If a client tells you they couldn't leave a review because their hotel didn't show up in the search, or because their work email wasn't accepted, don't worry: neither is a blocker. There's a fallback for both, and every hotelier can still get their review published.
This article explains why we verify every reviewer, what to do when a hotel can't be found, why a hotel email sometimes isn't recognized, and exactly what your client can do instead.
1. Why we verify every reviewer
Every review on Hotel Tech Report comes from a verified hotelier. That protects your reputation: hoteliers trust the reviews on your profile because they know each one comes from a real hotel professional, not a competitor or a fake account.
Verification happens automatically. When a hotelier submits a review, our system checks their details and guides them through verifying. Nobody on your team or ours has to step in for the review to move forward.
2. If their hotel can't be found in the lookup
A hotel missing from the search won't stop a hotelier from leaving a review. When they enter their hotel on the review form, we look it up using TripAdvisor as our core hotel database. If their property is listed on TripAdvisor, it should appear in the results.
If it doesn't show up (for example, a new opening, a property listed under a different name, or one that isn't on TripAdvisor at all), the hotelier can add their hotel manually instead and carry on with their review. Nothing else changes: they verify and get published exactly the same way.
Tip for your client: before adding it manually, try searching by the hotel's name as it appears on TripAdvisor, or include the city.
3. If their hotel email isn't recognized
To verify by work email, the email domain must exactly match the hotel's website domain, and it must be a valid hotel or hotel company domain. A real, official hotel email can still miss that check. Common reasons:
The hotel's email domain is different from its website domain (for example, the website is grandhotel-berlin.de but staff emails end in @grandhotelgroup.com).
The email uses a hotel group or management company domain rather than the individual property's domain.
The hotel uses a subdomain or alternate spelling for email.
The address is a personal email (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) rather than a work email.
In any of these cases the reviewer simply chooses a different verification option.
Verification options
Option | What the hotelier provides |
Work email | An email address whose domain exactly matches the hotel's website domain |
LinkedIn profile | A real profile showing their current position at a hotel (with connections, work history and a profile photo) |
Recent invoice | An image of a recent invoice from you, where the hotel on the invoice matches their hotel |
Logged-in screenshot | A screenshot of your product's dashboard showing their name while logged in |
What you can do to help your client
Point them to the fallback. If their hotel isn't in the search, they can add it manually. If their email isn't recognized, they can choose LinkedIn, a recent invoice or a logged-in screenshot instead.
Have them watch for the verification email. Whichever option they choose, they still need to click the link we email them within 72 hours. If they can't find it, ask them to check their spam or junk folder, since hotel email filters sometimes catch it.
Verify rejected reviews yourself (Premium). Premium members can upload proof of the customer relationship, such as a screenshot of the customer in your CRM (the email must match the reviewer's), from the Automated Review Manager. See Rejected and unverified reviews.
Still stuck? Contact us. If a client says they never received a verification link at all, send us their email address via live chat and we'll check our email sending system to see what happened.