I've only been on the visitor side of things, but I've come to not trust ratings on TripAdvisor. People come in with a set of expectations based more on past experiences than their current destination. The reviews reflect this (sometimes wild) mismatch and there's often nothing a hotelier/restaurateur can do about it. The gap is biggest when there are cultural and economic gaps between visitors and hosts.

It's not unique to TripAdvisor, but they're a 800lb gorilla in that market.

Public accountability for terrible guest experiences, at least somewhat.