What is the ruling on a hotel owner agreeing with people to raise its rating for a fee, and is that considered deception or permissible advertising, and what is the ruling on the money earned from that?
It is not permissible to rate a hotel with five stars in exchange for money, whether the rater knows or is ignorant that it does not deserve them. This involves lying, deception, and defrauding those seeking hotels, and it falls under the category of false speech which Allah has commanded us to avoid. The money earned through this method is unlawful (haram).
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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