TripAdvisor Promoted Hotels Involved In Sex Assault Allegations

NEEDHAM, MA — Hotels where women guests said they were assaulted by staff members are nevertheless promoted on TripAdvisor's website, and the company has ignored its “duty to public safety” in the way it handles such allegations, the Guardian website reported.

Needham-based TripAdvisor, the largest travel site in the world, has 456 million visitors every month. Consumers use the website to search for travel accommodations and read reviews written by previous customers.

One woman referred to as"K" told the Guardian she reported to police that she had been raped by a tour guide, and that she also reported the allegations to the hotel where the accused worked. But when she spoke with representatives at TripAdvisor about warning other travelers, she said the company responded by suggesting she leave a first-person review on TripAdvisor's website.

“I was in disbelief," K told the Guardian. "Am I seriously being asked to recall the humiliating details of my own sexual assault?"

K told the Guardian the company showed her a few examples of reviews to use as a guide.She also said TripAdvisor told her the site doesn't remove businesses from their pages in light of sexual assault allegations, even temporarily.

Sexual assault survivors argued that the reviews are not enough, especially since many of the hotels with reviews describing sexual assault still had good overall ratings. The Guardian found 40 examples of such reviews.

K's review has yet to be published by the site because she does not want to relive her experience by leaving the review as a first-person account, a TripAdvisor requirement.

TripAdvisor told the Guardian its working on a content moderation to help maintain the site's safety and integrity. The company said it hopes its reviewers can create a platform to warn other travelers, but it's important the site's publishing guidelines are followed to ensure accuracy.

For more on this story, check out the Guardian.