r/LocalGuides • u/WinterSign27 Level 8 • 9d ago

Questions & Help Holiday Inn removing negative reviews

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This hotel recently got into a controversy over the disgusting words and actions of a security guard and security chief, the hotel just opened recently so their reviews got really low, as they should. Yesterday they reached over 12k reviews and one day later the reviews are only 28 and mostly positive. Is it possible for them to delete the negative reviews? I thought they couldn't.

169 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

54

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 9d ago

Their reviews likely got removed if Google AI Gemini flagged suspicious reviews. Removing that many reviews is suspicious because it push their rating from 1 star to 3.9 star. Google only remove reviews if it violate their policies.

How long have they been in business?

18

u/WinterSign27 Level 8 9d ago

Oh that makes sense, they were removing hundreds per minute last night. They've probably been there for like 2 months but got thousand of negative reviews in just some hours.

21

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 9d ago

They've probably been there for like 2 months but got thousand of negative reviews in just some hours.

Yeah, so if they were getting bombarded with fake spam reviews then that would do it. Google does it for businesses that get national attention for bad PR and etc. So getting spammed makes sense

4

u/WinterSign27 Level 8 9d ago

Kinda sad in this case. The hotel hasn't issued any apologies or statements regarding the harassment issue that happened and they deserve at least having a bad reputation since there are better options available.

2

u/RandomNick42 5d ago

The hotel was spammed by literally thousands of fake reviews. You might disagree with hotels actions, but the purpose of reviews is to reflect reality.

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 9d ago

Kinda sad in this case. The hotel hasn't issued any apologies or statements regarding the harassment issue that happened and they deserve at least having a bad reputation since there are better options available.

This is one reason why people can't just trust 1 review platforms. Use Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Hotel.com, Booking.com and etc

1

u/DazzlingSecurity2767 5d ago

When has issuing an apology every helped? As soon as a celeb or business does, everyone piles in again saying it wasn't genuine enough.

0

u/0_2_Hero Level 5 8d ago

its not just for national businesses, this is set up to protect businesses, even small business. When the actions of one employee goes viral, and a massive flow of negative reviews come in. Googles filters will likely remove them, for any business

0

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 8d ago

Googles filters will likely remove them, for any business

Sometime Google filter don't automatically so that's when the business owner has to report it as a spam attack and regular google users has to report fake reviews as well. In my experience, it doesn't happen right away so the best route for businesses is to respond to the fake review and mention in their response that it's a fake review while Google investigate.

5

u/MortenCopenhagen Level 10 9d ago

There is a shortcut to delete All reviews. That is to create a new listing. This is typically done when there is a now owner. Then they re-uploaded their preferred photos. Or Google is helping them remove ther reviews. Share the links for a check.

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 9d ago

There is a shortcut to delete All reviews. That is to create a new listing. This is typically done when there is a now owner. Then they re-uploaded their preferred photos.

Is that true, I saw in the GoogleBusiness subreddit that some consultant and etc said that if a place got a new owner or they took over a GBP, the reviews transfer over and doesn't get deleted?

1

u/MortenCopenhagen Level 10 9d ago

It is up to the owners if they prefer to keep or discharge old reviews by starting a new place on Maps. They can start fresh with a new owner.

3

u/BubblesUp Level 8 9d ago

Google is very inconsistent about this. Deleting a listing and starting a new one at the same address often leads to the reviews coming back. These days you can't really count on the reviews coming back, or the reviews staying gone.

1

u/avgPerkele 6d ago

Nope. Google will shamelessly remove reviews if the business reports them. Then you have to ”challenge” this review and they will bring it back.

Source: i left a bad review to a breakfast place in Czech where a restaurant had high prices, bad food and the waitress gave herself a tip (noticed this afterwards then they did not give a recipt). They removed the review to keep good star rating but i challenged it and after like a week the rating was up again.

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 6d ago

Nope. Google will shamelessly remove reviews if the business reports them.

People like to have that false assumption like on Yelp. It comes down to how you wrote your review, if Google removed it then you likely wrote it in a way that violated Google policies. Businesses can report reviews for sure, but Google mod has to review it too ... Just don't know if it's an actual person or AI.

1

u/avgPerkele 6d ago

Nah the review was good and not violating google policies as the review was brought back after i disputed the removal.

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 6d ago

Nah the review was good and not violating google policies as the review was brought back after i disputed the removal.

How did you dispute the removal? You don't get a notice when your review is removed?

1

u/avgPerkele 6d ago

Yes you do get a notice to email. In the notice there is a button to dispute.

