As a hotel owner, what is your process for booking accommodation when you travel? Have you ever thought twice before booking a room? Was it a reputable establishment? What if the amenities offered were no longer available or not as they seem on the website? Was the customer service up to the standard you are accustomed to? How can you know for sure that the money you will pay for a hotel experience will be worth it?! The list is endless and online reviews can provide most, if not all, of the answers.
Yet every time I meet with a hotel owner, I am faced with objections that managing the property’s online reputation is not worth the investment. They do not have the time or resources to keep up with all the reviews, and that although they would like to maintain a good online reputation for the property they do not know how or where to begin the journey.
So let me address some of your objections:
Question: Why do Hotel Reviews Matter?
A:
The first step is to recognize and understand how important reviews are to the growth of your hotel. On average,guests will visit more than 4 review websites prior to booking and 95% of travelers will use these reviews to make their decisions. 68% of people will form an opinion from reading between one and six online reviews.
The facts don’t lie, the more reviews you have, the more visible you are to potential guests. In fact, 84% of people now equate the opinions of many online strangers to those of a small group of their friends and family!
Question: Why should I respond to reviews?
A:
Not only is a response to online reviews is considered more important than the original comment, but also, a thoughtful and genuine response can improve the impression of your hotel. Responding to negative reviews gives you the opportunity to address any concerns from guests and offer solutions for improvements thereby showing the world that you are willing to take feedback and make changes. But even better than that, responding to positive reviews can be encouraging and motivating to both you as the owner and your staff. Kind words go a long way!
Question: Why should I invest in Hotel Reputation Management services when my brand provides Medallia services for me at no additional cost?
A:
If you already have brand Medallia, you may be wondering why you should invest in a hotel reputation management tool. Medallia helps to maintain your brand compliance standards. The results from the surveys are used in your property’s franchise audit. Also, those lengthy surveys are internal and not published on any public pages other than the brand’s site.
In contrast, Review My Room was built with the intent to address and secure future reservations. By providing a quick and efficient survey, you can have a positive review published in just 2 clicks or 2 minutes, whichever comes first! In addition to that, Review My Room provides guests the opportunity to post on a variety of public sites such as Google, TripAdvisor and Facebook which are the review sites most frequented by travelers when making their final booking decision. In the digital era, success is a numbers game. Responding to many reviews over a number of online platforms inevitably increases your property’s visibility which is the secret to securing future revenues!
Question: Why should I set aside money in my marketing budget for Hotel Reputation Management?
A:
The answer is simple. Compare the cost of Review My Room (a few thousand dollars per year) to that of asking a full time employee who makes minimum wage or more to answer reviews. Not only does it work out to more dollars spent but also, it is time taken away from that employee’s regular duties. You want to ensure your GM and staff focus on daily operations. As a result, they may not have the capacity to respond to reviews online in a timely fashion. However, when you hire a company like Review My Room, you are employing a professional whose one and only focus is hotel reputation management.
Question: How Can we Help?
A:
Review My Room is your one stop shop for all of your hotel reputation management needs. Not only do we respond to ALL the reviews across public sites, both positive and negative, we respond within 24 hours! No templates, no stock responses, just a personal conversation between guest and hotel. We aim to get your property a more consistent 5 star rating which will lead to a 10% increase in occupancy! What more could you ask for?
Call us today to book a demo and take care of your online reputation TODAY!
