People are talking about you online, are you listening? If you’re in the hospitality industry, monitoring and engaging on review sites is not only important but necessary to make sure you are keeping track of the wants and needs of your customers. To sum up, it’s time you join the online revolution and start listening to what guests are saying about you.
By responding to both positive and negative reviews for one of our hospitality clients, their ranking on TripAdvisor rose from the #18 hotel in New Orleans to #9. Not only has their ranking improved, they have had several negative reviewers return to the hotel for another experience. Guests appreciate when they see you are listening. It shows that you care about your brand and the experiences your guests are having.
Here are 3 simple steps that can greatly impact your hotel’s online reputation:
1
.) Log on at least once a week to see how many reviews you’ve gotten and what’s being said about your brand and your services.
2.) Engage with your guests. Whether positive or negative, thank them for taking the time to share their experiences. FSC believes it’s important to respond to all reviews rather than just the negative to show your happy guests appreciation. When a negative review is received, DO NOT become defensive or argumentative. It is best to offer to sort out any issues by suggesting they call the hotel to discuss their issues further with a manager.
Sample Response:
Positive: “Thank you for the wonderful review. We always appreciate guests feedback. Please come stay with us again soon!”
Negative: “I am sorry for your experience. We would like to learn more to prevent this in the future. Please contact us at xxx-xxxx or email@example.com”
These are only sample responses. It’s important to tailor all messages to the specific review.
3.) Share both positive and negative reviews with your staff so they know what to improve on or change and what they are doing well. Many reviewers single out positive experiences with staff members and sharing them is a good way to boost employee morale.
Over 16 million people visit TripAdvisor and Yelp, the two largest review sites, every month and believe it or not, they are talking about you. It’s imperative that you are paying attention to what’s being said and responding when you can. Both TripAdvisor and Yelp allow businesses to create accounts, claim their listing and monitor as well as respond to every review written. It’s easy to set up these accounts and can be a truly life-changing experience. Okay, life-changing is a little dramatic, but you will be amazed at what people are saying and how responding can help change your brand.
So get on there! Reviews are waiting.
FSC Interactive Can Help!
Does your hotel need help managing your online reputation? We have extensive experience working with hotels and hospitality brands across all digital platforms. Request a consultation today to see how we can help!