An online review can be a powerful tool for any small business – with positive reviews more likely to encourage patrons to visit your business, while negative reviews can be enough to dissuade potential customers from parting with their money in your establishment.
There are many factors that can influence consumers when leaving a public review or rating, such as the quality of service or taste of the food. However, there are also many factors outside of the restaurant’s control – such as customers venting frustrations on staff members, or wider circumstances beyond anyone’s control – that can lead to a higher influx of negative reviews that can be extremely damaging to local businesses that rely on public support.
To find out how local restaurants have fared in terms of online ratings over the past few years, Dino Social conducted research using star ratings for 3,237 restaurants – taken from the popular online review platform, TripAdvisor.
We wanted to know how many restaurants in the North of England and Scotland have seen their online ratings change (whether positively or negatively) since 2021, and how many restaurants have sadly been negatively impacted to the extent that they have had to close their doors for good.
Methodology
Restaurant star ratings on TripAdvisor.co.uk were gathered from April 2021 and April 2023, for all restaurants in Macclesfield, Carlisle, Chester, Buxton, Derby, Manchester, Penrith, Kendal, Lancaster, Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Keswick, and Edinburgh.
Data was also collected from TripAdvisor on restaurants that were no longer in operation.
All data was collected in April 2023.
Manchester
The iconic city of Manchester has a total of 509 restaurants on TripAdvisor – with an accumulation of over 317,000 user reviews, the most out of any location covered so far.
Of these 509 restaurants, there was interestingly no restaurants that had seen an increase or decrease in their star rating. Each restaurant had either been able to maintain its score since 2021 or had sadly closed.
In total, 69 restaurants closed across the city – the equivalent of 13.5% of Manchester’s restaurants. Meanwhile, 440 restaurants had the same TripAdvisor rating as in 2021 (86.4%).
Newcastle upon Tyne
The city of Newcastle upon Tyne is home to 500 restaurants on TripAdvisor. Overall, the restaurants have accumulated over 182,000 user reviews on the platform!
Of the 138 restaurants in the city, there are far more that have seen a decline in their online ratings. Overall, 45 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – equating to 9% of the restaurants in the city. In contrast, 15 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (3%).
For the restaurants whose rating improved, they typically saw an increase of 0.5 stars. Meanwhile, those that had seen their rating decrease saw a drop between 0.5 stars and 1.5 stars.
Unfortunately, Newcastle upon Tyne also saw 60 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 (12%). Additionally, the majority of restaurants in the city maintained the same score in April 2023 that they had in April 2021 (76%).
Durham
The city of Durham, located in County Durham, has 238 restaurants on TripAdvisor – with an accumulation of over 44,000 online reviews.
Of those 238 restaurants in the city, there are far more that have seen a decline in their online ratings. Overall, 34 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – equating to 14.2% of the restaurants in the city. In contrast, 12 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (5%).
For the restaurants whose rating worsened, they typically saw an increase of 0.5 stars. Meanwhile, those that had seen their rating improve saw an increase of 0.5 stars.
Durham also sadly saw 44 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 (18.4%). Additionally, 148 restaurants in the city maintained the same score in April 2023 that they had in April 2021 (62%).
Lancaster
The city of Lancaster, located in Lancashire, has 138 restaurants on TripAdvisor – with a total accumulation of over 23,000 user reviews.
Of the 138 restaurants located in the city, there are slightly more that have seen a decline in their online ratings. Overall, 12 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – equating to 8.6% of the restaurants in the city. In contrast, 9 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (6.5%).
For the restaurants whose rating improved, they typically saw an increase of 0.5 stars. Meanwhile, those that had seen their rating decrease saw a drop between 0.5 stars and 3.5 stars!
Sadly, there were 25 restaurants that closed in Lancaster between 2021 and 2023 (18%). Additionally, 92 restaurants maintained the same score in April 2023 that they had in April 2021 (66.6%).
Chester
The historical city of Chester in Cheshire is home to 304 restaurants that are covered by TripAdvisor – far more than any other location covered so far. In total, these restaurants have accumulated over 110,000 online reviews!
Of the 304 restaurants in the city, there were interestingly slightly more that had seen their rating improve since 2021, in comparison to those that had seen it worsen. In total, 35 restaurants saw their star rating increase between April 2021 and April 2023 (7.5%), in comparison to 23 restaurants that saw their rating decrease (11.5%).
