It’s official, we live in the age of the customer, and in the hospitality sector, it is the age of the guest. It is no secret: lately, reviews are a key element in the online and offline reputation of a hotel. If a hotel is highly rated on a booking website, there is a much higher chance that a potential guest books a room.
Good reviews attract attention, in fact, most people take them into consideration when choosing a hotel. So, the question is obvious, how to get positive reviews from your guests? Let’s see that in.
Ways to get reviews from your guests
First things first, reviews can do great things for your business, don’t underestimate them. But the most important is to make sure that your guests are satisfied with the manners and service they have received during their stay. Therefore, the quality of your facilities, your services and the effectiveness and friendliness of your staff will be essential.
Here are our recommendations to get more positive hotel reviews.
Add a widget to your website
Most review sites allow to add a widget to your hotel website. If your guests enter your web page directly, it will be very easy for them to leave their opinion. The widget can also include reviews so that potential customers can see opinions and facilitate their decision making.
A caring team
In the hospitality industry, service has to be the fundamental basis. Making your guests’ stay perfect should be the main goal of any hotel. Make them leave your hotel genuinely satisfied. That is achieved, mainly, with a helpful, friendly and accessible staff.
In fact, if the staff achieves its goal, it is very likely that the guests themselves will share their satisfaction. If that happens it is important that the staff politely suggest them to leave a review about the hotel on the web. If your guest is truly satisfied, this will come naturally.
Pay attention to details
In many cases, technology has dehumanized services and customer service. However, guests highly value kind manners and professional diligence. Small details influence customer satisfaction more than we think. Small gifts in the room, a discount coupon for their next stay, a thank you email… These gestures make all the difference.
Share reviews on social networks
It is very likely that most of your guests are actively present on social media. Publishing positive reviews on your social media profiles is a good strategy. Maybe, after reading a review, your potential guests decide to make a reservation.
Always answer to reviews
Responding to your guests’ opinions, whether they are positive or negative, will show that you care about the experience at your hotel, as well as show that there are actual people behind the business.
You can simply thank them for their stay and for taking the time to write a review, or offer them a solution if they make a complaint, or an apology, if that is the case.
Negative opinions
It is inevitable, we are also going to have these ones, and although it may not seem like it, they can help us a lot. Negative reviews are an opportunity to improve the service, to learn about deficient aspects of your business that you probably wouldn’t without the reviews.
Make it easy for your guests to post positive hotel reviews
Make it easy. Many people find it difficult or are too lazy to post an opinion online, especially if they are not digital natives. Therefore, making the process as simple and fast as possible is essential to get your guests to give their opinion.
You can place a sign with a QR on the counter or leave a card in the room inviting them to leave their opinion. The QR will take them to a simple page where they only have to write their review in a few lines and rate their stay from 1 to 10, for example.
Analyze your reviews
Paying attention to what is being said about your hotel online is essential to keep improving. It can also be a good strategy to look at the opinions of your competitors to know what their guests highlight from them.
Negative reviews will give you the answer to what you have to modify or what you need to implement in order to offer a better service to your guests.
