Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

No matter how impeccable service a restaurant provides, chances are it will still receive negative online reviews from time to time. Recently, some top-rated restaurants in San Francisco and New York, including those with Michelin stars, began receiving a blitz of one-star ratings on Google with no description or photos ( Morales, 2022 ). The owners believed those leaving one-star ratings had never dined in their establishments. Moreover, soon after the reviews, they all received emails from the reviewers who claimed the responsibility.      What did the reviewers want by leaving one-star Google ratings?     The reviewers asked the restaurants to pay them a $75 Google Play gift card before they would remove the ratings. If they did not receive the gift card, they would add more bad ratings to the business.     How did the restaurants respond to those negative reviews?     One owner tweeted about her experience to Google as a complaint. Google...

Likely, every consumer has his/her/their own standards regarding the favorite place to dine out or for special occasions. Is one of your favorite restaurants also voted the best in the world and in the U.S.?   The world’s 50 best restaurants   A total of 1080 restaurant experts across 27 regions around the world cast their anonymous votes for the world’s 50 best restaurants. Only three restaurants/farms in the U.S. made this year’s list, including two in New York City and one in Northern California ( Canavan & Sutton, 2022 ). They are:     No. 33 Atomix, NYC No. 44 Le Bernardin, NYC No. 50 Single Thread, Healdsburg, CA (a farm/restaurant/inn)   Geranium in Copenhagen took the crown this year. Other “best” awards go to:     World’s Best Pastry Chef: René Frank of Coda in Berlin World’s Best Female Chef: Leonor Espinosa World’s Best Sommelier Award: Josep Roca The Art of Hospitality Award: Atomix in NYC (also ranked No. 33 on the list)   America...

Hilton rolled out a tiny 160-square-foot hotel room that is on wheels ( Chang, 2022 ). The “pop-up,” movable hotel room was designed for golf enthusiasts at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open between June 9 and 12 and the Women’s Open in August. The hotel room was built onside on a custom trailer that is situated on the green near the third hold.   What does the Hilton’s movable hotel room look like?   Although the hotel room looks small from the outside, it has everything that a typical Hilton room offers. There is a bedroom, bathroom, and windows for panoramic views of the golf course, plus a deck that gives guests direct access to the golf course. It also comes with linens from Waldorf Astoria and the DoubleTree cookies. The room is movable and self-sufficient. Ideally, it can be placed wherever Hilton wants to.     How can travelers book a stay at a Hilton’s movable room?     At this point, the removable room is made exclusive to golf tournaments. Hilton held a...