8 Best Hotel Review Sites for Better Presence & More Bookings

A review is worth a thousand words. That is why review sites have become indispensable tools for travellers and hoteliers alike. The offer authentic insights from real guests and can help travellers find great value for money worldwide.

But which sites are worth your time as a hotel business owner? Finding a reliable site using real reviews from genuine guests improves your credibility and shines a spotlight on what value you can bring to your guests.

From Google reviews to the biggest OTAs, here are the best hotel review sites you should consider listing your property on today.

Why Use Hotel Review Sites

Using review sites to their full potential can be beneficial, whether you’re a traveller or a hotel owner. A recent study found that more and more travellers read hotel and company reviews before spending money.

Positive Reviews vs. Negative Reviews

While some may think only positive experiences are beneficial, negative reviews can also be helpful. These highlights service gaps that fellow travellers may point out and could require improvements. Negative feedback also lets you respond thoughtfully, facilitating trust with future guests.

Guest Feedback Matters in Hospitality

Why do hotel review sites matter in hospitality and tourism marketing? Here are a few reasons:

• Build trust and credibility with existing and future guests
• Allows guests to post public testimonials
• Positive reviews can increase click-through rates and direct bookings
• Helps guests make informed choices about whether they are getting good value for money
• Helps hotel owners and management get valuable feedback from the public
• Allows you, as a hotel owner, to respond to reviews and guests directly
• Boosts search engine visibility

8 Top Hotel Review Websites

These hotel review sites offer opportunities for you to earn authentic guest reviews. And with many of them being OTAs, they take the difficulty of post-stay marketing out of the equation, so you can acquire real reviews without much effort.

1. TripAdvisor: Best for Boosting Credibility

(Example of a TripAdvisor hotel review)

TripAdvisor is one of the largest travel platforms in the world. You’ll find millions of hotel, restaurant, and attraction reviews and photos on TripAdvisor.

This brilliant site is a trusted platform for hoteliers, allowing them to respond directly to customers, answer questions, and reply to feedback. It also has a feature that allows guests to give other travellers room tips and recommend nearby attractions.

Their Travellers’ Choice Awards are a unique badge of honour that hotels with consistently exceptional ratings can receive. This can boost your hotel’s credibility even more.

Features: Guests can make bookings and post-stay leave TripAdvisor reviews and photos. Management can also leave responses and answer Q&As.

Pros: Your hotel can manage its online reputation while receiving user-generated content and genuine reviews.

Cons: Because it is so public, guests can see negative feedback and responses.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

2. Google Reviews: Best for Increasing Visibility

(Example of Google Reviews for Cape Coliving)

The very first thing your guests will do when looking for a hotel is most likely open a search engine. Google is undoubtedly highly influential, so setting up a Google Business Profile is a good hotel SEO practice to improve your ability to appear on the SERPs.

Doing this makes your hotel highly accessible on Google Maps and Google Search, increasing your online reach. It also allows guests to review summaries and highlighted keywords like ‘cleanliness’ and ‘safety’ to address guest concerns efficiently.

Features: Allows bookings, reviews, photos, management responses, and Q&As. It also offers increased Google visibility for your hotel by appearing in Google Maps.

Pros: Can be embedded onto sites, and highlights relevant keywords, making searches easier. Guests can also upload their own user-generated content.

Cons: There is a risk of potentially fake reviews, and removing negative feedback can be challenging.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

3. Booking.com: Best for Reminding Guests to Leave Reviews

(Example of a Booking.com hotel review)

Booking.com is one of the leading reservation websites, offering detailed descriptions of hotels and allowing verified guests to leave reviews. Management is then allowed to respond to positive and negative feedback, opening up a dialogue to improve guest relationships.

The best part? You don’t have to do anything to remind them to leave a review. The site sends a reminder 48 hours later, asking guests to leave a review. It is free to list your hotel business, but it charges commission fees for bookings.

Features: Detailed reviews, photos, management responses, and Q&As.

Pros: Offers a loyalty program for returning customers, gives regularly updated price comparisons, and has verified reviewers.

Cons: High commission fees can be steep at 10-25% per booking.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

4. Expedia: Best for Verified Guest Reviews

(Example of an Expedia hotel review)

Expedia is a trusted booking platform with over 46 million users that lists hotels, car rentals, and flights in over 70 countries. This means by listing your hotel on this site, you open it up to an international audience.

