15

I have been a regular user and reviewer on TA and have found them to be a VERY reliable source. I have never had a post or review deleted and while I tend to be positive, I have also been negative. As hopefullist wrote upthread, however, you neet to evaluate the reviews to separate the whiners from the legitimate negative comments. I likewise discount the reviews beginning with "the best ____" as being overly enthusiastic. I have also learned to completely discount the completely negative, conspiracy oriented comments similar to some of those above.

Whenever I am travelling, and I have options but no knowledge, TA is my choice and I have yet to find my overall impression from what I read to have been different from what I experienced. I regularly read Lonely Planet to keep up with impressions, ideas and thoughts of Honduras since I have many fond memories of my times there. In May I asked in a PM to someone who obviously was living on Roatan for recommendations, went to TA for reviews, and made a decision based on TA since there were numerous reviews. The impression from TA was what I experienced.

16

Well I guess there are tourists that may be gullible enough to frequent the upscale establishments advertised by the likes of TA/Expedia but I prefer the opinions of travelers!

17

Busman sometimes you are full of crap. I have used TA for all levels of lodging in on 4 continents, and got what I expected, from budget to luxury.

Maybe you dont like em as you are a lodging owner, I dont know, but they work for me, and are a better source than here on the LP where reports and advice on lodging get lost and buried after a few days.

I also have been reviewing all my stays since 2008 on TA, for both business and leisure travel.

18

even more misinformation mixed with bile...

When I review an establishment, I say anything I like within the TA guidelines. The only stuff taken down is for being personally rude, insulting, or obscene. I just had one posted in which I described (in the title of the review) the manager as "creepy." I wrote about theft and collusion at another hotel and about the personal kindness of the owners of a third.

And establishments don't have to list themselves on TA... I've added many establishments by giving TA the information and having them check that the place really exists. Takes a week or two, sometimes... but then I write the first review. I am "a traveler" and I'll compare greasy dives and melancholy hourly-rate hotels with anybody here. I've also stayed in some nicer places. It is especially rewarding to find a gem of a lunch restaurant in a little town in the old gas station, get it listed and review it, then see all sorts of other folks find and review it, helping a struggling business owner establish a reputation.

I'll review any of them... never had a review removed by TA and only rarely am I censored when I do stuff like naming the thread-hijacking morons in person. I believe the only folks who need to be afraid of TA are those who are regularly providing poor service or product. If your establishment is good, it can overcome a jerk or two saying some bad things.

And TA allows the owner to make a correction/statement - unless they are rude enough to use terms like "Gestapo" (I can't tell you how offensive that is to any of us with Jewish heritage or even just a good sense of our place in the human race - that word is only appropriate to use for secret police who operate outside the law and murder people at will...) and "FOOL!!"

Finally - back to the OP... the postings on Easy Airlines - for those who had the good sense to read them - included a description of what appears to be happening with the airline and even a post that would potentially land the poster in court or worse in Honduras for the accusations in includes. Hardly seems like Auschwitz...

19

Well if a person can just get a business added to TA by writing a review (& the owner can't get it unlisted? ) then GESPATO is too lenient a term for TA as they ARE OPERATING OUTSIDE THE LAW!!

Don't try to play the religion card here "FOOL"!

20

Gorski, I can understand the offense taken at the misuse of "Gestapo" from a religious perspective. Personally, I find it's use in cases such as in this topic to simply be the rantings of the (how shall I subtly say stupid without appearing to be as arrogant as the original user) less informed.