Dragon tycoon breathes fire over web slurs

• Duncan Bannatyne has accused the TripAdvisor website of bullying small hotel owners Photograph: Robert Perry

The gruff Glaswegian is threatening to sue the TripAdvisor travel website for compensation, claiming that organisers failed to remove malicious, spiteful and untruthful comments made by guests about his hotels.

The Dragons' Den star says he will also front a high-profile campaign demanding that the travel website with a global reach changes its policy of publishing all reviews submitted to it. Instead, he wants the US-based internet giant to commit to removing fraudulent or defamatory reviews, rather than just offering right of reply as it does now.

The 61-year-old business guru said: "TripAdvisor is a despicable and cowardly organisation, which is bullying small hotel owners all over the United Kingdom.

"As a recent victim of a rogue review I am well placed to lead the campaign for more protection against the perils of TripAdvisor."

He added he would consider legal action if the website continued to refuse to remove untrue, unfair and dishonest reviews.

TripAdvisor, which has more than 40 million users worldwide, is loved and loathed in equal measure by the hospitality industry, as a review submitted by a guest can either boost or severely damage reputations.

The multi-millionaire's bid to curb the website has begun after one guest submitted a disparaging review comparing his Charlton House spa resort in Somerset to the shambolic TV hotel Fawlty Towers.

Bannatyne, who also runs hotels in Darlington, Durham and Hastings, used his Twitter account to describe the online reviewer as "dishonest" and suggested it was a calculated ploy aimed at securing an unwarranted refund.

But he claims the online travel site then took direct sanctions against him. He said: "After I criticised them, TripAdvisor removed four five-star reviews for one of my hotels, without correspondence, in what I can only assume was an attempt to punish me.

"They have tried to bully me, they have sent threatening letters and e-mails, they have urged me to shut up, but they won't speak to me directly.

"They will not correspond with hotel owners and refuse to remove dishonest reviews. They claim that hotel owners have the right to reply, but what they don't say is that it can take two weeks for that reply to appear on the site."

The review, which has now been removed by the author at the request of the hotel owner, described the 3 million West Country venue as "an awful, shoddy hotel", claiming there was cracked concrete in a pool and that his room was next to a busy road - charges which Bannatyne strenuously rejects.

Bannatyne, whose personal fortune is estimated at 320m, also denied being thin-skinned and insisted that spiteful and inaccurate comments were threatening the future of dozens of UK hotels.

He said: "If negative reviews are fair and reasoned, we owners cannot complain. It is only when the negative reviews are untrue that we are left completely exposed and powerless to fight back."

The British Hospitality Association, which represents dozens of Scottish hoteliers, supported Bannatyne's intervention, saying a number of its members had fallen victim to bogus online reviews.

A spokesman said: "We have had concerns and we've had a number of meetings with TripAdvisor to express them.

"As a result we have received assurances that the company is now actively investigating false reports.

"However, we are continuing to monitor the situation."

One Glasgow hotel, which asked not to be named, suffered a slump in bookings after one reviewer falsely claimed it was frequented by drug-users and prostitutes.

A spokesman for the city centre property said: "The individual responsible may have found it amusing, but it was certainly no laughing matter for us.

"Many people look at TripAdvisor before they make a booking and it is hugely frustrating when they are confronted with reviews which are deliberately untrue and misleading."

TripAdvisor was launched in Massachusetts in 2000 and is now one of the world's most popular websites.

It said it had no plans to change its system, stressing that each review is screened, with quality assurance specialists investigating any thought to be suspicious.

Spokeswoman Emma O'Boyle said: "If a property owner has an issue with a traveller review we provide avenues for them to raise concerns and strongly encourage them to contact our Owners Centre where issues will be investigated fully. Hoteliers also always have the option of posting a management response to any review on their property."