The review leaving system is relatively straightforward. Guests can comment on hotel cleanliness, staff, service, amenities, and property conditions, scoring them out of 10.

Features: Detailed reviews and photos from hotel owners.

Pros: Highly trusted worldwide, free to list, has detailed rating categories, and only allows verified guest reviews.

Cons: 10-30% commission rate depending on hotel size.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. Hotels.com: Best for Comprehensive Reviews

(Example of a Hotels.com hotel review)

Hotels.com is part of the Expedia Group, meaning it has the same commission structure. It is an equally popular online booking platform with over 50 million members and 100,000 hotels worldwide.

This hotel booking site lets users give detailed feedback on multiple accommodation types, from hotels to cabins. The reviewing system works on a 10-point scale rating on how clean the hotel is, amenities, property conditions, and more.

It also allows property managers to respond to guest feedback, helping build trust and long-term guest relationships.

Features: Photos, price comparisons, detailed text reviews, and gives price alerts.

Pros: It is a high-authority site that gains people’s trust, has a rewards program that encourages returning customers, and has transparent pricing.

Cons: It asks for commission on bookings and has higher pricing than competitors. Many users complain about operational issues, which cause overbookings.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

6. Trivago: Best for Paid Advertising

(Example of a Trivago hotel review)

Unlike other hotel review sites on the list, Trivago only lists hotels and other accommodations. It is a comparison site that pulls in reviews from multiple platforms like VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, and over 100 more. This makes it an amazing site for a comprehensive look at competitors.

With over 95 million monthly users, listing your hotel here opens it up to much more visibility. Listing is free, but the site works on a pay-per-click model, which means you pay for every click you receive, which could add up costs quite quickly.

Features: Photos, price comparisons, detailed text reviews, and gives price alerts.

Pros: Reaches a large audience, allows you to have paid advertising for a boost, gives access to performance analytics.

Cons: Works on a pay-per-click advertising model, fees can add up quickly

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

7. Kayak: Best for Competitive Pricing

(Example of a Kayak hotel review)

Kayak has a range of hotels, car rentals, and flight listings. The comparison website allows users to compare hotel prices and review scores out of 10. It doesn’t host reviews directly but allows partner online travel agents (OTAs) to pull information through, making it an amalgamation of reviews from multiple websites.

The site also compiles an AI summary of all customer reviews to give users a quick overview, helping guests scan information instead of reading it individually.

Features: Detailed reviews, photos, and location highlights.

Pros: User-friendly platform, offers guests very good price comparisons across platforms, and no listing fees.

Cons: It doesn’t allow direct bookings or offer customer service support, leaving hotel owners to deal with customers.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

8. Agoda: Best for Hotels in the Asia-Pacific Region

(Example of an Agoda hotel review)

Agoda is an online travel agency with a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region but growing globally. It not only facilitates hotel reservations but also flights, trips, activities, and transport.

Verified guests can leave a review if they have booked a stay through the platform, allowing you to receive reliable feedback. Guests can comment on value for money, room comfort, cleanliness, service, staff friendliness, and location. Powered by OpenAI, you can also see a review summary of what guests say, pointing out the pros and cons.

Features: Detailed reviews, photos, and location highlights.

Pros: Only allows verified guest reviews, user-friendly interface, and gives guests flexible booking options.

Cons: It is not as well-known outside of Asia and has a 15% to 25% commission rate per booking.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Tips for Using Sites for Hotel Reviews

• Read multiple reviews: Do you notice guests complaining or praising similar things? Pay attention to this pattern in the feedback.
• Guests notice how hotels handle feedback: Engage with guests’ feedback, whether good or bad.
• Keep it professional: Professional responses indicate that guests receive professional service.
• Check for verified reviews: Not all review sites require users to be signed up. Focus on verified feedback to ensure they are coming from actual guests.
• Update listings regularly: Keep listing data updated by revising its information regularly.
• Use social media: While not official review sites, platforms like Facebook and Reddit can also be a fantastic search tool for potential guests.

Time to Make Guest Reviews Work for Your Hotel

Many people might not have noticed, but review platforms do a lot of heavy lifting in many guests’ decision-making processes. Harnessing the power of online reviews can help leverage your business from so-so to S-tier with the correct strategies and review sites on your side.

Now that you have a deeper understanding of which sites can help elevate your business, what’s stopping you?

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