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Hotel Technology / Hotel Reviews / Refereeing Hotel Reviews / Cornell Hotel School / → All Tags

Watch Out PR People and Freebie-Seeking Guests, Software Can Now Spot a Fake Hotel Review

In our many years doing this hotel review thang at HotelChatter, sniffing out fake hotel reviews has become sort of a sport for us. It's easy to spot the planted glowing reviews usually because the verbiage used is so far from everyday conversation, sounding straight like a press release or just has way too much detailed information that a regular hotel guest is never privvy to.

Example: "When my husband and I walked into the lobby, we couldn't help but stare at the 1,000 LED lights from design studio Lighty Lights which had been handcrafted in India using rare glass and installed by the hotel's general manager himself."

It's also easy to spot the reviews from people with an axe to grind--often former employees or competitors--or people who didn't get that free hotel room they wanted.

Example: "This hotel sucks! There are rats on the floor and filth everywhere. The hotel manager doesn't manage anything except ladies of the night. They also charged my credit card $5,000 and I didn't even stay there! Avoid at all costs!"

But of course, there are always a few that are hard to tell.

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Bill Marriott / Hotel News / Cornell Hotel School / Icon of the Industry / Party Dispatch / → All Tags

Bill Marriott Awarded 'Icon of the Industry' Honor

Where: 1535 Broadway [map], New York, ny, United States, 10036

Last night the Cornell School of Hotel Administration awarded Bill Marriott with its first ever Icon of the Industry award at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square. And guess what? HotelChatter was there to watch! And we were like, legally allowed guests. No party crashing here!

If you were watching our Twitter feed, then you already know a bit of how the event went down. But while Bill managed to sneak away before we could meet him (or even just brush up against his arm real quick), he made a sweet impression on us and the rest of the hotel industry folk who attended.

His speech was pitch-perfect with the right amount of self-deprecation, a pinch of family history, a dose of "work hard" rah-rah-rah and a wise note about recessions--"they always end," he said.

We'll have more on the event for you tomorrow but for now, let's just say we've fallen in love with Bill all over again.