Is TripAdvisor changing its tune?

By A.B.

WITH Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) due to investigate whether TripAdvisor has breached the national advertising code, it's interesting to read this piece on Tnooz suggesting the site may have made some pre-emptive alterations. Thanks in part to a campaign by KwikChex.com, which helps companies manage their online reputations, TripAdvisor is expected to have to provide evidence to the ASA showing that taglines such as "You'll find real hotel reviews you can trust at TripAdvisor" are fair. And Tnooz reckons the site may have started watering down its language already:

Previously the section on a property page containing user generated content was titled “Reviews you can trust”, before listing the often hundreds of comments from members.

But this has now changed to: “Reviews from our community.”

Of course the timing of this recent switch could be coincidence, but the shift in emphasis is notable.

The change is quite subtle, especially to users, but with regulators clearly now hovering over the user review giant's every move, making such a switch to the language could be a sign that TripAdvisor is taking note.

UPDATE, September 13th: I've had an explanatory note from TripAdvisor, which it seems only fair to share:

The “Reviews from our Community”, which is now visible on the hotel pages, is...part of our ever-evolving communication efforts, this time highlighting our commitment to our all-important community. The description of TripAdvisor as a trustworthy source of travel advice and information remains used in other parts of the site, and by example you'll still see this wording on the homepage.

In the first instance it appears front-and-centre in the hotel search box (Find Hotels Travellers Trust) and secondly in the ‘Hotels in Popular Destinations' box on the second half of the homepage (“You'll find real hotel reviews you can trust at TripAdvisor so make sure you read these reviews and choose the perfect hotel for your next stay”). This evolution was carried out across all domains gradually from June to August this year, first appearing in the UK on 27th June 2011.