Top 3 Tips to Handle Online Guest Reviews of Your Hotel
Guests love to be heard online. Millions of travellers post their thoughts, scan other traveller’s reviews and suggestions and also comment on such posts across a number of online channels including Facebook, Twitter and travel review websites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, etc.
Guest experiences with hotels online aren’t anything new – which is why review sites hold so much significance for hotels in today’s age of real-time information. A staggering 93% of global travellers see online reviews influencing their booking decisions.
Sure, some travellers are impulsive, emotional or spontaneous. But there exist many travellers, who’re methodical in their approach and love to document their experiences to guide other travellers in making informed choices on their next business/leisure trip. 53% of TripAdvisor users say they won’t book a hotel if it has zero reviews (PhoCusWright, September 2012).
In such a scenario, hotel operators (like you!) much master the art of handling online guest reviews for your hotel to stay competitive. Given equal pricing, guests are 3.9 times more likely to choose the hotel with the higher reviews.
Below are the 3 tips to handle online guest reviews for your hotel and implement effective customer engagement strategies for positively impacting your bottom line.
Tip #1 Be proactive in collecting guest feedback
In today’s hyperconnected age, it’s imperative to be proactive in approach and collect real-time guest satisfaction results (with right feedback system such as a web survey tool) before guests make them public on travel review websites or social media. With quick results at your desk, you can immediately respond to concerns/complaints raised by unhappy customers at your hotel. Remember – the longer their complaints go unattended, the more is the probability of your guests posting less-than-glowing comments about your hotel on blogs, social media or travel review websites. So with a proactive approach, you can quickly prevent them from posting bad reviews for your hotel on online channels.
Tip #2 Use a hotel reputation management software to listen and anticipate
You need to invest a good amount of time and effort observing a multitude of platforms including all major hotel review sites and social media communications to know and manage customer feedback – of course, with the help of a good online hotel reputation management software. Using the tool, you can directly interact with your customers and respond to negative review(s) for your hotel, if any. A single bad review can spell a disaster for your revenue and ROI. But a good hotel management software:
• Helps you not miss any online guest feedback and monitor online reputation for your property.
• Empowers you to have full control over social influences.
• Analyze the online reputation score of your competitors with in-depth reports.
• Enhance your customer satisfaction level
• Increase your ROI
Tip #3 Take the Online Review to Offline Interaction
If you a customer writes a great online review for your hotel/services, do no miss this opportunity to earn a new army of brand advocates. Appreciate their gesture by sending them an e-card or simply picking up the phone to thank them or extending special offers to them on their repeat/future visits.
On the other hand, if a guest posts a negative/bad review for your hotel on social media or any OTA, it’s a smart approach to move such conversations offline and try to know their concerns/complaints or feedback via direct messaging, email, or telephone or simply in person (if the guest is still staying at your property) and offer them a personalized level of services. Rather than perceiving negative online reviews for your hotel as damaging, you can use it as a strategic opportunity. This move of taking online sharing to offline interaction can go a long way in building trust and customer loyalty.
Whether or not your hotel will compete and win may depend on how observant and responsive you are in this new era of digital transparency and online reviews. RateGain would love to know what you think about online reviews. How is your hotel handling, measuring and responding to online reviews?
About RateGain
RateGain offers web-based solutions to leading online travel agents, airlines, wholesalers and hotels across 70 countries. RateGain products for the travel industry have earned numerous awards for innovation. The company is a leader in SaaS based solutions in channel management, online brand reputation management, competitive price intelligence, and social media marketing. Established in 2004, RateGain is headquartered in India with offices in the US, Thailand, Spain, Dubai and the UK.
For more information, please visit www.rategain.com.