How being brutally honest to reviewers can increase bookings
When you’re a hotel owner, receiving negative online reviews is inevitable. Even the best hotels in the world can’t escape a few critical comments from ticked off guests.
It’s an unavoidable frustration for every business owner — you just can’t please everyone.
But the way you respond to those reviews has a big impact on what prospective guests do next. And there’s a very fine line between delivering a mundane response, sticking up for yourself with eloquence, or being downright arrogant.
Some hotels these days are taking a fresh approach in their responses. Giving detailed comebacks and outing guests who give dishonest reviews and make unreasonable comments. They’re flipping the concept ‘the customer is always right’ on its head and protecting their property from potentially damaging remarks about their brand.
Managers are being transparent and telling future guests the true story. That honesty is having a positive effect on their bookings. In fact, guests are choosing to book because of the responses the hotel gave to bad reviews.
There’s a lot to learn from these bold and brave hotel managers.
The hotel owner’s typical response to bad reviews
If you read most hotel review pages on Tripadvisor, nine times out of ten you’ll see a bog-standard review response that looks something like this:
Their response:
In this case the manager chose to resolve the matter offline. They’ve taken the time to respond, which is a good start, but this kind of reply is rife on millions of reviews online. It’s not original and they accept full responsibility whether the customer was right or not.
Review responses can be a great place to inject some personality, but there’s nothing here to make the hotel stand out. The hotel is given a chance to defend themselves but the argument is taken behind closed doors where the reader can’t see the resolution.
However, some hotels are choosing to resolve matters with previous guests in front of the online community. Giving the hotel a chance to share the other side of the story often through a sarcastic, dry or witty overtone.
This new approach has come as a breath of fresh air to some travellers looking to book. They’re appreciating the honesty and passion hotels display to challenge finicky guests.
Let’s explore two courageous hotel managers who respond with all the pizazz.
The Royal Clarence Hotel
The Royal Clarence Hotel in Somerset is a customer of ours who’s fighting back against dishonest reviews, and reaping the rewards with increased bookings.
The hotel owner Paul Chatwin takes every review seriously. He makes time to address each remark and isn’t shy to say when the guest is wrong.
Here’s a recent review of the Royal Clarence and Paul’s response:
His response:
Some may think Paul’s rather blunt approach would put guests off, but he believes he’s attracted more guests in doing so.
Over recent months three separate guests said they chose to book due to Paul’s replies. Some guests have thanked Paul for his honesty, and other businesses in the area have said it’s refreshing to see a person stand up for their business when most wouldn’t.
The Doolin Hotel
Hotel Doolin in Ireland is another business that goes the extra mile to defend itself against unfair claims.
Some may feel the manager took the sarcastic meter up a little too high in this instance. But you have to ask yourself — does this hotel really warrant a 1-star review just for having a weak WIFI connection? We’d say that’s a little harsh considering all the other perfectly acceptable amenities on offer.
The Hotel Doolin chose to respond in humour despite their irritation. And as many guests have come to appreciate authenticity from businesses, the manager’s reply offers a fair argument without overstepping the mark.
When someone writes a review on Tripadvisor, whether good or bad, you have no control over the visibility of that comment. It’s out there for everyone to see. The only control you do have is to give a response and hope it’s well received with future guests.
You have power over what you say and how you say it. And that’s why it’s so important to take time to form your replies. This is an opportunity to deliver all the facts in a calm and collected way. It’s being articulate without being outright insulting. Do share your feelings, but use real examples to back up your claims.
Bad reviews can hurt and are difficult to not take personally. But with a little thought you may just happily surprise guests with your thoughtful response without sounding like a rambling idiot.
Done right, and you give travellers the right level of intrigue to choose you.
