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As a hotel marketing expertsAt Uzink, we know that a booking decision depends heavily on online reviews. Therefore, we share keys to manage them and new formulas to get positive opinions. A useful article for hotels and also for all types of businesses related to tourism. because the Online Reputation of your establishment can be the basis of your business success.
Tips for getting positive reviews
Any entrepreneur in the tourism sector knows the importance of opinions. Both the good and the bad. Therefore, defining a professional plan for managing it is crucial. What should you take into account?
– Locate and control all the portals and spaces where your client can give their opinion. From the opinions in Google, Facebook or Tripadvisor to those generated on a reservation website such as Booking.
– Establish a routine and action protocol. It is recommended that all opinions be answered within a short period of time. And, of course, all experiences (both positive and negative) must be responded to. A successful response from the establishment can explain any incident and enhance customer service.
– Give it the importance it deserves at a formal level. Answers should be well-written, have your own style, and include useful information that sets your business apart.
– Act on feedback. Be grateful. Acknowledge your mistakes. Active listening to comments can represent a real improvement opportunity for our business.
Get good reviews on platforms
The first thing is to know on which platform we want to improve our score and define an effective strategy to achieve more positive reviews.
Get positive reviews on Google Maps or Google My Business
Google Maps reviews are the most interesting and the ones that we should take the most care of, as they are undoubtedly the most popular and visible. For better understanding, the most searched word on Google regarding a business is usually the name of the business followed by “google maps reviews”. This says a lot about why we should take Google Maps ratings into account.
The first thing you should do if you want to improve your score on Google Maps or Google My Business is to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative. We must do it with a cordial and polite tone, apologizing and excusing the bad experiences and thanking the good ones for taking the time to share them. So when in the future a dissatisfied customer is about to evaluate us negatively, he will see that what he is writing will be read by the owner of the establishment. This simple gesture drives back the majority of negative comments on Google, it is more than proven.
Finally, you can personally ask customers who you know have been happy with the service to rate you on Google. Everyone has a Google account and can do it, if you ask them, at least one in two people will do it.
Get positive reviews on TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor and opinions can be a brutal competitive advantage or a real drag on our business, especially if it belongs to the hospitality sector. Some tricks that work very well to improve the rating on TripAdvisor are:
- Post TripAdvisor banners in visible places.
A very common example is placing the TripAdvisor sticker on the door of the premises, on the counter or in the bathroom. It is important that customers notice that your business is present on this platform. This will encourage the user to express themselves and leave their opinion.
- Offer a reward in exchange for a good review on TripAdvisor.
A very common example is offering free dessert or a second drink on the menu of the day if they leave a positive review of your business on TripAdvisor. Creativity to power!
- Train your workers to get good reviews on TripAdvisor
For example, a waiter picking up the check might say “How was the food? Was everything to your liking? Is there anything we can improve on?” and if the answer is positive add "I'm very happy to hear that, if you had a moment to leave a positive review on TripAdvisor we would really appreciate it, it helps us a lot to make ourselves known".
- Send Emails to Increase Reviews on TripAdvisor
If you have a record of your customers' emails, you can use that information so that your customers can write you a review simply by clicking on the email.
Boost your online reputation: general formulas to get positive opinions.
If we want to get more positive opinions we must ask for them. It's that simple (or complicated). The establishment must design an internal communication plan to encourage customers to share their experience. It can be done through graphic communication in the hotel itself (rooms, restaurant and reception) and also verbally by the customer service team.
Another formula to get positive opinions is invite our followers on social networks. From making direct posts to embedding links in replies and thank you messages.
In short, taking care of the smallest detail, continually improving and, of course, ensuring that the whole team (from reception to cleaning) share the same goal. Because a positive comment can encourage new reservations, but a negative comment can represent a significant loss of clients.
At Uzink, as experts in hotel marketing, we advise and manage the online reputation of many establishments. Do you want to know how we do it?