Those that saw a rating improvement had their star rating increase by 0.5 stars, while those that noted a decrease in star rating had an average decrease of between 0.5 stars and 1.5 stars.
Sadly, 40 restaurants were closed between 2021 and 2023 in Chester – equating to 13% of all restaurants in the city. Meanwhile, 206 restaurants maintained the same online rating in 2021 and 2023 (67.7%).
Macclesfield
The town of Macclesfield in Cheshire is home to a total of 125 restaurants that are covered by TripAdvisor – accumulating a total of over 21,000 online reviews.
Of these 125 restaurants, we found that there was an almost equal number of businesses that had seen their online star rating either improve or decrease. In total, 10 restaurants saw their star ratings improve from 2021 to 2023 (8%), while 11 restaurants, unfortunately, saw their rating decrease (8.8%).
Of the restaurants whose score had improved, each restaurant saw their rating increase by exactly 0.5 stars – while those whose score had decreased saw their score decline from 0.5 stars to as much as 1.5 stars.
The majority of restaurants in Macclesfield saw their rating remain the same (73.6%) – with 92 restaurants maintaining the same star rating in 2023 as in 2021. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it also highlights that many businesses in the area have been unable to boost their star rating in a two-year period.
Sadly, Macclesfield also saw 12 restaurants close overall – equating to 9.6% of all restaurants in the area. Of these, 1 restaurant had notably seen its online rating drop by 0.5 stars prior to closing.
Buxton
The market town of Buxton in Derbyshire is home to 67 restaurants on the TripAdvisor platform, which have accumulated over 17,000 reviews.
Of these 67 restaurants, 55 have retained the same rating as in 2021 (83%). Amongst the rest, 3 restaurants saw their ratings improve in the two years between 2021 and 2023 (4.4%), while 2 restaurants saw their rating decrease (2.9%).
Of the 3 restaurants whose rating improved, 2 restaurants saw their rating increase by 0.5 stars, with another seeing a 1-star improvement. Meanwhile, the 2 restaurants whose rating decreased observed a 0.5-star decline.
Sadly, an additional 7 restaurants in the town have permanently closed since 2021 (10.4%).
Derby
The city of Derby in Derbyshire has 360 restaurants covered by TripAdvisor. Overall, these restaurants have accumulated over 65,000 online reviews!
Out of the 360 restaurants located in the city, there were slightly more restaurants that have seen their online rating worsen since 2021, in comparison to those whose score has improved. In total, 44 restaurants have seen their score decrease in the two years since 2023 (12.2%). In comparison, 28 restaurants have seen their score increase (7.7%).
Of those whose rating decreased, the decline in score ranged from 0.5 stars all the way to 2.5 stars. Meanwhile, those that saw an improvement in their score all received an increase of 0.5 stars.
As with all of the locations covered so far, Derby also saw the majority of its restaurants maintain the same rating as in 2021 – with 249 restaurants remaining the same (69%). Additionally, 39 restaurants have closed across the city since 2021 – equating to 10.8% of all restaurants in the area.
Carlisle
The city of Carlisle in Cumbria is home to 161 restaurants covered by TripAdvisor, accumulating over 14,000 user reviews in total.
Of the 161 local restaurants on TripAdvisor, there were far more that had seen their online rating decrease since 2021, in comparison to those that had seen it improve. In total, 11 restaurants saw their star rating improve between 2021 and 2023 (6.8%). In contrast, 25 restaurants, unfortunately, saw their online rating decrease (15.5%).
Overall, the majority of restaurants that saw their rating improve noted a 0.5-star increase – with one restaurant rating improving by 1.5 stars and another by 2.5 stars. In comparison, restaurants that saw their star rating decrease noted drops of between 0.5 stars and 1 star.
Once again, the majority of restaurants in Carlisle maintained the same rating in 2023 in comparison to 2021, with 113 restaurant scores staying the same (70.1%).
Unfortunately, Carlisle also saw 12 restaurants close their doors for good between 2021 and 2023 – equating to 7.4% of all restaurants in the area.
Penrith
The town of Penrith in Cumbria’s Eden Valley is home to 123 restaurants on the TripAdvisor platform, which have accumulated over 28,000 user reviews.
