Over the years, online reviews have proliferated to over 140 sources worldwide. More recently, Booking.com and Google have become review powerhouses, expanding their share of reviews at the expense of other review sources. What does this mean for hotel reputation strategy? And how can hoteliers maintain a diverse review distribution strategy, optimizing ratings on all major review sources?
For our Global Hotel Review Report, we asked experts in the hospitality industry to share their insights and strategies on how to manage a diverse review distribution strategy. Here is what they responded:
Lauren Murphy – General Manager, Hospitality solutions Tripadvisor, United States of America
“As we continue to navigate a world reshaped by the pandemic, travelers are understandably investing more time in the planning process, making the role of reviews more important than ever. Recent research from Tripadvisor shows that long-form reviews have the power to influence the planning and decision-making stages – when compared to ratings or snippets – and lead to more bookings. While travelers will always use a variety of tools to plan their trips, it’s reviews that ultimately give them the confidence to book.”
Gefferson Alves – Managing Director at BA’RA Hotel João Pessoa, Brazil
“We set clear and reachable targets to gain buy-in from our team members. We have an internal campaign that requires each of our associates to speak with at least five guests per day. We ask the guests where they made their reservation and encourage them to give feedback directly on that source. Our associates clearly understand that we must maintain a minimum score of 95% satisfied guests. On Booking.com, for example, our current score is 89%, and our target is to reach at least 92% in 2022 and then 96% by June 2023.”
Adele Gutman – CHDM, CHBA Hospitality Reputation, United States of America
“I recommend focusing your review requests on the sources most likely to inspire direct bookings, such as Tripadvisor and Google. Don’t worry about soliciting reviews for the OTAs. Booking.com and Expedia are doing a great job getting reviews, so they don’t need your help. Your best strategy is to embrace feedback and fix what’s not working. Less friction. More joy. Inspire five stars.”
Ramón Adillón Sastre – Corporate Customer Experience Management, Paradores Spain
“Maintaining an internal review strategy is crucial to ensuring the whole team is aware of guest feedback in their respective departments. 1. Set alerts to detect negative comments and react in a timely manner. 2. Program reports and alerts addressed to the heads of each department, so they are aware of guest comments and communicate them to their teams, correcting errors, so they do not continue to occur in the future. 3. Hold weekly management team meetings where guest feedback and review scores are analyzed to identify trends and achieve continuous improvement in online reputation and customer satisfaction.”
Digna Martinez Kolar, Director Industry Consulting, IDEaS a SAS Company United States of America
“An integrated technology platform is critical to enhancing the guest experience and offering contactless services: 1. Upon guest welcome and departure. Integrate a mobile PMS that features a mobile check-in option with seamless integration to a digital payment platform. 2. In-stay dining. Integrate a mobile PMS with a mobile POS to allow hoteliers to deliver the same contactless journey guests enjoy at check-in during in-stay dining. 3. Mobile guest messaging. Integrate with a mobile guest messaging platform to allow your guests to instantly ask questions and make requests using the messaging platform of their choice (SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.).”
Danica Smith – Director of Product Engagement at ReviewPro, a Shiji Group brand, Spain
“1. Use review collection to support a healthy review management strategy. Clients who implement ReviewPro’s Review Collection Program in guest surveys have better review distribution across the top four sources. 2. Don’t base your reputation strategy solely on review volume. Consider the review channel in terms of how it impacts purchase behavior and the role it plays in the booking cycle. 3. Monitor review distribution and keep strategies flexible. Review performance from the top booking sources changes significantly from year to year – who knows what the next 12 months will hold!”
Kris Leszczynski – Group General Manager, Service Operations at Edwardian Hotels London, United Kingdom
“Hoteliers must continue focusing on a data-led, guest-centric approach through the lens of different sources of information. Online reputation, revenue management data, GSS, CRM data, and others can paint a detailed picture allowing for the creation of robust short- and long-term strategies. This approach also enables us to evaluate their success rates. Yet even the best systems and strategies still need the most crucial element – the person. Therefore, hoteliers must continue investing in staff retention strategies, development, and growth of their teams.”
Discover the global and regional trends for review distribution:
Download our Global Hotel Review Benchmark Report