This gave the impression Meriton accommodation was of a higher standard than otherwise may have been the case," said ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court. "People often make purchasing decisions for accommodation based on the rankings and reviews they read on third party sites like TripAdvisor. Manipulating these reviews is misleading to potential customers, who deserve the full picture when making a booking decision." "This case sends a strong message that businesses can expect ACCC enforcement action if they're caught manipulating feedback on third party review websites," Ms Court said. TripAdvisor's 'Review Express' system works through participating accommodation providers providing it with the email addresses of guests who recently stay and agree to receiving an email inviting them to post a review. The masking process occurred through Meriton adding characters to email addresses to ensure they would not be received, or simply not providing them to TripAdvisor at all.