6 tips to improve your hotel ranking on TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor is the ultimate review platform when it comes to hotel reviews. It is hands-down the one platform that most (if not all) hotel guests go to before booking their hotel room.
Most guests begin their hotel room booking journey on TripAdvisor, and in some cases probably end up booking on this new booking platform.
As hoteliers, it is our job to stay on top of responding to guest reviews on this platform. Here are 6 tried and tested tips on how you can improve/maintain your rankings on Tripadvisor.
1. Set some time to respond to reviews
Fixed time each week will help you get in the grove. I would not recommend responding to reviews everyday as they could get overwhelming. Put some time on your calendar during your slow day of the way and batch your responses. This way you can stay in the zone instead of responding sporadically.
2. The one question that will help you get better reviews
This is by far the best technique you can use to increase your TripAdvisor rankings. During checkout ask every guest this question: “What can we do better for your next stay”. This will show your guests you care and make sure to implement their feedback, if reasonable enough.
3. Use review responses as a tool for self promotion
When responding to reviews, be sure to keep the end in mind i.e. you’re really writing this response for the next 1000 guests to read. Which makes it important that your response sounds calm and professional; despite what the guest might have said in their review. I’ve used this platform to showcase my hotel along with it’s amenities. For example; you could mention something like, “Dear Mr. Smith, we hope that you get to try our complimentary evening reception next time you’re visiting”.
4. Nothing personal, it’s strictly business!
Don’t take reviews to heart. If you do then this can affect your response. You have to take the good with the bad. Respond and move on. Don’t get caught up in the heat of the moment. Remember, evil ink never did any good.
5. Get all the facts right before responding to negative reviews
There are times where you know the guest is not stating all the facts. This is where you can set the record straight by getting all the facts by researching the issue. But be sure to still reply in a polite and professional tone.
6. Responding to each and every review will not give you any brownie points
Contrary to popular belief it’s not good to respond to EVERY review. Yes, you would want to definitely respond to any negative reviews with an apology and your side of the story. But, there is only so much one can say in positive reviews. Pick a few positive reviews to respond to and move on…..you have got a hotel to run after all!
Do you have any best practices to share when responding to reviews? Feel free to mention them in the comments below.
P.S. would you like to learn more cool stuff about the hotel industry? Grab a complimentary seat in the Hotel Operations online training course. — click here.