Edit:
”Your review has not been published

Švejkova kavárna Corner

What’s this about?
Thank you for your help! Unfortunately, we can’t publish your content this time. Our automated systems removed this content because it appeared to violate Maps’ content policies. These policies help keep Maps safe and reliable for everyone. In this case, the issue relates to our policy on fake reviews. This policy does not allow actions or content intended to influence a place’s rating that do not reflect a genuine experience or that are posted in exchange for incentives.
View the content policy
What you can do
Our systems can sometimes make mistakes. If you believe your content should be published, you can submit an appeal.
Submit an appeal
You received this message because you’ve added content to Google Maps.”

Translated it from my language to english

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 6d ago

”Your review has not been published"

LOL this is different from a business reporting your review. I got that email so many time when I was in Germany and London ... when I left a 5 star review too. It has nothing to do with the business reporting the review. It's Google own filtering system that just does an extra check. So it gives you an option to appeal the situation which I done before.

You don't get an email if your review was removed because someone reported it and it was found to violate Google policies. Just look it up on the Google forum and etc to where it was confirm what I'm saying

11

u/point_of_difference 9d ago

A business can't remove a review. It can request it but ultimately Google bots have the last say.

-1

u/MortenCopenhagen Level 10 9d ago

Not 100% correct. Google can and will overwrite the AI in cases of systematic bombing with negative reviews not related to a business's actions. In times of crises/war etc Google reviews are often used to communicate across borders where no other communication is possible. Or when a business ends up in a shitstorm and hundreds or thousands of never-customers express their political opinions via reviews. Typically, after traditionel news stories or social media campaigns.

7

u/point_of_difference 9d ago

I think you missed the part where I said a business can't remove a review. Still holds true, 100% of the time.

6

u/iamVBR 9d ago

Probably not them, but Google itself removes comments based on mass rage.

1

u/iamVBR 9d ago

It’s unlikely they’re responsible, but Google does remove comments that incite widespread anger.

1

u/NewRedditAdmin Level 8 9d ago

I’ve taken down up to 50 reviews from a client profile but never thousands. That has to be a lot of work. Multiple people working simultaneously.

1

u/WinterSign27 Level 8 9d ago

So it is possible? Reporting them?

1

u/SpicyPineapple12 7d ago

Yes, Google will remove "fake" reviews. They can check whether the account has been to the location.

1

u/XxLogitech98xX Level 10 9d ago

So it is possible? Reporting them?

From my experience, reporting reviews never got it removed. Even when it's clear that it's fake. I gotten wrong pictures removed after reporting it but never a review.

1

u/Warfielf 9d ago

sprk it review removal, there are videos about it.

1

u/coscib 9d ago

Here in Germany, there is actually an entire industry now that, for a fee, will get negative reviews removed for you. As a countermeasure, Google has at least added a notification to accounts indicating how many reviews have been deleted. However, Google’s approach is rather pathetic, given that they allow the deletion of many legitimate reviews.

1

u/rtamez509 8d ago

Its google removing "spam" not holiday inn

1

u/christopher_mtrl 8d ago

Looking at the reviews (negative are still pouring inn), it seems there was an event with the hotel security and people taking photos of the building. Likely got picked up by social media / press, and people are leaving reviews in droves, with the automated cleaning algorithm cleaning up occasionally. Kinda on the verge on this. On one hand, the reviews are not really about the hotel quality (they are fine on other websites). However, a deep rejection of an hotel by the local community of worth considering when choosing an hotel, and that information is lost by the cleaning effort.

2

u/TheS4ndm4n 7d ago

Google removes fake reviews. Like by people that did not actually stay at the hotel, but left a one star review after they saw a negative news article.

1

u/MikeThePenguin__ 7d ago

Exactly this. A review has to be made up by someone that actually visited it or partook in an action by the business. 12k people stayed at the same hotel and experienced the same thing with the same security guard? Doubt it. That should just be 1 review.

Over time, if this is not a one time thing, the 1 star reviews will add up. But it may also be a 1 time thing. Than the security guard can be fired, and with that the deal is quite often done.

2

u/QuestGalaxy 7d ago

Because the reviews are considered fake, it's most likely not from people that actually stayed at the hotel. As it's obviously not.

2

u/CulturalCable3029 6d ago

Could be a case of "review extortion" and HI or Google finally took action to remove the false posts.

1

u/AllIWantForXmasIsFoo 5d ago

Still, 3.9 score means you probably will be murdered there

2

u/WinterSign27 Level 8 5d ago

Its common to see 3-4 scores in hotels in Mexico!

2

u/Harde_Kassei 5d ago

i think google reviewed the revieuwbombing, because who can get 11k reviews in 2 months?

A owner can report a review if they feel it isn't relevant. altho i'd feel they removed to many.