This summer Google made significant changes to their local listings, Places.  The changes centered around removing content Google had been displaying from third party websites, including reviews from travel sites like Trip Advisor.  For hotels this resulted in a significant visual change to Places listings as hundreds, even thousands, of reviews disappeared.

The move also set Google on a course to rely on their own content for local listing.  This strategy became even clearer today when Google announced their acquisition of Zagat.  In their release Google stated, “Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering—delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights.”

There is no immediate impact to the hotel industry from this move.  However, Google’s intentions to build their own local content is clear.  So, whether it comes from another acquisition or an expansion of the Zagat brand, expect Google to attempt to make further inroads into the travel industry.

Google will find a way to be a larger player in hotel reviews.  This type of relatively inexpensive, user generated content provides significant value for their Hotel Finder product and their rate driven pay-per-click ads.

Trip Advisor has good reason to be alarmed when they look in their side mirror.  Google is coming fast and is much closer than they appear.