How to Respond to Reviews on TripAdvisor
Running a hotel means you’re going to see a lot of reviews online. Some will be good; some will be bad. While you can’t please everyone, you can make the situation better and improve someone’s opinion with a well constructed response.
If the review is negative
Think about it
Getting a negative review isn’t fun. In fact, it’s probably going to put you in a foul mood, especially if you feel the reviewer is being unreasonable. So don’t reply just yet — take an hour or two to think about the review.
Was there anything you could have done to make their stay better? Did anything happen on the date the reviewer stayed that could have given them a negative impression? It’s easy to dismiss negative reviews as being unjust, but they’re actually a great opportunity to see where you can improve.
At the end of the day, they’re just giving their honest opinion, and they could point out a glaring flaw in your operations you may have otherwise missed. There’s a chance your other guests may have the same opinion, they just may not have published it, so take the feedback and learn from it.
Be quick
Although you need time to gather your thoughts before replying, you need to respond in a timely manner if you want to be taken seriously. If negative reviews are left to fester, more eyes will see them, which means more people will think you don’t care about your customers’ experiences. Check regularly for new TripAdvisor reviews, and write a well thought out reply as soon as possible.
Be personal
There’s nothing worse than getting frustrated at service you feel was sub-par, only to be met with a weak response. “Thank you for your feedback. We will review your comments and take the appropriate steps to improve” just screams the opposite: “We don’t actually care”.
Take the extra time to write a genuine, personal response instead of using a stock reply. Ask questions and encourage the writer to communicate with you so you can resolve the issue and make things right.
Stay positive
It’s easy to forget that anyone and everyone can read those negative reviews. If you act too quickly, you run the risk of letting your emotions get in the way, which means you’re likely to come across as snippy or passive aggressive in your response — and that’s not good! Be as diplomatic as possible, and focus on finding a way to resolve any issues the customer had.
If the review is positive…
You don’t need to reply to every single review you get on TripAdvisor, but showing that you’re glad guests have enjoyed their stay is never a bad idea because it shows that their feedback is appreciated. Simply thank them for taking the time to write the review, and let them know you’re glad that they had a good time. Referring to specific things that have been mentioned — e.g “we’re glad you enjoyed the breakfast!” — is also a good idea as it shows you haven’t just written a stock response.
Some more tips…
- Share your positive reviews on social media — and if you can find your guest’s Twitter handle, send them a thank you Tweet.
- Ask your guests to review your hotel when they check out. They might not automatically think to do so, and prompting them could help them remember later.
- Send a “Thank you for your stay, we hope you enjoyed it” email to your guests. This provides a great opportunity to ask for positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Only recent reviews are credible, so you need to be proactive and encourage reviews.
- Be apologetic to negative reviews and offer an incentive to come back.
- Give detailed responses to negative reviews and explain your side of the story.
Remember, potential customers will read your response, so you need to look professional, fair and accommodating when replying to reviews on TripAdvisor.
Evan Davies — Co-Founder of The Booking Factory
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