While fake reviews may seem like a stretch, keep this in mind: A study conducted by researchers at Yale, Dartmouth, and the University of California found that hotel owners have an incentive to post positive reviews of their own properties, and negative reviews of their competitors. This is most easily accomplished on sites that don’t require verification that reviewers actually stayed in the property. The best way to tell if that’s the case for the hotel you’re looking at? Check out the dates the reviews were posted. If several were posted on the same day, it’s a safe assumption that they were fabricated.
Check out this photos of the Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. On the left you see a happy couple who have a secluded beach all to themselves. There isn’t another person in sight.
But the real photo on the right shows a different story. Mega resorts tend to stay true to their name, which means they’re mega crowded. There’s no chance of having the beach to yourself–you’ll be sharing it with a hundred other strangers instead.
