Dealing with rising gas prices, major airline disruptions, and new COVID variants, your guests have plenty to consider when deciding whether to take that vacation this year or not. Planning a trip already takes enormous time and effort on any traveler’s behalf, and travelers often feel that the planning process is too daunting and may end up so discouraged that they decide not to book their next trip. Even though this may be the case for some, other travelers may wind up on the fence and still be unsure if it is the right choice. As a hotelier, there are three critical touchpoints that you can impact, which can influence and alleviate the decision-making journey of travelers who are still on the fence. These aspects are – social media, online reviews, and reputation management. 

Inspiring Travelers through Social media 

When travelers are looking to book their next trip, they prefer to explore social media as a method to find inspiration and gain insight. However, they will also use social media to research and locate hotels in their destination area to stay with, which is where your social media platforms come into play. As a hotelier, you must ensure your social media conveys the perfect message and imagery to those travelers. You will need to review your social media and ask yourself, “is our content high quality and compelling?”. Content such as pictures, videos, and even social media stories with information is precisely the kind of material undecided travelers are looking for. A potential guest who comes across your hotel’s social media page will have questions and concerns that they will notify you of via direct messages and in the comment section. This interaction is ideal for you to engage with these undecided travelers and answer those questions. The result of interacting with these questions will ultimately be the initiative that prompts travelers to book at your hotel during their trip. 

Setting Expectations with Online Review Response

The second touchpoint you must be aware of and take action toward is online guest reviews. A previous guest review is an invaluable piece of information from the undecided traveler’s perspective. Travelers are looking for the most recent and relevant reviews that speak on their pressing concerns, including amenities, room conditions, staff assistance, pests, and many other topics. As the hotelier, your responsibility is to reply to all positive and negative feedback regarding your property. Your responses to these reviews automatically speak to that undecided traveler considering your hotel as their residing venue during their trip. Every individual guest has specific expectations that must be met and managed before, during, and after their stay, whether in their hotel room, at the front desk, or online. The goal of responding to guest reviews is to make certain that their voices are heard and guarantee that the next guest who leaves a review on any online website will be as well. Travelers intentionally seek out which hotels are listening and how frequently.

Speaking Volumes on Reputation Management

A hotel’s reputation is founded on the practice of continually putting the guest experience at the forefront of every operational decision made at a property.  If you repeatedly deliver high-quality guest experiences, you create loyalty within any and every past, present, and future traveler. Implementing corrective changes when presented with weak areas is the key to unlocking high occupancy. As long as you listen, act, and engage with your guests, the next time an undecided traveler comes across your hotel’s online profile, they will book with you.

Get Off the Fence: A Simple Resolution

Just like the traveler on the fence planning their next trip, you may also be on the fence regarding how to improve your hotel’s online presence using social media or by replying to guest reviews. Let Travel Media Group make that decision effortless for you and your hotel. If you are interested in building or improving your social media profile as well as managing your guest reviews, check out our Social Media and Respond & Resolve™ solutions on our website below.  We offer simple and easy-to-use options for any small, medium, or large size hotel that you can immediately implement today. So get off the fence, and start interacting with your undecided traveler today.