Time to Update the Hoteliers Guide to Review Sites
The ink was barely dry on our Hoteliers Guide to Review Sites and it’s already time to update it. Orbitz has changed its review policy and is now allowing anyone to write a hotel review, whether the room was booked on Orbitz or not. In other words, Orbitz is no longer verifying that the reviewer actually stayed at the property prior to writing a review.
The only OTAs/review sites that now verify that guests stayed at the hotel prior to publishing reviews are Priceline and Expedia. The vast majority allow anyone to write reviews without verification.
Judging from the success of TripAdvisor and the fact that is is quickly becoming THE go-to source for user-generated hotel information online, Orbitz is looking to play catch-up on reviews. And, as yesterday’s MSNBC poll has shown, users are smart enough to differentiate an authentic review from a fake.