Last year the ITB Berlin was the scene for furious arguments between hoteliers and the representatives of rating platforms such as Tripadvisor and Holidaycheck.

Hoteliers mainly did criticize they had nearly no means to erase unfair ratings on those portals. Sporadically they accused the rating guys in allowance of libel. Finally hoteliers had to face they cannot make the rating portals disappear.

This year's round between the antagonists showed an interesting change in strategies: Hoteliers seem to accept the rating portals and now as a step into reality try to have as much influence as possible on the ratings. This became visible during a panel discussion with the ironic title "Social media & hoteliers - friends for life".

And - this may confuse some hotel managers - the rating platforms already begin to cooperate. Holidaycheck at the turn to 2011 has installed a new supporting unit to communicate with associated hoteliers. "I am very positive about this co-operation", president of new budget Prizotel accommodation Marco Nussbaum said.

Tripadvisor on the contrary had to play the boy: Marcus Luthe from German national hotel association IHA (Hotelverband Deutschland) criticized the leading tourism rating website "cross-culturally incompetent". He illustrated his accusation with an American's rating of a German hotel as a "monster" which in German language has a significantly rather negative meaning than in English. However, Tripadvisor had refused to edit the rating.

Confronted with, Tripadvisor's representative Christine Petersen searched refuge in confession. "We have not always been as sensitive as necessary." In addition to, she promised quick improvement.

User generated content almost immediately gets out of control when there is a lack of edition. Google give a good example: In November 2010 there appeared a horribly unfair rating of Berlin's no. 1 hotel Adlon in the very heart of the city on Google's hotel ratings. What had happened? Obviously nobody of human kind had edited the amok rating.

At the panel, Juliane Cray from Google was not to defend the occurrence of that time: "In this field we still need to learn so much", she begged for understanding.

Regardless of those problem hoteliers should appreciate Google as an effective and added means to receive more traffic.

Exclusive LIVE Interviews from ITB Berlin 2011: www.TV4Hoteliers.com

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