Austrian Hotel Association calls for laws against fake reviews

The Austrian Hotel Association (ÖHV) is calling for binding legal regulations for online platforms to combat fake reviews. While the association welcomes new guidelines and a hotline provided by the BMWET to support businesses, ÖHV Secretary General Dr. Markus Gratzer argues that these measures only assist after damage has already occurred.

According to a survey of 1,000 participants conducted by Reppublika for the ÖHV, two-thirds of Austrians have experienced fake reviews. The association proposes that only individuals who have actually consumed a service should be permitted to review it.

Drawing on the example of Italy, which introduced legal rules against fake reviews for the tourism and gastronomy sectors in 2026, the ÖHV is advocating for mandatory authenticity checks, transparent verification mechanisms, and effective sanctions against manipulated reviews in Austria.