Consumers have traditionally relied on their friends and families for recommendations for everything from which restaurants to eat at, where to buy a car, or which dentist or doctor to visit. But since review sites have reached a critical mass, consumers are leaning more and more on their online community to help make these day-to-day decisions.

In a world fueled by the real-time impacts of social media, online reviews have become the building blocks of a company’s reputation. Good reviews shine a positive light on a business, helping it retain old customers and attract new ones, while bad reviews can scare off new customers and make existing ones feel uneasy.

Guests are asked to provide a star rating in specific categories, and specify what went well or could have gone better. For example, if your place is super clean, a guest might choose five stars and select “squeaky-clean bathroom.” Or you might get fewer stars on communication if a guest thinks your checkout instructions are excessive.

Customer Reviews help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. Customer Reviews should give customers genuine product feedback from fellow shoppers.