1. Rules of moderation and publishing reviews on the TopHotels.ru project

General provisions:
The TopHotels project team is committed to complete transparency of actions while moderating reviews added by the authors of the project. In this regard, from the moment of adding a review is always available on the project in one of the sections - “On moderation” or “Reviews and ratings” - on the hotel profile.

All reviews are subject to moderation, in which reviews shall be assigned one of the categories: Reviews / Gratitude / Complaint / Mini-review / Mini-ratings / Deleted / SPAM.

Only the Review category affects the hotel rating.

As part of the review checking, the moderation group can send to the author a request for trip details clarification, using contacts indicated during registration. When the author of the review provides documents sufficient to confirm the stay in the hotel, the review is assigned the marker "Confirmed by documents ". Reviews, whose authors did not provide sufficient documentary evidence confirming their stay at the hotel as a response to a request, are assigned the marker "Unconfirmed Accommodation". Such reviews do not affect the hotel rating, regardless of category.

To simplify reading the hotel’s reviews feed, a new filter “Hide Suspicious” has been introduced. When it is activated, reviews with a marker “Unconfirmed Accommodation” are hidden in the feed.

The project administration reminds esteemed users that the information in reviews, in case of its lack of evidentiary support, can be considered as slander, insult, or as actions discrediting the business reputation of a citizen and (or) a legal entity. A citizen, in regard to whom information is disseminated and discredits his honor, dignity or business reputation, is entitled to demand the refutation of such information and compensation for losses and moral damage caused by its distribution; rules for protection the business reputation of a citizen shall be applied accordingly to the protection of business reputation of the legal entity (Art. 152 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The burden of proving the consistency of the distributed information lies on the person who disseminated such information.

The project administration does not bear responsibility for the content and authenticity of the messages and does not participate in judicial and any other proceedings between third parties in connection with the publishing of messages on the project.

The TopHotels team urges users of the project to be respectful and tolerant of each other and to exclude the use of obscene and / or insulting vocabulary on the pages of the project, showdown, insulting the feelings and virtues of other people, calls for inciting ethnic hatred.

1.1 Review Categories

1.1.1 Unconfirmed

While adding a review, the author gets a letter to e-mail address indicated as a contact, containing a link to confirm the placement of the review on the TopHotels project. If the author does not confirm (does not follow the link from the letter) adding a review within 7 days from the date of publication, the review will automatically be removed in the "Deleted" category.

1.1.2 Unverified

New reviews added by authors authorized at the project, as well as reviews, the addition of which was confirmed when the author clicked on the link from the letter, are placed in the "On moderation" section with the note "not checked by moderator". All reviews requiring additional verification by moderators, even if they were previously verified and assigned to one of the categories, are also transferred to the "On Moderation" section with the note "not checked by the moderator". Moderation of new reviews held within three working days from the addition date. The period of the review moderation may be increased due to the seasonal load on the site, or while waiting for a response from the author of the review.

1.1.3 Correct Review

Constructive structured hotel review contains personal opinion of the review author and includes the following information about the hotel or its part - location, hotel territory, rooms quality, evaluation of the hotel staff, infrastructure quality (for example, restaurants, bars, gyms, spa centers and other), information about food at the hotel, services, facilities at the hotel and so on. Thus, the correct review is a detailed constructive story of the author about the hotel containing the justification for the estimates (by categories accommodation, food, service) and useful for other travelers choosing the hotel.

1.1.4 Gratitude

These messages are written by users and do not carry any constructive structured information about the hotel, but contain positive impressions of the hotel, its services and / or staff, as well as thanks to the hotel in general or to the individual members of the hotel team.
The category "Gratitude" includes messages corresponding to one of the criteria:
- text of the message contains less than 1,200 characters;
- text of the message does not contain a detailed justification for more than one of rates for accommodation, food, service;
- text of the message instead of the detailed justification of rates contains monosyllabic phrases "there are no complaints for food", "rooms are clean", etc.;
- text of the message contains only a description of some services / facilities of the hotel (swimming pool, work of animators, sports hall, etc.).
The review author can always give a more detailed justification of rates for accommodation, food and service In the form of review editing, as well as add photos of the reviewed hotel (rooms, territory, etc.). In this case, the moderation group will check the review in accordance with the rules.
Messages in the "Gratitude" category are displayed by default in the "All reviews" tab on the hotel page and do not affect the hotel rating.

