The old marketing placed you, the seller, in control of pushing information out to your potential customers. Your objective was to hit the right person with the right message at the right time. Your challenge was to rise above the noise of every other piece of marketing that is vying for the attention of the consumer – which can be a daunting task and it hasn’t gone away.

However, things are changing. Hoteliers have less control over their hotel’s image than ever before. Travelers are less likely to trust the marketing coming from a hotel than the personal experiences and reviews of people who have actually stayed there. This isn’t necessarily bad news for your hotel, just a sign that you need to work harder to keep your hotel on top.

The Impact of Guest Experience

Now, with the rise of social media, consumers can plug into conversations about products and services they can purchase. They are not only visiting your hotel’s website, but they are reading reviews that your guests are leaving on OTAs, blogs, review sites, and social media pages. These conversations are having an impact on booking decisions. 

What people are saying about your hotel online matters. According to TripAdvisor, 86% of travel consumers are influenced by reviews. With the level of transparency travelers receive from these reviews, they will no longer listen to your marketing message, and instead judge you from what their peers are saying about you. 

This requires you, as a hotelier, to step your game up and deliver a high-quality guest experience from the time they drive into your parking lot to the moment they leave. This goes far beyond the condition of your property, though that matters too. It means that your entire staff should be focused on giving every guest the best possible service, and if something goes wrong, they should be empowered to do what is necessary to rectify the situation as quickly as possible.

Why It Matters

Your hotel’s reviews are likely the first thing travelers see when they’re researching places to stay. It may be nervewracking to think that outside forces such as reviews can influence travelers’ first impressions. However, consumers generally write reviews to share good experiences, not to complain to the world so you shouldn’t be too worried. In fact, according to TripAdvisor, 87% of people cite wanting to share good experiences with other travelers as their main reason for posting reviews.

Despite the norm, travelers will voice their dissatisfaction, given the right motivation, and if that happens enough it will most certainly impact your bottom line. This is why you should be proactive not just in making sure the property is clean and staff are helpful, but also in responding to reviews. As much as travelers want to hear what guests have to say about your hotel, they also want to see your hotel’s responses.

Responding to reviews, especially negative ones, helps travelers gauge how much you care about the guest experience. No responses or templated replies indicate to travelers that no real change is likely to happen and the problems mentioned in the review are still an issue. On the other hand, thoughtfully crafted responses help let travelers know that your hotel listens to guest concerns and takes action to resolve any issues. This re-instills confidence in your hotel and can help you secure those bookings.

Take Back Control with Review Response

While you may feel as if your hotel is at the mercy of reviews left by guests, you can take back some control through review response. As stated earlier, responding to reviews shows travelers you care about their experience at your hotel. As a matter of fact, 80% of people believe hotels that respond to guest reviews care more about their customers. 

It’s important to respond to each review as they come in. You never know when a traveler will look at your reviews and you wouldn’t want a scathing review with no response to scare away a potential guest. But as a hotelier with a million things to do around your property, where do you find the time? That’s where Travel Media Group can help.

At Travel Media Group, our professional review response writers stay on top of your hotel’s reviews so you don’t have to. All reviews receive unique responses in your brand’s voice and are tagged for sentiment so you can gain insights into what guests are saying about your property. Learn more about our Respond and Resolve solution and contact Travel Media Group today.