In our latest blog post we share five quick, yet useful, tips for responding to online reviews and improving your hotel's profile.
While the recommendation from a friend or colleague might be more heavily weighted, studies show that today’s travellers value online reviews from strangers almost as much. According to studies, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as the review of a friend. The importance of online reviews in consumers’ decision-making process can't be denied, especially with the availability of information online.
How a company or hotel responds to feedback is just as important. Another study conducted shows that 7 out of 10 consumers change their perception of a brand based on the brand's response to an online customer review. While there is no guideline that is right for every situation, we’re listing five quick tips for responding to online reviews.
1. Reinforce Positive Reviews
Your positive reviews will be coming from your promoters - guests who thoroughly enjoyed their stay and will spread positive word-of-mouth. Continue to reinforce their point of view by agreeing with it and highlighting what they liked about their stay. This is also likely to make others more interested in booking with your hotel and finding out what’s so special about your pool, rooms, or other parts of the hotel that the guests are raving about.
2. Remember That The Way Hotels Respond to Reviews Gives a Glimpse In to How They Provide Service
Think about it, a guest is looking at the reviews of a hotel, some positive, some negative. However, there are no replies from the hotel showing that they listen to or care for their guests. So why should anyone else book a stay at that hotel if they lack the simple customer service skills of listening and responding to their guests online? On the other hand, a hotel taking the time to reply to online reviews gives a better impression of valuing their guests.
3. Highlight the Changes or Actions You'll Take
Responding to a dissatisfied guest is one thing, but actually showing your guests that you appreciate and value their feedback is another. Responding to negative reviews shows not only this particular guest that you care but also tells others interested in booking your hotel that you value your guests. One of the best ways to do so is by outlining action points, such as mentioning that you take the feedback seriously and will work towards improving it in the near future. Outline steps you will take to improve and make sure that the next experience will be better.
4. It’s Okay to Assess Feedback Internally
Sometimes it’s better to take your time and assess the feedback internally if you’re unsure of how to respond. For example, you can delegate or forward the feedback to a colleague who you think is more well-equipped to handle this particular piece of feedback. Handling reviews with a feedback system can make this process easier.
5. Customise Responses to Some Extent
Remember that your response to online reviews says something about your hotel to the outside world. There is no need to write a long response for each review but replying with the same standard template to each review will not give much credibility. If a guest mentions how much they appreciated the delicious breakfast you can reply with something along the lines of “we’re glad you enjoyed our award-winning breakfast and the freshly made smoothies”. This will not only tell this particular guest that you actually read their review but also indicate to others interested in booking the hotel that you care about your guests.
If you’re interested in continuing to read about the importance of responding to online reviews, you can learn more here. If your hotel doesn’t currently have a good way for managing feedback, get in touch with us today to begin using Loopon Post-Stay Feedback Management.
