TripAdvisor spoof-profiles fictional hotel, sponsored links just in case

The New York Times points out that the fictional hotel, Schrute Farms in Honesdale, Pa, can boast of hundreds of reviews on TripAdvisor.

At last count there were 633.

No, this is not exactly a case of fake reviews.

TripAdvisor created the hotel’s profile in the Fall of 2007 at the request of NBC’s “The Office” in tandem with an episode in which character Dwight Schrute transforms his beet farm into a B & B.

Well, creative consumers have piled on and written some very imaginative reviews about the fictional property, including critiques headlined, Smells Like Grandma and Beets and Beat Downs.

If the reviews make the property sound too alluring, TripAdvisor posts a disclaimer at the top of the Schrute Farms profile page.

One of the aspects that I like about the whole thing is that TripAdvisor’s segmentation and advertising tools work in conjunction with the Schrute Farms profile page even though the property merely is the product of a TV writer’s imagination.

For example, consumers can filter the fictional reviews by trip type — i.e. business, couples, family, friends getaway and solo travel.

In addition, sponsored links from hotels.com, Priceline and Travelocity offer bookings — not at Schrute Farms — but at other properties in Honesdale, Pa., the real-world borough that allegedly houses Schrute Farms.

Meanwhile, there are two brick and mortar lodging facilities, the Harvest Inn and Hotel Wayne, in Honesdale and hopefully they have picked up some incremental bookings from the escapade.