Smart Ways to Encourage More Positive Guest Reviews

As digital channels become more indispensable, consumer practices keep evolving around them. Today, we are all aware that customers hold the flag of any company's success.

When it comes to hotel businesses, this success translates into online guest reviews. Because:

• 96% of travelers admit that they check out the reviews when researching a hotel.
• A one-point increase in a hotel's average user rating on a 5-point scale makes potential customers 13.5% more likely to book that hotel.

Reviews are the direct result of the guest experience in the hospitality industry. And people are looking up to their peer comments to ensure a smooth hotel experience. But, unless you create the ultimate guest experience, the stakes of ranking high on online sites such as Tripadvisor will cumulate slower than you expect.

But, in fact, it is the one thing that you can’t overlook since it directly impacts the revenue. For instance, Tripadvisor is the most popular online guest review site that includes more than 1.2 million hotels listed and ranked worldwide. Improving a hotel’s rating on Tripadvisor implies boosting its online reputation and visibility in search engines and third-party channels like online travel agencies (OTAs), and, as a result, its booking rates and overall sales.

What’s more, not only the rankings of a hotel but also the number of its online reviews impact its revenue. Because when it comes to building a trustworthy reputation in such a competitive environment, a few reviews are not enough.

How to Get More Positive Hotel Reviews:

Hence, improving a hotel’s ranking with more positive reviews is the key to its success. But, don’t worry, there are smart ways you can follow to prompt guests to give you reviews. Let’s dive in!

1. Benefit From Technology to Boost Guest Reviews

With the ever-growing digital channels, a hotel’s success is defined by the perception it leaves on guests. But the same technologies also empower you to create great guest experiences and build a positive online presence.

And as you look up to online guest reviews for increasing sales, you are relying on the happy memories guests remember the hotel by because only those memories can empower you to turn guests into brand advocates.

Through new technologies, hoteliers can enhance the guest experience with guest engagement platforms now. Because since each guest’s behavior and expectations are different from each other, so does their experience. For instance, some may prefer eating in their room or going to SPA after dinner. But these platforms enable hotel managers to deliver special offers to their guests via mobile apps and create a personalized guest experience while bringing any service to guests’ fingertips.

2. Find the Right Times to Ask For Reviews

Hotels tend to ask for reviews at the end of the stay and possibly miss opportunities for positive returns by doing so. And, since you need not only positive but also more reviews, you need to approach guests at every possible touchpoint.

For this, you need to know how they think about the experience before they leave the hotel. And hotel experience platforms allow you to reach your guests at any time and any place with effortless high-touch engagement. For example, if mobile app users give the hotel positive feedback, they are prompted to rate it on Tripadvisor. If they accept it, they are directed to the hotel’s Tripadvisor page or mobile application.

Hence, hotel tech can help you level up your chances to get positive reviews at each touchpoint before, during, and after your guests' stay.

3. Be Responsive to Reviews and Complaints

When a guest is unhappy with your services, they tend to come to you first before they leave negative reviews on Tripadvisor.

In this case, first, you can encourage them to share their complaints to you via mid-stay surveys so that they feel understood and taken seriously. And then, present them a comprehensive solution and ensure that you will fix their problem as soon as possible. In this way, you can prevent bad public reviews or at least minimize them.

And, if you get a negative review, always reply sincerely so its impact on your prospective guests is minimal. Remember, your reply will represent the hotel to guests, so make sure you give a detailed answer to a specific complaint. In this way, you can show how you offer a responsive service and care about guests’ problems.

4. Happy Employees Equal Happy Guests

Today’s guests expect accuracy, transparency, and speed in any service they receive. And to ensure they have a great experience, first, you need to establish guest centricity at every level of your organization.

It starts with recruiting the right people with exceptional skills and continues with encouraging them to make the right interactions at every step of your guest's journey. And today, when it comes to increasing sales, happy employees equal happy guests: High employee engagement provides 17% higher productivity, 20% higher sales and 21% higher profitability.

So, how can you create employee engagement to ensure a great guest experience?

Well, as the digital channels change the rules in the way guests buy, they also present opportunities to keep up with that. And, for the hotel industry, one tech solution is on the rise for end-to-end hospitality management: Mobile Apps.

Mobile staff app improve internal staff communication and workflow. And better communication boosts your team's efficiency, and, as a result, the guest service they present. Since these apps also allow your staff to communicate directly with the guests, it helps to facilitate a positive guest experience via a responsive service.

5. Always Deliver What You Offer

Not surprisingly, the key to getting more guest reviews is to ensure a great guest experience. So, the next step is to improve guest engagement by always delivering what you offer.

And no matter your hotel size, you need to be accurate and transparent to fulfill your guests expectations. Because in the hospitality industry, how you present your services is what differentiates you from others.

Hence, you need to ensure that your services’ descriptions are in detail and reflect what you offer: They may be the exact reason why guests choose your hotel. And, remember bad news tends to travel fast -right onto your online reviews!

So, offer a comprehensive digital footprint about your services. You can also benefit from guest app to ensure your prospective guests find what they are looking for without high commissions. They will complement how you present your services and aid you in building a trustworthy brand image.

At WeBee, we focus on providing flawless experiences in all the stages of your guests’ journey. Because only an innovative solution can help you provide end-to-end management to ensure your guests’ happiness. If you want to learn more about how you can improve the digital guest experience and boost hotel reviews, we are ready to help.