The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinarsUrbanity
Industry Excellence
Urban Leader
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Urban Leader Awards Logos RGB White
NOMINATIONS CLOSE SEPTEMBER 12 RECOGNISING THE INDIVIDUALS BEHIND THE PROJECTS
NOMINATIONS CLOSING SEPTEMBER 12 URBAN LEADER AWARDS
LEARN MOREDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
print
Print
HotelTed TabetWed 01 Aug 18

Meriton Fined $3 Million for Manipulating Tripadvisor Reviews

bd638676-7224-4735-9242-7ab42e8a7f6d

Harry Triguboff’s Meriton has been fined $3 million for manipulating reviews on the online travel comparison website TripAdvisor.

The penalty follows a first-of-its-kind case pursued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The Federal Court handed Meriton the penalty after finding the property giant had prevented customers from leaving potentially negative reviews on TripAdvisor by "masking" guests email addresses.

TripAdvisor, arguably one of the world's most popular travel comparison websites, allows users can rate accommodation and restaurants out of five and publish their feedback.

The process of "masking" involved Meriton's staff inserting additional letters "MSA" (Meriton Serviced Apartments) in front of guests' email addresses if they had complained, or were likely to leave a negative review.

Approximatley 14,000 email addresses were masked over a nine month period in 2015 across 13 of Meriton's serviced properties.

The Commission pushed for a $20 million fine, accusing Meriton of breaching Australian Consumer Law and and "engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct".

Meriton argued a fine between $330,000 and $440,000 was more appropriate.

Meriton has been banned for three years from selecting, filtering or limiting guest email addresses supplied to TripAdvisor without the person's consent.

“People often make purchasing decisions for accommodation based on the rankings and reviews they read on third party sites like TripAdvisor,” ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Manipulating these reviews is misleading to potential customers, who deserve the full picture when making a booking decision.”

Court said Meriton's management were complicit and directed staff to engage in "masking".

“Meriton’s management directed staff to engage in ‘masking’ to stop potentially negative reviews from appearing on TripAdvisor,” Court said.

“This gave the impression Meriton accommodation was of a higher standard than otherwise may have been the case.”

The court has ordered Meriton to establish a compliance and education program for staff to adhere to provisions of the Australian Consumer Law.

“This case sends a strong message that businesses can expect ACCC enforcement action if they’re caught manipulating feedback on third party review websites,” Court said.

Meriton has been contacted for comment.

HotelAustraliaSector
AUTHOR
Ted Tabet
The Urban Developer - Journalist
More articles by this author
website iconlinkedin icon
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
4 Min
Woolloongabba Precinct Vulture St
Exclusive

Brisbane Developer in Cross River Rail Compensation Tussle

Clare Burnett
4 Min
The Mondrian Gold Coast hotel's food and beverage is driving profits
Exclusive

Touch, Taste, Theatre: What’s Driving Mondrian’s Success

Renee McKeown
6 Min
Fortis’ display suites are designed as brand environments first, with tactile details and curated design to build buyer confidence before project specifics.
Exclusive

Relevant or Redundant: Will Tech Kill Display Suites?

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Missing Heart: Why The Gold Coast Needs a CBD

Phil Bartsch
7 Min
View All >
South Melbourne social housing precinct
Affordable & Social Housing

South Melbourne Housing Precinct Revamp Takes Next Step

Leon Della Bosca
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
First projects named in a statewide plan to fast-track supply, including thousands of homes in a major growth region…
LATEST
South Melbourne social housing precinct
Affordable & Social Housing

South Melbourne Housing Precinct Revamp Takes Next Step

Leon Della Bosca
2 Min
Stockland bumps up its apartment pipeline in melbourne and sydney
Exclusive

Stockland Re-Enters Density in $5bn Apartment Play

Renee McKeown
4 Min
Aerial view of Caboolture and Bruce highway to Brisbane with Bribie Island Road crossing, Queensland, Australia
Policy

Queensland’s $2bn Push Opens New Housing Front

Vanessa Croll
2 Min
The Adelaide purpose built student accommodation market is about to increase by 1058 beds with the State Commission Assessment Panel supporting two towers in the making.
Student Housing

Highrise Approvals Add 1000-Plus PBSA Beds in Adelaide

Renee McKeown
3 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/meriton-given-multimillion-dollar-slap-on-the-wrist-for-misleading-consumers-on-tripadvisor-