Love is in the air, and so are travelers. For Valentine’s Day, guests will plan the perfect romantic getaway at your hotels. You will most likely receive an influx of online guest reviews written on travelers’ experiences at your properties. Some of these reviews will be full of praise, while others will be not so pleasant. Regardless, it is essential to remember that there are valuable takeaways and insights from positive or negative guest feedback. Learning to love online reviews and responding to them may be difficult, but it is rewarding.

The Tough-Love Lessons of Negative Reviews:

As a hotel guest, there is nothing worse than planning the perfect Valentine’s Day trip at a hotel but experiencing a catastrophic stay. It makes sense that travelers unsatisfied with their time at your property would write a negative review. Keep in mind that there is a critical lesson learned from each negative review. Negative feedback challenges hoteliers to find purpose in unfavorable sentiment. Use these pieces of criticism as building blocks to elevate the guest experience. The aim is to write tailored review responses addressing the aspects under scrutiny. Doing this could mend the relationship with the guest and resolve any issues they have. Each guest review handled correctly impacts your hotel’s bottom line and leads to market sustainability. 

Sweet Benefits of Managing Online Guest Reviews:

Don’t worry – online guest reviews are not all sour. There is also a beneficial side to reviews that impacts your hotel’s reputation and influences future guests. Managing and responding to online guest reviews promotes more guest feedback and increases guest satisfaction. Think of this scenario as a domino effect. Additionally, you will also receive more positive feedback by responding to reviews. When guests feel heard, they tend to feel appreciated—making them more understanding and positive in their reviews. If your hotel generates more positive reviews, the result is a swell in your property’s online reputation. Online reputation is a snapshot of credibility and trustworthiness.

Travelers gain insight into the guest experience through online reputation. TripAdvisor and Google Reviews use ratings and reputation as the primary metric to educate travelers. Enhancing your online reputation through guest review responses will boost hotel bookings. Lastly, an online community will form by replying to online guest reviews. This community will consist of repeat guests contributing to steady bookings at your hotels during off-peak periods.

Practice Makes Perfect: 

Unlike overeating Valentine’s Day chocolate, indulging in online guest review responses will only make you feel better. Over time, you will feel more comfortable and more proficient at writing responses. You will learn how to address various types of reviews and get quicker at replying. It becomes second nature, and your level of enjoyment will rise from more practice. Finding the time to write online responses can seem impossible. In that case, consider outsourcing online review response processes. This will give you more time to focus on attending to on-site guests and operating your hotels.

Wine and Dine Your Guest Reviews:

Valentine’s Day is all about showing affection and attention. So why not show some love to your online guest reviews? 

Make it a date by contacting us today to learn more about our Respond & Resolve™ digital solution. 

This solution is engineered for hoteliers like you seeking ways to optimize your online reviews. Our in-house review response experts have the experience, time, and heart to write sincere and crafted responses to your hotel’s reviews.