1.1.5 Complaint

This category contains messages of users containing descriptions of incidents connected with the hotel, emotional and other messages not having constructive structured information about accommodation/food/service and the infrastructure and services of the hotel, but containing complaints/claims/dissatisfaction of authors of comments with their staying in the hotel.

The administration shall have the right to communicate with the user according to the contacts which he/she left during writing his/her review and request documentary support of the incidents in the hotel.

In case of absence of proves the review can be transferred to the “Complaint” category or removed. Messages in the "Complaint" category are displayed by default in the "All reviews" tab on the hotel page and do not affect the hotel rating.

1.1.6 Mini-review

Mini-review - a short, neutral tone messages that meet the criteria:
- the message text contains less than 1 200 characters;
- the text of the message does not contain a detailed justification for more than one of rates for accommodation, food, service;

The author can always give a more detailed justification for the rates for accommodation, food and service in the form of review editing, as well as add photos of the reviewed hotel (rooms, territory, etc.). In this case, the moderation group will check the review in accordance with the rules.

Messages in the "Mini-review" category are displayed by default in the "All reviews" tab on the hotel page and do not affect the hotel rating.

1.1.7 Farm-tour

This category includes messages added by travel agents according to the results of visiting hotels as part of promotional tours. Messages in the "Farm-tour" category do not affect the hotel rating.

1.2 Work with reviews.

1.2.1 Unconfirmed Review

While adding a review, the author gets a letter to e-mail address indicated as a contact, containing a link to confirm the placement of the review on the TopHotels project. If the author does not confirm (does not follow the link from the letter) adding a review within 7 days from the date of publication, the review will automatically be removed in the "Deleted" category.

1.2.2 Unjustified

1.2.2.1 No detailed explanation for ratings

If the review does not contain a detailed opinion of the hotel by the criteria: accommodation, food and service, then it can be considered in the categories that do not affect the hotel rating. At any time, the author can supplement the review and send a request for revision of the review category through the Feedback form on the project.

1.2.2.2 Review written by third parties

Review is the author’s personal opinion about the hotel and the quality of the services provided in it. In order to maximize the accuracy of the facts, and also to avoid suspicions of deliberate cheating / underestimation of the rating, we recommend to not transfer the publication of the review to another person (including relatives, hotel representatives, travel agency managers, etc.). Actions in relation to reviews posted by third parties are considered individually.

1.2.2.3 There is no information about the Hotel

Review must contain information regarding the hotel. Opinion based on the tour operator / air carrier actions,about the country in general and its residents does not apply to reviews about the hotel and such messages can be categorized as reviews not affecting the hotel rating, or transferred to the subscribers feed.Review must contain information regarding the hotel. Opinion based on the tour operator / air carrier actions,about the country in general and its residents does not apply to reviews about the hotel and such messages can be categorized as reviews not affecting the hotel rating, or transferred to the subscribers feed.

1.2.2.5 Correspondence between Users

Reviews containing correspondence between web-site visitors or other persons and not bearing any information about the hotel, as well as reviews containing questions to tourists / hotel representatives or information to specify information about the hotel, can be transferred to categories that do not affect the hotel rating or in sections relevant to the content of the message, for example, “Subscribers feed” or “Questions about the hotel” and removed from the “Reviews and ratings” section. For questions to hotel representatives, please use the special form in the "Ask a Question" section on the hotel profile.

1.2.2.4 Review about Other Hotel

The review, the text of which can accurately identify that it is written about the other hotel, will be transferred to the corresponding hotel profile. The reviewer will be sent a request asking for details of the trip and the name of the visited hotel. Prior to receiving the information necessary for transferring the review, the review shall be transferred to the "Under Moderation" section. After receiving a response from the user, the review will be transferred to the correct hotel.

1.2.3 Repeated

1.2.3.1 Duplicated Review

If duplicated reviews are identified, duplicates will be transferred to the "Deleted" category on the hotel profile.

1.2.3.2 A Review has been added to several Hotels

Placing similar reviews on pages of different hotels is not allowed. If several reviews have been added to the hotels of one hotel complex, divided by the project, a review shall be left on the building where the tourist was staying. At the discretion of the project administration, it is allowed to post the trip review including on other hotel profiles, provided that the complex of buildings is united by one territory.

1.2.4 Cheat Rating / Downgrading

Reviews aimed at changing the rating of the hotel for advertising (Cheat Rating) or anti-advertising (Downgrading).

