The modern day may not be great at everything, but there’s one thing it’s crushing: options. With the rise of global communication, you never have to feel stuck with one subpar choice. Options transform the traveling experience, and they make consumers consider the choice more than ever before. But what’s that mean for the businesses trying to lure in travellers? It’s time to manage your online reviews.
Why Online Reviews Matter
Before booking a holiday, most people—if not everyone—take the time to sift through reviews. Whether it be a tour excursion, hotel or restaurant, the opinions of others make a big difference in whether or not someone secures a booking.
Just think about it. Would you stay at a hotel that has complaints of bed bugs? Probably not.
On the flip side, if you saw reviews of a killer complimentary breakfast and a pool with a pristine view, you’d likely be inclined to take the plunge.
Whether you realize it or not, what people say about your hospitality brand makes a big difference going forward. A single review can be the difference between someone booking or not, while a collection of ratings serves as the defining voice for your online presence.
The Weight of Consumer Sentiment
Like it or not, your business is responsible for what people have to say about you. Consumer sentiment holds merit in the minds of a buyer, and it’s up to you to ensure yours tells the right story.
Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer or traveler. When looking for a place to visit, stay, explore or eat, who do you trust more to guide you in the right direction? Is it businesses with an agenda to make a sale? What about fellow adventurers with your best interest in mind?
I think the answer’s simple.
This just goes to show why consumer sentiment holds core responsibility in crafting the tale of your hospitality brand. Neither hotels, tour companies or booking agents are immune from audience opinion.
How’s Your Hotel Performing?
From the guest’s point of view, seeing how other travelers rate a property is crucial. However, from the hotel’s point of view, these reviews are key indicators of how the property is performing in the eyes of guests.
Online tools and reports help hoteliers and restaurateurs see how they’re performing at a glance. They help you answer questions like:
- How satisfied are your guests?
- What areas can you improve upon?
- How’s your online review score hold up to that of your competitors?
An online review score can tell you a lot, so long as you have the right software to sift through them all.
Comprehensive Tools That Break Down Reviews
As a hotel or other hospitality entity, you want to take control of your online reviews before they take control of you. That’s where online reputation management comes into play.
Olery is an online reputation management software. With reports, translation options, performance benchmarks and more, it’s a totally comprehensive approach to the world of online reviews.
In my opinion, the coolest feature of Olery is the Guest Experience Index. Rather than just sharing an average of all your review scores, the GEI gives you a snapshot of your reputation. But how? By sharing:
- Integrity of the review site
- Integrity of the reviewer
- Age of review
These factors and more help determine how much value to place in any review, ultimately helping you better your reputation and your services in one fell swoop.
As for what I think, the internet isn’t going anywhere…so managing your hotel’s reputation only makes sense.
