Recently, Fountain Inn, a hotel in Ohio secured the No.1 position on TripAdvisor by garnering maximum reviews which made it possible for the travelers to search the hotel easily online. (Read: Hotelogix PMS beats all the others hands down) Based on this feedback we received, we decided to tell other hoteliers what is the importance of reviews. We share some of the best practices with you.
Hotel reviews are powerful in determining the travellers’ decision making. According to a recent study on TripAdvisor, “More than half of travellers’ take decisions based on the reviews and they are more likely to book a hotel whose management responds to reviews than the ones who don’t.” (Also Read: Does your Hotel Rank in the First Four Listings of TripAdvisor?)
According to industry surveys, check out some interesting figures.
Guests are more likely to write reviews during checkout or soon after that.
Examples of what some of the hotels are doing:
Hotel Yadanarbon, Mandalay: The hotel keeps a tent card on the bedside table to get reviews from their guests. This is a brilliant marketing strategy as your guests wake up to see the card next to their bed every morning, which prompts them to give their feedback.
Four Points by Sheraton, Bangkok: The hotel leaves a business card on the breakfast table each morning, requesting the guests to give them feedback.
Unquestionably, word of mouth is considered the most powerful tool for advertising but hotels should also start prioritizing online guest reviews as they are free advertising methods. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, one should not ignore and always use this as a medium to engage with guests.
Hotelogix offers the Review Express feature as a premium partner of TripConnect to send automated mails to guests. This will definitely help you compete for bookings on TripAdvisor.