Influence of online reviews on your hotel
Online reviews of your hotel aid people from travelling and looking for a Hotel.
Hotel’s Online Reputation Management plays a significant role in the hospitality industry.
Online reviews of your hotel can be of immense benefit to your business or a tremendous detriment depending upon how well you handle them.
The Online Reputation of Hotels practically serves as the main decision-making tool when all factors are equal – such as room quality, facilities and costs.
Therefore customer reviews are something that is in the hands of Hotelier and that gives the hotel a long-term reputation.
Customer reviews can appear on the web in many ways including on your own website, online travel agents and social media.
The magnitude of Online Reviews impact
Let us have a look at the collection of data on the influence of online review
- 96% consider reviews important when researching a hotel.
- More than 70% will read between six and 12 reviews before making a purchase decision.
- Four out of five believe a hotel that responds to reviews cares more about its customers.
- 85% agree that a thoughtful response to a review will improve their impression of the hotel.
Types of reviewers for online reviews
There are two groups of guests who give reviews.
One who would like to give your hotel positive feedback. And the other would want to give negative feedback.
All want your answer at the earliest opportunity. Their feedback is based on their perceptions and you can’t do anything to alter their experience.
However, you can let them know that their voice was noticed, respected and affected the way you were you run your business in the future.
In addition, there is a third category that leaves absolutely no comment. It is these guests that provide the hotel with a huge opportunity.
If you will be successful in inspiring this community to post analysis, it gives you the opportunity to raise your rating.
Meanwhile, helps you reach many online platforms, too.
Hotel’s Online Reputation Management
Managing and optimizing online feedback for your hotel is an easier job than you can imagine.
And if it can be time-consuming, the long-term success of your company will be worth it.
Your credibility in the hospitality industry directly affects the bottom line.
Types of Online reputation management:
Check Out Reminder
If a guest feels satisfied with your hotel services at the time of check-out.
Then, you must remind them once how to write a summary of their on their chosen site.
Some review sites have policies against guests still participating in on-site and will mark a review as false if it originates from the hotel venue.
Hence waiting for guests till the time they reach their home will be the best option.
Customer reviews appear on the web in many ways including on your own website, online travel agents and social media.
Websites such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Agoda, HolidayIQ, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, Google My Business etc, also provide travellers with performance information.
And eventually, guide travellers to select hotels as per their requirements.
Comment Card Follow Up
Don’t let comment cards sit on a desk, follow them up and ask for online reviews.
For that, you should get permission from customers to contact them for follow-up.
What you show them on the comment card is as crucial as making them readily available to your visitors.
Ask your guests about the changes they want in future and try to make those changes.
You can also use online comment cards on the store’s website.
Hence, you can use both printed and digital options available to your customers.
Another highly effective method is using guest satisfaction surveys.
Don’t be afraid of getting low star reviews, it just makes the review site more realistic as it’s not impossible to please everyone!
Social Media Engagement
When having direct communication with former guests on social media, lean them towards review engagement sites.
With the help of social media, you can easily get direct bookings.
Social media creates opportunities to expand your business and make your brand reach across the globe.
Hence, you must be engaged in social media to promote your business.
Email follow up
If your former guest has agreed to join your email database, it’s a regular practice to send a ‘thank you for your stay’, emails.
Moreover, add in a review link. Setting up an automated email to be sent directly from your Hotel Management System.
This email has to be sent two or three days after check out day is a great way to collect reviews.
When you’ve got positive reviews you need to spread them to as many outlets as you can, including social media.
The best thing about the reviews is they cost nothing to you. Maintaining a consistent online presence and showcasing your feedback will also help you remain competitive.
Online review volume counts
Where a hotel ranks on a rating website, a multitude of factors will depend on that. Many of them include:
- the guest satisfaction score,
- the number of submitted reviews, and
- how recent those reviews are.
Reviews gage how others feel about the services you are offering.
It is just as valuable to have favourable feedback to help promote your successful works as getting the ability to react to negative criticism.
How to ask for online reviews?
Reviews are an essential part of the hotel marketing
You can create a custom home page that directs users to post reviews on famous review sites.
Use an automated response and contact program for visitors, an email or text message can be sent a few days after their checking-out.
Make sure that written material is given to guests like a complimentary map with some text on it, that urge them to leave a review.
Also, this text includes URLs of online presence, websites, social media profiles, email, etc.
To review your hotel, add a section to your guest newsletter with an easy button.
Conclusion:
Online reviews are keys to your online hotel reliability for happy visitors, more reservations and higher profits.
The right online management system will encourage potential tourists and inspire them to book straight away.
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If you want to learn about the functionality of QloApps then you can visit this link: QLO Reservation System – Free Open-Source Hotel Booking & Reservation System
In case of any query, issue or requirement please feel free to raise it on QloApps Forum