[Margaret M]

We'll just have to disagree on this one then. We are doing OK without them, and would rather keep it that way. AND I've just found the phoney review on Trip Adviser, so looks like it hasn't been stopped at all.

[Petra R]

Old ones may still be there, but it has been impossible to leave a review for a holiday rental on tripadvisor without confirmation from the owner of the property that the guest has actually stayed there for a bit now. I know because I could not leave one for the owners of the place we rented in Peschichi without the owner confirming.

I am not pro or contra tripadvisor, I am just passing on what I heard from others and mentioning that I am using tripadvisor for all my trip planning and have done for several years now.

[Margaret M]

This one was put there this month.

[Marocco]

I have also found Tripadvisor extremely useful when planning trips or visits to restaurants. Also, a potential customer is not easily fooled by a bogus negative review.

[MarkRD]

Back OT . .word was out a few months back that a lot of rental flats and so on round our lidi were going cheaper cos of the crisi .. a load of rubbish and heresay of course as the ferraresi are too tight to lower their prices..

Mind you there were some private owners who were renting out their properties when they weren't there just to make some extra cash to pay for the prima-casa IMU. Were offered a couple of these but I wouldn't help those greedy capitalists on principle.

Found a place fairly easily in Sardinia this year though as apparently there are a lot of vacancies due to the fact that ferry prices have gone sky high .. probably having to pay for extra insurance and losses after the Concordia disaster...

[Capo Boi]

Just to give an update. Numbers being published in local newspapers quote anything from a 10% decline to a 25% decline in tourist numbers (including Italians....well this is an island; Sardegna) in June and July. August now also looks to be down but to a lesser extent.
Now, I know very little about Trip Advisor but its become a real talking point here and the number of Italians that use it seems to be growing and growing. I know of one b&b (only in its second year) that is getting booking after booking on the strength of their reviews. I've never met the owner or been there but I have met some of the people that have stayed there and know that their reviews are genuine. And this is at prices approaching €300 per night for a room in August.

[MarkRD]

On a general note, I noticed that the locals in Sardinia were complaining about numbers going down. Admittedly it did seem fairly quiet the first week of August, but picked up Ferragosto week. I was in the area of Orosei for the first time in about 10 years and I noticed how things have developed with loads of B&Bs and such cropping up, plus the usual holiday flat renting, mostly cash under the table type arrangements.
The one where I was staying was fairly reasonably priced - there was a group of 5 appartments and they were always full, even booked in September the woman told us.
We spoke to somoe milanesi who were paying € 1,000 / week for two bedroomed self-catering.