Changes to Google Review Counts for Lodging Properties

I’ve been holding off on writing this blog post in hopes that I could track down a pattern with what we have been seeing when it comes to Google Review counts.  We started noticing inconsistent Desktop results back in early September, where some properties showed the Google Review counts, and others did not.

Also, when testing in a Mobile environment, we again saw inconsistent Mobile results.  Using the Google Mobile App (an older version) you can see the review counts in ( ), but in the Chrome and Safari browsers, there is no indication of Google Review Counts at all.

I wish I could explain why Review Counts are still appearing on some listings, but not others, but as of yet I have had no luck trying to pin down a pattern as to why some listings show Review Counts and others do not.

I searched a few different cities:

• Williamsburg Bed and Breakfast had 3 out of 19 listings that showed Google Review Counts
• Albuquerque Bed and Breakfast had 4 out of 15 listings that showed Google Review Counts
• Asheville Bed and Breakfast had 5 out of 20 listings that showed Google Review Counts
• New Orleans Bed and Breakfast had 4 out of 20 listings that showed Google Review Counts
• Seattle Bed and Breakfast had 5 out of 20 listings that showed Google Review Counts

I tested these:

• Logged into my Google Account
• Logged out of my Google Account
• With a clean browser and cookies
• In Firefox, Explorer and Chrome
• With different filter Dates
• Sorted by Relevance, Price and Rating

They all tested out the same. Some with Google Review Counts, some without.

I could not find any pattern:

• Some are on sites with OTA feeds
• Some are on sites w/out OTA feeds
• Some with available rooms
• Some without available rooms
• Some are on sites who write Management Responses
• Some are on sites who do not write Management Responses
• And the list goes on...

So what do you do if your listing does NOT show Review Counts?

But you’d like to know how many Google Reviews have been written for your property, you’ll need to log into your GMB account and gather that data from the Reviews screen.

Finally, we've seen a few other oddities in Google's Search Results when it comes to Google Reviews.  First, we've briefly seen Google prompting users to "Review this Hotel." We are no longer seeing this, but as with all things Google, it may be back.

And second, Google appears to have been testing a possible display option of “Excellent” and “Outstanding” rather than “4-star hotel” or "5-star hotel” next to the star ratings.  Again, we only saw this briefly, but wanted to share it also, as it too was interesting.

What have results are you seeing in relation to Google Reviews? Please share your thoughts and comments in the "Leave a Reply" section below.