Cuba in the “Parallel Universe” of TripAdvisor

HAVANA, Cuba. – Incredible, unusual, and absurd have been the ratings of many people upon learning that, once again, TripAdvisor with its rankings has included Cuba in positions of popularity that may not be deserved, judging by the lamentable state of the economy and, above all, by how poorly it has fared with tourist flow since 2019, a crisis that is proving very difficult to overcome despite other destinations in the region showing very positive indicators, even better than those before the pandemic.

From airlines that have suspended regular flights within less than a year of their inauguration to the increasingly elusive Russian and Chinese markets – despite the promotional efforts of Cuban and foreign agencies that have gone after them with all their might – the news has not been good for the hotel sector, which, along with gastronomy, is going through its worst moment: a food crisis similar to the famine of the 1990s that, euphemistically, the communists named the “Special Period”.

Nevertheless, as if the Cuba they speak of were in a parallel universe to the Cuba we know, according to the list published by TripAdvisor and widely echoed by the official media of the regime, the Island was crowned this year, astonishingly, as the “top cultural destination in the world,” and likewise, it ranked second among the most popular places in the Caribbean. And although it descended three positions compared to January 2023, this time it has ranked 18th among the culinary destinations worldwide.

Astounding results that, in light of so many setbacks, should not correspond to this corner of the world with its desolate and dirty streets, collapsed buildings, empty shops and pharmacies, vacant hotels, a dismal transportation system, poorly maintained roads, extremely slow internet connectivity, chaotic monetary reality, inflation, power outages, increasing crime, and, to top it off, scarce nightlife that tends toward perpetual boredom. These are all ingredients of the best formula to scare away visitors, as they have already caused the largest mass exodus in our history.

In January 2023, Cuba had stood out as the number 1 “trending destination” in the Travelers’ Choice Best of the World, so this time the suspicions that some possible “collusion” might be occurring between TripAdvisor and the Cuban regime become stronger. This is happening at the most important travel site currently consulted by over 90 percent of travelers and tourists worldwide when they plan their trips, risking the credibility and reliability attributed to it since its creation in 1999.

But apparently, when it comes to business, money can do anything, and if years ago the Cuban regime, allegedly through Mr. Gregory Elias – a businessman from Curaçao – disbursed 7 million dollars to bring The Rolling Stones to Ciudad Deportiva, as well as certain “influences” were “moved” to attract Beyoncé, Madonna, and even some of the Kardashians to Havana’s “luxury circuit,” it is very likely that something similar is happening with TripAdvisor, especially when the company openly sells its various payment mechanisms to establishments in order to ascend in the rankings, so they –the rankings- might not be as “popular” as they make us believe.

In fact, the ways in which these lists are drafted and ratings are given within the site, beyond the algorithm they use – often modified to achieve, they say, “fairer results” – increasingly depend on the “Plus” and “Premium” services they acquire and the annual fees paid for these by business owners included on the page. According to information from the company itself, these services range from $400 to over $10,000 per establishment.

Thus, TripAdvisor’s main revenue wouldn’t come so much from the 3% it charges for reservations made through its website, but rather from the multiple positioning and promotion services on the site that undoubtedly later affect the formulation of the rankings. Therefore, the “popularity algorithm” and its “fair” nature increasingly depend on those paid products that establishments buy from TripAdvisor.

So, more money translates into a better ranking, and the question that arises is about the amounts that the Cuban government would be paying to TripAdvisor to improve the positions of its establishments, as it is almost impossible to do so relying solely on ratings left by guests, even if they were produced by the thousands from fake profiles.

Because, according to TripAdvisor’s current algorithm, it is not possible to raise the ranking of an establishment through fake ratings and reviews. The site subjects each review to approximately 50 filters, and suspicious reviews are subject to moderation by a group of about 300 content specialists who are very proficient in fraud and forensic computing.

This, far from being a guarantee of fairness, actually narrows the path for establishments to be forced to buy “preferential access” within TripAdvisor. Furthermore, an establishment that receives good ratings and genuine reviews, without fraud being committed, may not achieve a good ranking within TripAdvisor if it does not first acquire one of the company’s “Plus” packages, as some entrepreneurs have denounced who have at some point wanted to “bypass” strategies that feel too much like extortion.

In the article “On TripAdvisor, there’s a way to highlight positive comments over negative ones: by paying,” published on the site xataka.com, there are several examples of hotels that have been forced to “bite the bullet” of TripAdvisor because there is no other way to achieve visibility, not even with the best ratings from their actual guests.

According to experiences of people who have firsthand knowledge of the procedures, the Business Department of TripAdvisor contacts establishments with high or low ratings to offer them what they call “preferred access,” an option that in 2017 had a cost of 3,000 euros annually but currently exceeds 10,000 Euros per establishment.

According to the quoted publication, despite the flood of positive reviews and high ratings and recommending comments, a hotel can drop in the ranking if it does not reach agreements with TripAdvisor’s commercial department, which by no means denies that its “plus advantages” can even help reduce the visibility of negative comments and alter the order of opinions, highlighting the favorable ones at the discretion of the establishment owner.

TripAdvisor offers these options on its own website, identifying them as “hotel plus advantages” and “TripAdvisor premium for restaurants.” For example, if the “Premium” service is not paid for, the algorithm, “by default,” will prioritize less favorable comments, although it will not eliminate them. They will simply be buried by positive comments and probably not taken into account for the ranking.

Similarly, TripAdvisor recommends that establishment owners respond to all guest reviews posted on the website, especially negative ones, as the algorithm views a negative review that is responded to immediately as positive.

Now we are beginning to understand the true (monetary) value of “fairness.” However, it is worth noting that several governments have already reprimanded TripAdvisor for being overly “fair.” In this regard, they were investigated in 2011 by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK following complaints about “falsified reviews” from several hoteliers and restaurateurs. They were also investigated in Italy in 2014, where they were fined half a million Euros; and in France in 2011, fined around 300,000 Euros, on charges of fraudulent practices.

Undoubtedly, there must be some kind of “arrangement” between TripAdvisor and the Cuban regime when everything goes wonderfully in terms of rankings, despite the reality and direct experience of many tourists shouting out that things are getting worse. And, in spite of the fact that, for example, in September 2023, the Government of Canada – the largest source of tourists to Cuba – issued a warning to its citizens about the risks of traveling to the island due to shortages of essential goods.

A simple look at the profiles of Cuban establishments on TripAdvisor reveals that, contrary to what was happening five to ten years ago, now – despite the cockroaches, which are already like an “added value” of Cuban hotels – it is almost impossible to come across a negative review on the page, and instead, positive ratings and comments abound. It’s as if instead of being in Cuba, these tourists had experienced their vacation in the parallel universe of TripAdvisor.

ARTÍCULO DE OPINIÓN
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Fuente Cubanet.org