1.2.4.1 No confirmation of accommodation

In order to the first / repeated check of the review, project moderators can send a request to the author, using the contacts left during registration at the project, to clarify details of the trip to the hotel.
While waiting for a response from the author, the review shall be transferred to "On moderation" section.
If within three working days from the moment of sending the request, a response from the review author is not received, the review will be marked "Accommodation is not confirmed by documents", the request will be sent to the author repeatedly.
In the absence of the author’s response to a repeated request from the moderation group within the next three work days, the review shall be transferred to one of the categories in “Reviews and ratings” section with the mark “Accommodation is not confirmed by documents” and does not affect the hotel rating.

The review author can contact the moderation group through the Feedback form on the project at any time and provide the requested documents, after which the review will be revised according to the rules of the project.

1.2.4.2 Revealed an attempt of cheating

In case of detection of attempts of intentional cheating or downgrading the rating, moderators act in accordance with paragraph 1.2.4.1 of the rules. Identifying signs of cheating / understatement by using technical means available only to the Administration of the project. Verification mechanisms are not disclosed to third parties.

1.2.5 A Review removed by Request of the Author

Upon receipt of a request from the author to delete a review, the moderation group transfers the review to the "Deleted" category. If the user did not request removal of the review or the request for removal was sent by mistake, he can send a request for restoration through the Feedback form on the TopHotels project.

1.2.6 Insults/Obscene language

We kindly ask you to esteem users and visitors of the project and not to use words and expressions insulting senses and dignity of other people, avoid insulting other people, moderators, visitors of the project and using obscene language. Moderators have the right to delete text information in the review that violates the project rules.

1.2.6.1 A Comment Contains Obscene language

The moderator shall have the right to edit or delete a message containing obscene language.

1.2.6.2 Review Contains Insults of Visitors of the Project

The moderator shall have the right to edit or delete a message containing words and expressions insulting senses and dignity of other people (including senses and dignity of other authors, visitors of the site, moderators, and administrators of the resource).

1.2.7 Advertisement

Messages containing advertisement not sanctioned by the site administration, including advertisement disguised as review about a hotel.

1.2.7.1 Unsanctioned Advertisement

The moderator shall have the right to edit or delete a message containing references to external resources where other comments/photos of the author or fuller information, in the opinion of the author, are placed; contact information of managers of tourist firms; guided tours; other information considered as advertisement by the moderator.

1.2.7.2 Spam

SPAM and reviews which can be considered as SPAM shall be deleted by moderators and transferred to the SPAM category.

1.2.8 Local IP-address

Until 07/01/2023, in order to prevent attempts to cheat / lower the rating of hotels, reviews sent from IP addresses of Turkey and Egypt were automatically marked as "Local IP" and transferred to the Deleted Review section. From 07/01/2023, reviews added from the IP addresses of Turkey and Egypt undergo a standard moderation process and can be placed into any of the categories: reviews/claims/gratitudes, etc. If the review is in the "Correct review" category, but the author did not provide documents confirming the stay at the hotel, such a review does not affect the rating of the hotel.
In case the moderation team suspects that a review is falsified, it may be marked as a Suspicious review. Reviews of this type are listed alongside with other reviews, yet they don’t affect the hotel’s rating. Fake reviews are tracked via methods that are only available to the website’s administration. Aforementioned methods are not disclosed to third parties.

1.2.8.1 Restoration of Reviews with a Local IP-address

If the author of the review provides documents confirming the stay at the hotel, the review posted from the territory of Turkey or Egypt will be restored and placed to one of the categories according to the project moderation rules. The review will be marked as "Accommodation is confirmed by documents"

1.2.9 The Author did not Provide the Requested Information

In order to the first / repeated check of the review, project moderators can send a request to the author, using the contacts left during registration at the project, to clarify details of the trip to the hotel. While waiting for a response from the author, the review shall be transferred to "On moderation" section. If within three working days from the moment of sending the request, a response from the review author is not received, the review will be marked "Accommodation is not confirmed by documents", the request will be sent to the author repeatedly. In the absence of the author’s response to a repeated request from the moderation group within the next three work days, the review shall be transferred to one of the categories in “Reviews and ratings” section with the mark “Accommodation is not confirmed by documents” and does not affect the hotel rating. The review author can contact the moderation group through the Feedback form on the project at any time and provide the requested documents, after which the review will be revised according to the rules of the project.

1.2.10. Plagiarism

A review containing a partial or full copy of the original text from another review without the permission of the author must be deleted.

1.2.11 Limitation period

The moderation group has the right not to request documentary evidence of hotel accommodation in case if more than six months have passed since the moment of adding the review. The rule does not apply to cases where the review has obvious signs of SPAM.

