Booking a place to stay when traveling gets can get tedious at times. We read all the reviews to find out the pros and cons, and double checking that there’s nothing sketchy there. Good thing TripAdvisor launched a new feature that’ll lessen our worries a bit.
The booking site will now place badges next to hotels and resorts that have sexual assault history and other major issues. According to company spokesman Kevin Carter, this will warn travelers of the problems reported by users. “These badges will remain on TripAdvisor for up to three months. However, if the issues persist we may extend the duration of the badge,” he said. “These badges are intended to be informative, not punitive.” He added that the TripAdvisor team just wants to be transparent about the “good and bad reviews of businesses.”
So far, flagged locations include Mexico’s Grand Playa Riviera Maya, Iberostar Paraiso Maya, and Iberostar Paraiso Lindo. All three have high ranking in TripAdvisor and have over a thousand reviews each.
This announcement comes after a woman called out TripAdvisor for deleting her post saying that she was raped by a security guard in Mexico. Plus, the Harvey Weinstein scandal also served as a wake-up call for the site. “I think that travel websites have a responsibility to be an advocate for their customers,” said travel analyst Henry H. Harteveldt.
Good on TripAdvisor for making a huge step to warn and protect travelers. This also makes it easier for us to weed out the locations we should avoid, regardless of their star rating.
[The New York Times and Nylon]
Photo courtesy of Grand Playa Riviera Maya’s website
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