Hotels Need To Pay Attention To Reviews To Be Successful in 2012
October 7, 2011
We did a post earlier this year on online reputation management, and from what we see by reading various reviews on Trip Advisor some hotel general managers are still not getting it. Its one thing to manage your online reputation and respond to reviews, but if your not going to make the changes at your property to improve on them, then why are you even wasting your time?
We have seen various reviews where the GM of the hotel has responded to reviews with such words as "We are sorry you did not enjoy your stay with us, however people always mention the bad when they do reviews" WHOA! This is totally not true. If it was there would never be good reviews on the thousands of hotels that are listed on Trip Advisor. We are still baffled why some managers still have their jobs when they respond to reviews like this and do not act.
Its one thing to read reviews and respond to them, but if your not going to put in the hours, train your employees, and make improvements, then why bother reading them? Hotels in 2012 are going to have to get on the ball when it comes to guest feed back especially when social media sites are giving people the opportunity not to tell 10 friends about a bad experience but the possibility of thousands seeing their comments and reviews all over the internet. One bad review for a hotel could be very disastrous to your bottom line.
Its very important that hotel management companies and owners start reviewing review sites at least once a week. Its a good way to see how your property is performing why you are not there. If you don't think Trip Advisor has any clout with your business then you are dead wrong. Take an example of a boutique hotel in England who was flagged by Trip Advisor for possible fake reviews. They flagged this hotel, and the owner is now engaging a lawsuit with Trip Advisor because they supposedly lost more then 40% of their reservations. To read the full story about the England Hotel click on the following link. http://thenextweb.com/uk/2011/09/30/hotel-faces-ruin-after-tripadvisor-red-flags-it-over-a-fake-review/
With over 85% of the public doing research online, 75% of those people use online Review sites such as Trip Advisor, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo Travel to help them make their decision. In 2012 its time for hotels to get back to basics. Clean Rooms, Great Service, and positive reviews will make your hotel successful for the up coming year.
We have seen various reviews where the GM of the hotel has responded to reviews with such words as "We are sorry you did not enjoy your stay with us, however people always mention the bad when they do reviews" WHOA! This is totally not true. If it was there would never be good reviews on the thousands of hotels that are listed on Trip Advisor. We are still baffled why some managers still have their jobs when they respond to reviews like this and do not act.
Its one thing to read reviews and respond to them, but if your not going to put in the hours, train your employees, and make improvements, then why bother reading them? Hotels in 2012 are going to have to get on the ball when it comes to guest feed back especially when social media sites are giving people the opportunity not to tell 10 friends about a bad experience but the possibility of thousands seeing their comments and reviews all over the internet. One bad review for a hotel could be very disastrous to your bottom line.
Its very important that hotel management companies and owners start reviewing review sites at least once a week. Its a good way to see how your property is performing why you are not there. If you don't think Trip Advisor has any clout with your business then you are dead wrong. Take an example of a boutique hotel in England who was flagged by Trip Advisor for possible fake reviews. They flagged this hotel, and the owner is now engaging a lawsuit with Trip Advisor because they supposedly lost more then 40% of their reservations. To read the full story about the England Hotel click on the following link. http://thenextweb.com/uk/2011/09/30/hotel-faces-ruin-after-tripadvisor-red-flags-it-over-a-fake-review/
With over 85% of the public doing research online, 75% of those people use online Review sites such as Trip Advisor, Facebook, Google, and Yahoo Travel to help them make their decision. In 2012 its time for hotels to get back to basics. Clean Rooms, Great Service, and positive reviews will make your hotel successful for the up coming year.
Posted by New Simple Marketing. Posted In : Hotel Online Marketing
