Regardless if it is Google, Trip Advisor or a host of other websites, one of the major influencers to getting to the top of the search results is the hotel review rating and this is why developing a review strategy is something every marketing team of every hotel should be fully engaged in.
A staggering number of consumers use online reviews as their sole measuring stick. If your hotel property has few reviews or an excessive amount of bad reviews, especially if they are recent, there is a good chance that is the reason you are seeing less and less online bookings either directly or through outside booking agents.
There are all kinds of programs and “tips” published to help you elicit more reviews, but it really comes down to three basic tactics:
- Provide Your Guest with a Great Guest Experience at the Hotel
- Immediately Encourage Guests to Leave a Review and Respond to ALL Reviews
- Showcase Reviews on Website and Social Media
Providing Guests with a Great Guest Experience
This is all about customer service, period. It starts with room inspections to ensure each and every room inventory is immaculate and perfect before the guest ever walks into the room. It also starts with a great front-desk interaction while the guest is checking in. If there are special requests on the reservation, double and triple check to ensure these requests have been met.
Some guests are going to have challenges during their stay. How these challenges are handled by staff and management will dictate the guest coming away positively or negatively after the fact. Even if you are unable to give a guest exactly what he or she wants, there is always a solution that will have them walking away satisfied you did your very best.
Staff members need to learn to treat guests as though they are literally someone staying at their home. That special “something” that makes most of us enter this industry needs to shine through every single day by every single staff member, from the dishwasher to the housekeeper to the general manager.
Encourage Reviews and Responding to Reviews
There is simply no other time where a guest will feel more obligated to leave a review than that moment at checkout when they are completely satisfied with their stay. As we have stated in previous posts, front desk agents need to be involved in soliciting reviews from every guest they know has had a positive experience.
It is as simple as asking them if they were happy with their stay and if so, direct them to a QR code they can scan that will take them directly to a review website. The site itself can be rotated to ensure a fresh supply of reviews on all the major sites. The agents can say something like, “Since you enjoyed your stay so much, would you mind taking a minute to leave a review to tell other guests about our property?” If they do this at the beginning of the checkout process, the guest can have the review completed by the time they are handed their final bill.
It is also imperative to interact with any review as soon as possible after it is made. Under no circumstances should a review sit for more than 24 hours without a manager acknowledging it. If it is a bad review, try to move the interaction offline as quickly as possible. If it is a positive review, thank them for taking the time out of their day to leave it.
Showcasing Reviews
As far as putting the reviews up on your website, that is simply a matter of programming. Either the developer can take care of it or there are plugins available that can filter and add a stream of reviews to the site.
The same can be done on social media, but to make the most of it, take it a step further. Pick a few reviews each week to personally reach out to the guest and tag them in the comment so they know you are recognizing their review. This is likely to result in a retweet or a share that will help you build the brand through the customer’s network. There is simply nothing more powerful than an unpaid endorsement by someone that others trust.
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