To the Google Maps & Google Reviews teams,

First, thank you. On behalf of travelers worldwide, we’re grateful for the remarkable service you provide. Google Maps has changed how people move, discover, and make decisions on the road. It’s part of nearly every journey we take and recommend.

That’s exactly why we’re writing. There is an issue that keeps coming up.

Star ratings and reviews for accommodation are being heavily abused by bad faith businesses. One of the worst-affected places we’ve seen is India. The problem isn’t Google Maps itself. It’s the scale of review manipulation that now undermines trust in one of travel’s most important signals.

If you want a quick check, search for hotels around Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. You’ll see some listings picking up new reviews at a pace that looks like Disneyland.

What travelers see on the surface often doesn’t match reality. A property can show a wall of five-star ratings, but a closer look points to patterns that feel inauthentic, for example clusters of reviews from accounts that have posted only a single review. Most travelers will never dig that deep. They shouldn’t have to. Without that extra work, people end up in overpriced rooms with dirty sheets, bad smells, and rude service. The result is wasted money, safety concerns, and growing doubt about a product we want to trust.

This problem is appearing in more places, little by little. But in India it goes far beyond normal. It hurts travelers. It penalizes honest businesses. It chips away at confidence in the broader ecosystem that Google has built so well.

We believe this can be fixed. With the computing power Google has today, there is a real chance to restore trust in what star ratings are meant to signal, especially in high-risk areas and categories. We are not here to tell you how to do your job. We are highlighting the problem and politely asking for a solution so people traveling to India can trust Google Maps star ratings again.

We’re asking for help on behalf of a community that wants to keep trusting Google Maps. We love the product. We recommend it daily. Right now, in certain places, honest travelers and honest businesses are losing to manipulation. That is fixable.

If a conversation with travel publishers would help, we’re ready to share specific examples and reports. The travel world is better when Google’s ratings are reliably trustworthy. We believe you can get it there.

With respect and appreciation,

Guides and Stories
On behalf of the traveler community