Travel website TripAdvisor has been blasted for failing to ban suspect five-star reviews.
Consumer watchdog Which? analysed 250,000 posts for the top 10 hotels in 10 destinations.
It found almost half of the five-star reviews for Wembley Central Travelodge were by first-timers.
While the hotel denied any wrongdoing, 730 of its five-star reviews were removed.
Naomi Leach of Which? said: “TripAdvisor’s failure to stop fake reviews risks misleading millions and ruining their holidays.”
TripAdvisor said: “Every genuine reviewer is at some point a first-time reviewer.
“We have fraud investigators who work tirelessly to protect the site from fake reviews.”
Travelodge said it was notified by Tripadvisor of an irregular pattern of reviews and took action.
They added: “We are satisfied that the reviews now accurately reflect the customer experience at the hotel.”
