Tripadvisor revisited

[Obie]

Too late for me, I got banned for questioning her highness Kathy.Opened a new account and got banned for having 2 accounts even though one account was locked and I couldn't even delete it.

[PaulW]

I've been blocked as well but I'll find a way around it. Can't wait to see if it's true. A good friend of mine is already on there and speaking truth to power, no removal of posts yet.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I took a little side trip to TripAdvisor this evening . Kathy & Shea certainly do not like to be contradicted. They're trying to maintain their Bad Cop-Bad Cop Puna-is-the-worst commentary, but since they can no longer simply delete other viewpoints, they've crouched into a defensive posture. I don't think they like the new level playing field where their "expert" status is questioned.

"You all just got a lot richer." Donald Trump, Dec 23, 2017, speaking to friends, donors, and sycophants who could afford the $200,000 yearly membership fee at Mar-a-Lago.

[generic user name]

I sorta live on TripAdvisor and never understood why KK and Shea always try to scare people away from visiting Puna.
"You'll catch some flesh eating disease from the water there if the Meth heads don't kill you first!"
Now their big bugaboo is the "illegal" rentals causing all the woes on the Big Island. Sounds like they'd be happy if the tourists were only allowed to visit certain areas.

[terracore]

"Sounds like they'd be happy if the tourists were only allowed to visit certain areas."

The areas where their rentals are?

[generic user name]

They claim they have no dogs in this fight but are always telling people to stay at Mauna Lani. Heaven forbid you want to get off the beaten path and out of the (expensive) resorts and stay in an "illegal" rental.

[leilanidude]

The areas where their rentals are?
-----
KK definitely has no rental properties. I actually met her many years ago. Rather nasty lady.

[Birney]

I’ve been mad at Trip Advisor since I asked questions about the Puna district and got warned off over ten years ago(and yes, I think it was the same woman). When I finally did come about 6 yrs ago I wanted to cry! I immediately fell in love and I am still bummed I was stupid enough to not follow my instincts. Is it the goal of these women to keep visitors away? Well, it ain’t working! Every year the numbers of visitors seem exponential. We were going to come in Feb but our usual places are all booked out for months. I live in a visitor community also, so I get the double edged sword of not enough/too many visitors. I kind of feel for the residents of the Wai Ope’ neighborhood though. Although it seems like it’s mostly vacation rentals at this point?

Wendy Alderson

[TomK]

I travel a fair bit and sometimes to places I don't know. A long time ago, I used to use TA to help me figure out the best places to visit and what you could do in the area. No longer.

I got bad advice on one trip and then looked at the nonsense that was being posted on the TA Big Island forum. If it happens here then you know it must be happening elsewhere. So I gave up on the site. The only time I use it now is if I'm choosing a hotel I don't know, and then I might turn to the TA photo section for that hotel (or restaurant). But it's never in isolation, I will use other sites as well (e.g., Yelp). And then call the hotel or restaurant myself to confirm what I want to know (e.g., does it have an elevator, does it have accessibility access, what time do you really close in the evening? And importantly - do you charge for parking?).

Sometimes it takes a little effort to create a great trip and not rely on others. I actually enjoy the process knowing I'll end up with the perfect place to stay. Others may not agree.