Actually, I tend to think that a person from California is likely to be a better expert on Portland hotels than most people who live in Portland. How many people who live in Portland have stayed in many hotels there? Yet many Californians make frequent trips there and are likely to have stayed in more hotels.

It's not unlike many New Yorkers offering opinions of hotels that they have never stayed in. The out of towners who visit New York frequently are likely to be much better "experts" on New York hotels than most of those who live in the city.

Patrick--I see what you are saying about the hotels overall, but many locals do stay at hotels in their home towns as well. Maybe not as often, but we definitely have events that we stay at the hotels instead of driving home. What about sites and restaurants? For me, I think the oddest thing at tripadvisor is that you can nominate yourself. My opinion is that if one persons advice is truly great, others will do the nominating.

Hi Patrick!
Yes, of course, someone who is from out of town would stay in hotels and might know more about them than some residents ..
But that would not make that person a City expert.
And to be a hotel expert, would one not need to have stayed in a variety of hotels?
I live in Jax. I have stayed in 3 hotels here. I can tell you which one I liked best but after a year here, I am not an expert on hotels or the city.
I live next door to Georgia, I have been to Savannah, that does not make me an expert.
That is all I meant. I did not mean that visitors are not good sources of information about other cities, just that some people liken a walk through a lobby to having stayed in the hotel.