Online reviews have become one of, if not the most, influential factors in a hotel’s success. Travelers increasingly rely on review platforms like Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, and Google to make informed decisions about where to stay. For hoteliers, managing these reviews isn’t just about maintaining a good reputation—it’s about building trust, engaging with guests, and standing out in a competitive market. Responding to positive or negative reviews allows you to showcase your property’s commitment to guest satisfaction and responsiveness to feedback.

However, each review platform has its own guidelines, features, and audience preferences. What works on Tripadvisor may be less effective on Booking.com, and the way you approach Google reviews might differ from how you manage feedback on Expedia. Understanding the nuances of these platforms is crucial in crafting thoughtful and impactful responses that resonate with both reviewers and future guests.

This complete guide will serve as a resource for operating and managing the major online review sites. 

Tripadvisor

As the world’s largest travel platform, Tripadvisor is often called the “Google of the travel world.” With millions of users relying on it to plan trips, read reviews, and compare hotels, having an active presence on Tripadvisor has become nearly compulsory for maintaining your hotel’s online reputation. The platform allows public management responses, making it crucial for hoteliers to effectively engage with guest feedback and manage their online image. 

Getting Started on Tripadvisor

To begin responding to reviews on Tripadvisor, you must first register as the owner of your property. Registering allows you to update your hotel’s listing and respond to positive and negative reviews. The first step in optimizing your presence on Tripadvisor is to take control of the aspects you can manage directly. Ensure your listing is complete and up-to-date with high-quality images that help potential guests visualize their stay. Additionally, providing clear, detailed information upfront about your property can set the right expectations for guests before they book, reducing the chances of negative feedback later.

The Importance of Reviews and the Popularity Index

Tripadvisor’s algorithm ranks hotels based on their Popularity Index, influencing how properties appear in search results. The algorithm considers three key factors: the quality, recency, and quantity of reviews. Encouraging a steady flow of recent, positive reviews is important to boost your ranking. 

You can do this by reminding guests to leave reviews after their stay. Consider leaving a card in guest rooms, adding a QR code to printed materials, or sending a follow-up email with a direct link to your Tripadvisor listing. However, avoid offering incentives, which is against Tripadvisor’s guidelines and could lead to penalties.

Responding to Reviews

One of the most powerful tools you have on Tripadvisor is the ability to respond to reviews publicly. 65% of Tripadvisor users are more likely to book a hotel that actively responds to reviews, and 85% say a well-crafted response to a negative review improves their overall impression of the property. This makes responding to every positive or negative review an essential part of your reputation management strategy. Be sure to thank guests for positive feedback and address any concerns raised in negative reviews thoughtfully and professionally.

Finally, remember that Tripadvisor monitors reviews for authenticity. While you should encourage reviews, ensure your staff advises guests to leave their feedback after checking out to avoid any appearance of influence.

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Booking.com

Booking.com is one of the most popular online travel agencies (OTAs), offering hoteliers a valuable platform to showcase their properties. However, managing reviews on Booking.com requires a clear understanding of the platform’s unique features and guidelines. Unlike some other review sites, Booking.com only allows reviews from guests who have completed a booking through their platform, ensuring that all feedback is tied to a verified stay. This distinction makes reviews on Booking.com particularly credible and valuable for prospective travelers.

How Reviews Work on Booking.com

After guests check out, they receive an email from Booking.com inviting them to leave feedback within 48 hours. Guests have up to three months to submit their review, which includes three types of feedback:

1. A Written Review: Guests can share their experiences and provide detailed feedback about their stay.
2. Overall Guest Review Score: Guests rate their overall experience at your property on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
3. Category Ratings: Guests can rate your property in several key areas, such as cleanliness, comfort, value, facilities, location, and staff. However, these individual ratings do not impact your overall guest review score.

