August 14, 2026, 12:44 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
Especially on vacation and generally in places where they are not familiar, many people turn to Google reviews to assess whether visiting a restaurant is worthwhile. Travelers also often rely on the supposed experiences of other guests when searching for hotels. But beware: Not every review online is genuine anymore. TRAVELBOOK explains how to spot potential fake reviews.
Fake Good and Bad Reviews on Google
For consumers, the initial question is whether noticeably good reviews of restaurants and hotels might be embellished. After all, they can influence the decision to book or visit a restaurant. Especially on vacation, a wrong choice is particularly annoying–after all, vacations don’t happen every month and can be quite costly. A restaurant that seems more promising due to fake reviews than it actually is can quickly turn out to be an expensive mistake.
For businesses, false or defamatory reviews can be particularly problematic, unfairly casting them in a bad light. Such reviews can be reported to Google and removed under certain conditions.
Protection Against Defamation–With Side Effects
This option is important, especially since there are also targeted review attacks against businesses. Multiple people or accounts can flood a business with negative reviews to deliberately lower its rating. In some cases, businesses are even blackmailed afterward: They are asked to pay money or provide other compensation to have the negative reviews removed. On the official Google help page for businesses, affected parties share their experiences.
Since April 2026, Google Maps in Germany shows on certain business profiles how many reviews have been removed in the past twelve months due to defamation complaints. Google aims to provide more transparency and protect businesses from unjustified reviews.
For consumers, however, this number should be interpreted with caution. After all, it doesn’t indicate whether the removed reviews were actually inadmissible. Even a genuine negative experience can be challenged by a business and removed from the review profile.
Tips for Spotting Fake Reviews
You see, the topic of reviews and their credibility is quite complex. TRAVELBOOK wants to sharpen your awareness of which reviews on Google are likely not authentic.
Extremely Well Rated? Maybe Too Good to Be True
Nobody is perfect. If a hotel or restaurant on Google gives the impression of being just that, as it seems to have only enthusiastic guests, something might be amiss–or fake. An unusually high number of top ratings can be a sign that reviews have been deliberately manipulated.
Also, look at the timing: If a business is very new and receives a flood of rave reviews shortly after opening, employees might be involved. The same applies if there is a specific time when particularly effusive reviews began. These could be a targeted measure to compensate for (real) less favorable reviews and boost the average rating.
Watch for the Word “Discounts”
You should know that good reviews may also have been given because restaurants or hotels offer discounts, vouchers, or other perks in return. This can affect the independence of the review–after all, someone might write something positive only because they receive a benefit. Such a review doesn’t have to be entirely fabricated but can be somewhat exaggerated.
Not all customers agree to this deal, but some do and make no secret of it. In any case, it can be worthwhile to search reviews for terms like “discount,” “voucher,” or “free drink.” This can help interpret the apparent enthusiasm for a hotel or restaurant.
Pay Attention to the Language Used
If organized review attacks are involved, AI bots may have been used. The texts then often appear very smooth, well-structured, and follow an unnatural language pattern. In general, language can provide important clues: Reviews that are conspicuously well-written can seem as artificial as those where small typos suddenly appear. After all, someone trying to make a review appear as authentic as possible might deliberately include such errors.
Ultimately, the key is whether the text sounds like a genuine personal experience. This is generally less likely if the exact name of a hotel or restaurant appears conspicuously often, or if the review overall seems like an advertisement. Someone writing from personal experience would more likely refer to the “hotel” or “restaurant” rather than repeatedly using the full, sometimes lengthy name of the establishment.
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A Lot of Text Doesn’t Necessarily Mean a Lot of Truth
Even a very detailed review that seems to show extensive experience with a restaurant or hotel can often be fake. Fake reviews often try to simulate a kind of emotional closeness. Fabricated or heavily embellished personal stories are meant to build trust and give the reader the feeling of dealing with a particularly authentic experience.
The most important tip: Read as many reviews as possible carefully. Don’t rely solely on the average star rating. Especially with negative reviews, it’s worth looking at the specific reason for the alleged dissatisfaction. For example, someone who has never eaten at a restaurant but gives only one star and leaves disparaging comments because they couldn’t get a table due to a lack of reservation isn’t reviewing their own experience with the food or service.
“Fake” in Terms of Reviews–A Matter of Perspective!
The line isn’t always clear when a review is considered “fake.” A completely fabricated review by someone who was never a guest at a hotel or restaurant is undoubtedly a fake review. It becomes more complicated with reviews from a business’s personal network.
If a restaurant asks satisfied regulars or friends for a review, it is based on an actual experience–but it doesn’t necessarily arise from their own initiative. Someone asked for a favor might feel obliged and portray their experience more positively than they actually felt. Is such a review still authentic? Ultimately, each consumer must decide that for themselves.