming the same rating) as genuinely good, modern and pleasant hotels. And don't get me started on the kinds of place that think they're worth 3.5 or 4 stars over here in Oz, it's ludicrous!
This is one thing the US has right. Their motels are overwhelmingly clean, modern, functional and cheap. Other places if you go for anything but luxury you're playing a game of chance, and this is where tripadvisor really comes into its own. IMHO, YMMV, etc etc