Sometimes, what you don’t put in a story is as significant as what gets published. Take today’s story, Hotel Reviews Online: In Bed With Hope, Half-Truths and Hype, that appeared in the business section of The New York Times. For example, I did not include any information about how to spot a fake review. I could say that it was beyond the scope of the story. But the truth is, no one would tell me – even when I asked nicely.
February 2006
As the legroom shrank, the conflicts over space expanded. My knees had become an obstacle to the passengers’ seats, and they occasionally felt entitled to force their way as far back as possible.
As Web sites that publish guest hotel reviews become more influential, some hotels — from bed-and-breakfasts to large resorts — are going to greater lengths to ensure that their properties are rated highly. Their efforts, analysts say, range from encouraging guests to write flattering reviews to, in extreme cases, submitting bogus recommendations to Web sites.
Being a travel writer — a good travel writer — is a lot like taking the vow of celibacy and then devoting your full energies to directing adult movies. You write about something that everyone wants to (about taking a vacation, that is) but you never get to actually do it yourself.
Minimalism. In a word, that’s the philosophy that drove the creation of this Web site. The idea of something stripped down to its most fundamental features. No frills. No flourishes. Full disclosure: I was nearly a philosophy major in college. Then along came two roadblocks. (You’ll like this.) They were the philosophy of language class. And the logic class.
Rajat Goel found a $3 hotel room in Japan on Orbitz and booked it quick, knowing it was probably some sort of mistake. But then Orbitz canceled the room – along with another reservation for Goel’s honeymoon hotel in New Zealand.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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