Our most recent white paper discusses having a dynamic marketing strategy, and how understanding your travelers’ explicit needs results in a more promising conversion rate. There are a variety of methods hoteliers can take to assure that traveler needs can be met through marketing: through information displayed on their website, through pictures, or through social media posts, for example. However, one area that might be overlooked as a means to reassure guests that their needs will be met is through review response.

Travel Media Group’s Respond & Resolve™ program focuses entirely on expert review response that mitigates consumer distress and serves as an additional place to advertise amenities or share pertinent health and safety information about the property. Beyond that, it also plays a key role in the overall equation of meeting traveler needs based on search behavior.

Among the six types of consumer needs discussed in the white paper, two can be directly impacted by the Respond & Resolve™ program: the reassure-me state and the educate-me state.

Building Trust with Travelers

The reassure-me state revolves entirely around simplicity, comfort, and trust.

Customers with this search behavior want to know that you have what they need: a search for a “pet-friendly hotel,” “non-smoking room,” etc. aligns with this state.

Not only does responding to reviews build trust between the guest community and a hotel by demonstrating that each guest voice is valued, but by using key terms in responses, hotels can also impact SEO. If a review says something along the lines of “I’m so glad I could keep my cat safe with me on my trip,” having a response that starts with, “We’re delighted you enjoyed our pet-friendly rooms,” that response may be included in Google’s search results for that term.

What this means for hoteliers is that Google is recognizing that the keyword is more relevant than just being mentioned in the listing, and as a result may boost a property’s place on the results page. Google has confirmed that responding to reviews has the ability to increase a property’s SEO, so having our Respond & Resolve™ team handle your review response can ensure that your reviews not only receive professional responses, but ones that aid in your search engine optimization for your business.

Providing Information for Comparison

The educate-me state is an information exchange.

Consumers search for reviews, ratings, amenities, and comparisons to see how your hotel ranks among the rest. This is the clearest line to draw between consumer search behavior and the Respond & Resolve™ program: when potential guests search related to hospitality in this state, they’ll explicitly be looking for information and testimonials to get an idea if they’re ready to book.

It’s a widely accepted fact that online reviews have the ability to increase both consumer knowledge as well as brand trust. According to a BrightLocal study, 73% of consumers either always or regularly read business responses to customer reviews, along with an additional 24% who occasionally read responses. Among review readers, 97% consider a business’ response to the review – meaning timely, polite responses are critical to guests’ impressions of your business.

A review response is more likely to be read than not, creating additional opportunities for hoteliers to use responses to inform future guests. Hotels can utilize the space in a review response to disseminate further information about their hotel and continue to build the trust and knowledgebase that fits the traveler’s needs.

Responding to reviews should always be a part of your successful, dynamic marketing strategy, but having the time to devote to thorough promotional reviews that are still guest-focused can be a struggle for hoteliers that have so much to manage in their day. Travel Media Group’s Respond & Resolve™ experts are professionals in expertly crafting engaging responses that address the content of the review while still keeping your hotel’s marketing interests top of mind. Visit our Respond & Resolve™ page for more information, or you can set up a free consultation to learn more about the benefits of having a robust team of review responders at your back.