First off, YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE some of the insane, whimsical and obscene comments that people post. So, yes, you must have someone monitoring the content that’s submitted to these types of websites. Some of the most amazing and ridiculous comments were passed around the office as a joke, right before they were denied and deleted from the website. However, there was never a usage of propaganda or anything – if a hostel had an honest bad review, then it stuck and the hostel had to deal with its consequences... But when a customer complains about the silliest things or something that’s a one time in a million chance of ever happening, then you must use your better judgement as to what’s fair to the customer AND the facility.
Now, I must say that not all reviews are creditable and not all positive/negative rates are fair – and like most things in life, you must use your best judgement. Decide on what your needs and wants are and choose based on the information available, and yes, the reviews as well – because as old as the sales industry is, so is the need for testimonials. But do keep in mind that, YES it’s possible to have a (rare) bad experience at a place that has an 80%+ positivity rate, but the vice versa can be true too – but some of the fun of travel is the spontaneity and the randomness of it, for without that, travel is just another day in a not-so-familiar place.