Dallas Small Businesses Claim Yelp Hides Positive Reviews Until They Advertise

Yelp  is yet again facing accusations that it’s creating a pay-to-play scheme to get more businesses to buy advertisements on the popular review platform. This time, Dallas area businesses are accusing Yelp of hiding five-star reviews when they refused to pay for advertising, according to a report from CBS Dallas/Fort Worth.
Bob Sinnott, owner of Toasted Coffee + Kitchen in Greenville, Texas is one of those business owners. Sinnott shared his account with CBS, explaining that Yelp called him to sell advertisements many times. Then after he refused to purchase, his rating immediately dropped. And many of his five-star reviews were placed into the “not recommended” section, where they’re less visible to local browsers.
This is far from the first time Yelp has been accused of such a scheme. Yelp has even responded in the past, making site changes and promising to improve transparency about how it operates. But those changes clearly haven’t stopped the accusations.
So what is a small business to do? Some have already filed lawsuits. But courts have ruled that Yelp has the right to manipulate ratings on its own site and businesses don’t have a right to positive reviews.