<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by sowalsky:
...However, it would generally defeat the purpose if the critic was treated better than all the guests because then his/her experience will NOT be like any that his or her readers will have.</font>
That's exactly the purpose. He/she goes back and raves about the place. Lots of paying customers read about it and come. Chances are most of them are satisfied, since few travel destinations are absolute disasters and the standards of most occasional travelers are not unreasonable. And if a few aren't? So what. They don't write columns anyhow.
The catch is that it's easy to get an unpaid travel writer gig with your town weekly. All airlines and major hotels know this. So, if you want more than a flower vase with a welcome note, you need better credentials.