Hotel reviews provide your business with some critical information but if you’re not using them, you’re missing out on an opportunity to stand out from the competition.
Easy Tips to Make the Most of Hotel Reviews for Your Business
Have you ever logged onto TripAdvisor or any other review sites? Of course you have, particularly if you’re in the hotel industry. If you haven’t, stop reading this post now! Go. Go quickly. You need to see what others are saying about you.
If you have been out there, you know there are three kinds of bad responses to reviews:
- no response aka ignoring it. No response is a response and not a very good one.
- canned responses. You can see these a mile away and they’re awful. You might as well type”<insert same old, same old here.>” If you did, the audience would probably enjoy it more.
- belligerent responses. You’ll see these when a customer is complaining. Often they start with “Why didn’t you advise us of the problem during your stay?”, and they go down hill from there. Yes, the hotel manager has a point but it doesn’t solve anything to blame the visitor and it looks bad to others.
Answer All of Them
The best thing you can do is answer every review, good or bad. Do so without canned language. Wherever possible insert something abut their stay. If it was a positive remark they left, then mention something that happened while they were there like, “I hope you had a chance to enjoy Blackbeard’s dance party.” If they didn’t, you’ve given them a reason to come back and you’ve expressed something interesting to people considering your hotel.
Think of your response as someone eaves dropping onto your conversation, Yes, you’re answering the reviewers’ comments but you must also keep in mind the “ears” around you. Always speak to the individual and the group.
If it was a negative review, apologize and let them know what you are doing to ensure it doesn’t happen again for anyone. If possible, give details so that others reading the reviews will feel secure in the fact that this problem happened once and won’t plague your hotel in the future. Don’t make excuses. Just provide solutions.
Surprise and Delight
If the traveler gave you their real name in the review, and you can look up their information in your reservations system, send them a thank you card, even if the review was less than stellar. Tell the visitor how your hotel strives for top-notch service and honest hotel reviews help you understand where you can improve. Thank them for the impact they are making on your business.
If the budget allows, you may even consider sending them a promotional marketing item, even if it’s just a postcard of the area with a “we miss you” message on it.
Use the Competition
Don’t spend hours solely on your reviews. They are valuable, but so are those of your competition. Look where they are falling down and not meeting expectations. You could get an idea for your next marketing campaign or service.
Hotel reviews hold a wealth of information for your business. Make sure you listen and stay informed of what people are saying about you and your competitors. It always pays off when people feel like you’re listening to them.
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