Of the 123 restaurants located in the town, there are sadly far more that have seen a decline in their online ratings. In total, 12 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – equating to 9.7% of the restaurants in the town. In contrast, just 4 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (3.2%).
For those whose rating decreased, this decline in rating ranged from 0.5 stars to 1.5 stars in total. Meanwhile, the 4 restaurants whose score had improved noted an increase of 0.5 stars.
Unfortunately, Penrith also saw 14 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 – 11.3% of the town’s restaurants. Additionally, 93 restaurants have maintained the same user rating in 2023 that they had in 2021 (75.6%).
Kendal
The town of Kendal, located in Cumbria, is home to 104 restaurants on TripAdvisor. In total, these restaurants have accumulated over 22,000 online reviews on the platform!
Of these 104 restaurants, we found that there were far fewer businesses that have noted an improvement in user rating, in comparison to those that have seen their score decrease. In total, 5 restaurants saw their star ratings improve from 2021 to 2023 (4.8%), while 12 restaurants, unfortunately, saw their rating decrease (11.5%).
For those whose rating decreased, this decline in rating ranged from 0.5 stars to 2.5 stars in total. Meanwhile, the 5 restaurants whose score had improved noted an increase of 0.5 stars.
Kendal unfortunately also saw 9 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 – equating to 8.6% of the town’s restaurants. Additionally, 78 restaurants have maintained the same user rating in 2023 that they had in 2021 (75%).
Keswick
The town of Keswick in Cumbria is home to 96 restaurants on the TripAdvisor platform, which have accumulated over 41,000 user reviews.
Of the 96 restaurants in Keswick, there are an almost equal number of restaurants that have seen their online rating improve or worsen. In total, 8 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – equating to 8.3% of the restaurants in the town. Meanwhile, 6 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (6.2%).
For those whose rating decreased, this decline in rating ranged from 0.5 stars to 1.5 stars in total. Meanwhile, the 6 restaurants whose score had improved noted an increase of 0.5 stars.
Unfortunately, Keswick saw 14 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 – 14.5% of the town’s restaurants in total. Additionally, 68 restaurants have maintained the same user rating in 2023 that they had in 2021 (70.8%).
Edinburgh
Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, is home to 512 restaurants on TripAdvisor – the highest amount out of any location included in the research. These restaurants have accumulated over 451,000 user reviews on the site!
Of Edinburgh’s 512 restaurants, there are, interestingly, slightly more restaurants that have seen an improvement in their score – in comparison to those whose score has worsened. In total, 13 restaurants have seen their star rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 – the equivalent of 2.5% of the city’s restaurants. In contrast, 19 restaurants have seen their star rating improve (3.7%).
For those whose rating decreased or increased, this change was an average of 0.5 stars better or worse off.
Sadly, Edinburgh did see 51 restaurants close between 2021 and 2023 – 9.9% of the city’s restaurants in total. Additionally, 429 restaurants have maintained the same user rating in 2023 that they had in 2021 (83.7%).
Overall figures
Overall, we found that, of the 3,237 restaurants included in our research, there have been 396 restaurant closures across each of the locations (12.2%). Additionally, 241 restaurants have seen their user rating decrease between April 2021 and April 2023 (7.4%).
On a more positive note, we did also find that 157 restaurants have seen a rating improvement over a two-year period (4.8%). Generally, however, the vast majority of restaurants in our study saw their rating remain the same – which is neither positive nor negative news. 2,443 restaurants have retained the same star rating as in April 2021 (75.4%).
Final thoughts
Through our research, we have been able to determine how many local restaurants across the North of England and Scotland have been negatively or positively impacted by user reviews on the TripAdvisor platform.
Our research has highlighted that the majority of businesses have stagnated in their user rating, which means they have been unable to gain any additional ratings and bump themselves up the ranking table for restaurants in their local area. Similarly, we found that there have been a significant number of restaurants that have experienced their rating drop in the two years since April 2021 – which is very worrying for small businesses that depend on a good reputation to keep bringing in new customers.
This is especially true for many of the more tourist-destination locations covered in our research, in which restaurants are almost entirely dependent on newcomers to the area that may be more likely to turn to review platforms, such as TripAdvisor.