Content teams moderate these reviews to ensure they meet Booking.com’s standards, and once approved, they remain publicly visible on your property’s page for 36 months. Your guest review score is calculated by averaging the overall experience ratings from the last three years. It’s important to note that the individual category ratings do not influence this score, as only the overall guest score contributes to your rating.

Managing Reviews on Booking.com

While the reviews are generally permanent, you can request the removal of specific guest reviews under certain circumstances, such as if the review is defamatory or violates Booking.com’s content guidelines. However, these requests are only granted in exceptional cases, so managing your property’s online image is critical. 

While Booking.com’s system may not allow for the same level of public interaction as other platforms like Tripadvisor, hoteliers should still actively monitor and learn from guest feedback. A strong review score on Booking.com can significantly influence your visibility and appeal to future travelers, making review management an essential part of your strategy.

Expedia

Expedia and its partner sites, such as Hotels.com, Orbitz, and Travelocity, offer hoteliers access to a vast network of potential guests. However, managing reviews across these platforms comes with its own set of challenges. Reviews can only be posted by travelers who booked and completed their stay through an Expedia-affiliated site. Once a guest submits a review, it is moderated, published, and possibly duplicated across multiple partner sites to maximize exposure.

To leave a review on Expedia, guests must follow a specific process:

1. Create an Expedia account
2. Click the email link sent after their stay
3. Follow the prompts to rate various aspects of their experience, including cleanliness, staff, amenities, and eco-friendliness, and then provide an overall score.

Travelers can submit their scores on a scale of either 1-5 or 1-10, depending on the platform. Expedia calculates the property’s review score by converting all scores to a scale of 10 and then averaging them. Reviews are removed after three years to ensure they are relevant and helpful to travelers, except in cases where a property only has a limitd number of reviews.

One key limitation hoteliers should note is that review responses cannot be edited once posted, so it is essential to craft thoughtful, professional replies from the start. Expedia provides a centralized review management tool through its Partner Central portal, allowing property owners to manage reviews from all partner sites in one place.

Google

Google is one of the simplest platforms for guests to leave reviews, and it’s often the first place travelers turn to when researching a property. Reviews can be left anonymously, and unlike Booking.com and Expedia, guests do not need to stay at your hotel to post a review. This openness can lead to inaccurate or irrelevant feedback, such as reviews from individuals who claim they stayed at the property even when they did not.

Google frequently prompts nearby users to leave a review when they visit or pass by a location, which can sometimes result in unintended or mistaken feedback. Additionally, reviewers on Google can edit or delete their reviews at any time, making it a dynamic but unpredictable platform for reputation management.

While you can report reviews for removal if they violate Google’s policies, there is no guarantee they will be taken down. Reporting reviews from multiple IP addresses has been shown to increase the likelihood of removal, but it remains at Google’s discretion.

Despite the unpredictability, Google reviews are critical for visibility, as they directly impact your search rankings and potential guests’ first impression of your property. Being diligent in responding to positive and negative reviews on Google can help mitigate any impact from misleading or irrelevant feedback while reinforcing your commitment to guest satisfaction.

There is Help

Responding to reviews across every platform your hotel is active on is vital to your property’s reputation management strategy. Consistently engaging with guest feedback shows that you care about the experience and helps shape how future travelers perceive your brand. Remember, how you deal with criticism is far more important than the criticism itself. It is not only the reviewer who sees your response but also potential guests. 

Keeping up with the constant influx of reviews while managing your hotel’s day-to-day operations can be incredibly challenging. Tasking in-house staff with this responsibility often leads to burnout, rushed responses, or the occasional misstep that could damage your reputation.

This is where a third-party expert like Travel Media Group can make all the difference. Our Respond and Resolve™ team specializes in handling your reviews professionally, ensuring every response is thoughtful, timely, and aligned with your brand voice. By partnering with TMG, you can alleviate the stress of review management, avoid potential pitfalls, and focus on what you do best—providing an exceptional guest experience. Let us take the weight off your shoulders so you can focus on running your property with confidence.