Why verified hotel reviews won't take off

As important as online reviews are to the success of your hotel today, I have a feeling we’re just at the tip of the iceberg.

I will contend the average consumer does not care whether the reviews have been verified or not. They certainly will not go to one site over another—especially one with less content—because that site guarantees 100% of the reviews are real. Most consumers, I would argue, don’t even know the difference between a traditional review and a verified review.

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.