News

In the hospitality industry, few things are as important as guest reviews. Studies have shown that a vast majority of people booking a hotel will reference a review before booking a room. As a hospitality brokerage, Southeast International Hotel Brokers knows first hand how important it is for potential guests to see good reviews for your hotel. In today’s blog post, we’ll evaluate why guest reviews are important and how they can impact your business. 

Do Your Guests Leave Reviews?

While many hotel owners get nervous about reviews, it is actually in their best interest for guests to leave reviews. Guests are often inclined to leave reviews, particularly if the review process is quick and easy, so a friendly reminder from the hotel will increase the number of guests who provide reviews. People who travel more often are more likely to leave reviews, so target these customers for review reminders, perhaps in a paper review card or an emailed survey. If you really want to make the most of your reviews, it’s important for your hotel to have up-to-date listings on travel sites such as TripAdvisor and Hotels.com. 

Why Are Your Reviews Important?

Negative reviews could be the difference between potential customers booking at your hotel or opting for a competing hotel. A single negative review can stand in the way of dozens or even hundreds of bookings, particularly if your hotel has not responded to the negative review. 

It’s important to respond to both positive and negative reviews, because it demonstrates that you are responsive to your customers and that problems at your hotel are addressed promptly. If you are getting the same complaints over and over, your potential customers will assume that your hotel, like your hotel review profile, is not properly managed.

How Can You Manage Your Reviews?

The most important thing you can do to improve your reviews is to engage and respond to them. If someone leaves a negative review about their stay, be sure to personally respond to the review and seek to fix whatever problem they identified. This shows potential guests that your finger is on the pulse of guest satisfaction and that you are continuously working to improve their stay. Proactive engagement is the best way to manage negative reviews.

It’s also beneficial to encourage guests to leave a positive review after their stay. This is the best way to generate and manage positive reviews. There are lots of ways to remind guests to provide a review. A simple survey card left in each room is a low-pressure way to generate positive reviews. A “Thank You” email for recent guests can also be used to generate new reviews. Many reviews are made on third-party websites such as Google, Yelp, or hotel listing websites; make sure you have a well-managed listing on these websites to maximize your positive reviews.

Contact Southeast International Hotel Brokers for Hospitality Brokerage Tips Today

As a hospitality brokerage, Southeast International Hotel Brokers is in the business of customer satisfaction. Our hospitality brokerage experts have seen how reviews help improve the bottom line for hotel owners. For more information on how we can help, give us a call at (417) 865-2520 or contact us online.