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Why verified hotel reviews aren’t the future

March 15, 2013 | Hotel Marketing

TripAdvisor dominated the game for a long time - and still does. What will really shake things up is when reviews about your hotel are integrated into the mediums consumers frequent everyday—TV, phone, tablet, Google - and served up just at the right time: purchase point. It’s getting there.

The fact that consumers can see TripAdvisor reviews on Facebook—from their friends, and friends of friends—is the direction we’re headed. Next, reviews will be personalized, segmented and served up appropriately.

You’re coming from Pittsburgh looking for a weekend getaway with your two children in Cleveland on a $500 budget? Well, 250 other families did the same thing in the last three months: here are the top 5 attractions they rated and the three hotels near those attractions they ranked as the best value.

You’re in the middle of a road trip from Columbus to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and all of a sudden you’re too tired to continue driving? Let’s use the navigation app that’s already open to see what hotels are near you now, and then see what guests at the hotels right now are saying about them. And what kind of rate did they get?

Of course, new technology will bring new social media sites that are more user-friendly and intuitive. But the “wisdom of friends” will remain steadfast; consumers will always be more apt to trust what people like themselves say over what the brand, spokesperson or advertising firm says.

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