In the current landscape we live in, online opinions about businesses and their services have become a decisive factor in earning, or losing, customers’ trust. This is especially true in the hospitality sector, where a single positive review can multiply a restaurant’s reservations, or, conversely, a string of negative opinions can plunge an establishment into a cycle of empty tables that’s hard to break. In Spain, too, due to culture or temperament, Spaniards tend to use online reputation portals to vent during moments of anger or tension, more often than to reward good service received at a venue. In the United States as well, online reviews shape bookings and brand perception, though the dynamics may vary by market and platform.
Understanding this scenario and after more than a decade of professional experience in the field of digital marketing specialized in the hospitality sector, Álvaro Messa and Adrián Ortiz launched to the public, in September 2025, topStar, an integrated system that enables establishments to significantly increase their volume of reviews and their average rating on the online reputation platform most widely used in Spain, Google Maps, with direct impacts on search ranking, bookings and sales, and employee loyalty.
TopStar combines technology, automation and artificial intelligence to transform digital reputation management through the on-site team of each establishment, which gives satisfied customers (while their experience is still fresh) a card linked to their space on Google Maps so they can share their opinion, knowing there’s a high probability that it will be positive. Through this card and its internal programming, the manager can see which employee generated that opinion, the number of opinions generated, and the level of satisfaction generated by the human team, enabling them to retain and reward their commitment to improving the company and its image.
Among the main features of topStar are the following:
- Active collection of reviews via physical cards with NFC technology and QR, which make it easy for customers to leave their rating in seconds.
- Intelligent analysis of opinions, which turns reviews into measurable, actionable markers about service, product and experience.
- Automation of responses to Google Maps reviews, generated with AI and optimized for SEO and local search positioning.
- Employee loyalty, linking each review to the staff member to improve engagement, performance and motivation.
- Global control panel, which allows real-time monitoring of the reputation evolution of one or more establishments.
Since its launch six months ago, topStar is already working with more than 150 venues—ranging from restaurants and bars to hotels and other businesses—having achieved more than 90,000 positive reviews and more than 1,000 engaged employees, helping establishments increase their monthly review volume and improve their presence on key platforms for customer acquisition: “Reviews have become the new digital storefront of hospitality. Many businesses deliver a good experience every day, but that satisfaction rarely translates into online visibility. Our goal is for any business to manage its reputation strategically, simply and measurably, turning every customer experience into a growth opportunity for the company and its team,” says Álvaro Messa, CEO of topStar.
In addition, the solution enables companies to save time in daily management —up to fifteen hours per week— thanks to process automation, while offering an analytical view that facilitates decision-making in operations and marketing.
