Do expert opinions still matter?

[Ed Wetschler]

Or has Tripadvisor conquered the world? Kaleel Sakakeeny addresses that issue concisely and provocatively in this blog.

[Judy Wells]

Kaleel makes a point but as one who has been led astray by a travel agent whose recommendations were based on the largest, most rapidly paid rebates I would take the average agent's recommendations with a full saltshaker. A good, well-traveled agent can help immensely, but you can run through a lot of disappointing bookings before you find one. 

 

Expert opinions from frequent travelers who was been there, done that enough to make legitimate comparisons will always matter. Time and travel dollars are priceless and no one wants to waste them on a bum steer or blind luck.

[Northeast News]

What got my attention was the reference to "Jetsetter's 200 rather select travel writers [who] provide the in-depth, professional, balanced and detailed curated reviews and insider tips." Therefore, the answer to Wetchler's question is that at Jet Setter, expert opinions do still matter. That should be good news to you travel writers.

[KIDS LOVE TRAVEL / CASUAL TRAVEL]

I'm thinking parents, esp. moms, will eventually tire of the time it takes to scour dozens of reviews that tend to confuse you more. However, i think the deciding factor will end up being the fading of great deals as the economy strengthens and travel comes back from it's slump. Moms will spend oodles of time searching the web for great deals but not just good or fair deals. Once the public is retrained on value vs. cheap trips, we will see folks gravitating back to trusted travel experts who treat them fairly and save them time.