TA has led me to a number of nice places to stay which are not name brand motels. Not expensive properties, but the kinds of places I like to stay in as a base while doing a vacation of mostly hiking. You can get useful feedback on amenities (wifi, microwave, fridge presence/qualities) and some hints about food if there's breakfast too.

You obviously have to read the reviews and throw out 1/4 of them as having no info, being just barbs, or perhaps written by shills. I would agree about the comments with respect to argumentative management, and I'm a bit nervous about my res with one such place later in the summer - though in other respects it sounds like my kind of place. I like the reviews that give me a bit of ability to calibrate, e.g. "Not luxurious but clean and quiet" and complaints about thin walls and creaky floors always get my attention.

I would agree that for chains, TA provides less value, though again comments about the neighborhood, nearby dining, and transportation can be helpful.

I regularly contribute TA reviews.

But I'd always go to Yelp for restaurant reviews, TA only for hotels.