1.3 Work with Reviews Containing Information about Incidents

The administration shall have the right to communicate with a user according to the contacts which he/she left during writing his/her review and request documentary confirmation of incidents in the hotel and confirmation of accommodation of the review author in the hotel. This information will be available only for the project administration and will not be provided to third persons excluding the cases provided by law of the Russian Federation. In case of absence of proves the review can be transferred to the “Complaint” category or deleted. Unconfirmed information can be cut from the review by project moderators. The review can be transferred to the “Unverified” category for the time of waiting a response of the author.

1.3.1 Intoxications

Confirmation of the fact of intoxication in hotels: a document/information about a reference to a hotel doctor or a document/information as a confirmation of reference to health professionals of the insurance company.

1.3.2 Thefts

Confirmation of the fact of theft in hotels: a protocol compiled in law enforcement agencies, indicating the list of missing items and their approximate cost. Also, in addition to the protocol, may be made an application in a written form to the hotelier and / or travel company with a mark of acquaintance and/or signed by the representative of the receiving party. In case if the hotelier refuses to sign the application or put a mark of acquaintance, a photo- and video evidences can serve as evidence of receipt of the application.

1.3.3 Accidents

Confirmation of accidents which occurred in hotels: a document/information about a reference to the hotel doctor or a document/information to confirm the reference to health workers of the insurance company.

1.3.4 Intentional Personal Injury

Confirmation of actions aimed to intentional personal injury in hotels: a police charge sheet. Also, in addition to the police charge sheet, may be made an application in a written form to the hotelier and / or travel company with a mark of acquaintance and/or signed by the representative of the receiving party. In case if the hotelier refuses to sign the application or put a mark of acquaintance, a photo- and video evidences can serve as evidence of receipt of the application.

2. Rules of Placing Comments at the TopHotels.ru Project

2.1 Dissemination of comments containing advertisement (including hidden advertisement) is prohibited.

2.2 Publication of comments containing appeals to incitement of ethnic hatred, insulting senses and dignity of other people (including implicit ones) is prohibited.

2.3 Mass publication of comments expressed in an insulting form addressed to users and hoteliers, which entail the emergence of a conflict situation is prohibited.

2.4 Comments containing one-type information and replicated in great numbers can be considered as spam and deleted by a moderator.

2.5 Comments aimed to showdown with other authors (including insulting ones) will be deleted by moderators.

2.6 It is prohibited to impersonate another person or organization, including, but not limited to, official representatives of www.tophotels.ru or travel service providers, as well as to reflect the non-existent connection between you and other persons or organizations.

2.7 Irrelevant information can be deleted by moderators. For private correspondence we recommend using the private message service, which is available for registered users.

2.8 Comments containing information about incidents in hotels without documentary confirmations can be deleted by moderators.

3. Rules of Placing Pictures at the TopHotels.ru Project

3.1 Substitution of persons

A picture of other user cannot be used as a picture in a user profile. If violation of this rule is revealed the picture shall be deleted from the profile of the violator.

3.2 Prohibition on Publication by the Subject

In case of prohibition to publish the picture by the subject the picture can be deleted.

3.3 Pictures, which can damage psyche

The project administration asks users to restrain from publication of pictures which can make psychological traumas of visitors of the project and publish only links to pictures placed at external sources. The project administration leaves the right to delete pictures psychologically injuring the project visitors without warning.

3.4 Pictures Irrelevant to the Hotel

Please publish only those pictures of your vacation where the described hotel can be seen. Pictures not containing the picture of the hotel (its rooms, territory, personnel and so on) can be deleted.

3.5 Pictures Containing Advertisement

Pictures containing advertisement not authorized by the administration (references to sites, phone numbers, “watermarks” and so on) will be deleted by moderators.

3.6 Erotic and Pornographic Materials

Publishing works in the nude, erotic and publishing any pornographic pictures is prohibited.

4. Restriction of Access to the Site

The site administration can take decision to edit/delete reviews, blocking a user, further preliminary moderation of reviews of the user for violation of the present Rules, the Agreement on the Terms and Conditions of Use of the Resource, and according to complaints of visitors.

The resource administrator can prohibit/restrict the user to use the resource at his own discretion and without a preliminary notice of the user.

4.1 Ban of Users

User cannot use services provided by the resources using a blocked account.

4.2 Preliminary Moderation of Reviews

Reviews of users which are in the preliminary moderation status will be displayed on the site after their verification by the moderation group.