Hotel visitors are increasingly empowered to express their thoughts and experiences on third-party platforms like TripAdvisor, Google, booking websites, and social media as the customer experience has become more digital.
Whether it’s a small hotel or a hotel chain, managing an internet reputation should be one of the top priorities for hotels nowadays. Every hotel manager needs to pay attention to this new sector because it is becoming more and more crucial to their day-to-day operations. Keep reading to find out how to improve your hotel review management and keep every guest satisfied.
What Is Reputation Management?
Reputation management is the process of monitoring and controlling an individual’s, organization’s, or brand’s public image on the internet. This process entails following and evaluating comments and opinions about the entity on multiple internet platforms, as well as executing methods to protect or improve its reputation.
What Is Reputation Management for Hotels?
The goal of hotel reputation management is to monitor and influence how your hotel is portrayed online. It entails monitoring review sites, posting and commenting on social media, customizing your site for search engines, and much more. In other words, your hotel’s internet reputation is critical to total business, and maintaining it can make a huge difference in how your facility performs in comparison to its competitors.
The Importance of Reputation Management for Hotels
Prospective hotel guests are quite concerned with finding a property that fulfills their needs. A single negative review regarding your hotel’s cleanliness or services can force many potential clients to book a room elsewhere.
As a result, a positive hotel reputation is critical for maintaining consistent occupancy levels and long-term business success.
Quality reputation management may boost customer loyalty and improve overall guest experiences. Informative, reliable reviews and branded material may give customers a clear picture of your hotel’s amenities and services, allowing them to make educated selections about where to stay. In the long run, a positive internet reputation can lead to better brand visibility, more repeat visits, and higher income.
Benefits of Hotel Reputation Management
Better Performance On Search Engine Rankings
The algorithms used by search engines are continually evolving and becoming more complex. The best way to make sure you stay ahead of the competition is to optimize your hotel’s web presence.
Positive news and evaluations regarding a specific business or product will undoubtedly get a lot of attention from the general public. As a result, your website’s traffic will increase as people continue to comment positively about your company online.
When clients search for pertinent keywords or phrases, you want them to find you first. ORM helps make your website more visible in search engines. That might increase website traffic, which could increase the number of bookings.
Guest Loyalty
Management of a hotel’s internet reputation can increase patron loyalty. Responding to customer feedback and taking action to resolve problems demonstrates to your customers that you value their opinions and are dedicated to giving them the greatest experience possible. The outcome? More repeat reservations and more visitor loyalty.
More Effective Revenue Management
Hotel operators can make critical strategic decisions to maximize profitability with the use of a revenue management strategy. RMS assists you in knowing your competitors, estimating revenue, and achieving important goals through the use of analytics and data.
The data-driven strategy is one element that aids hotels in managing their operations through software. From their marketing, web, and business operations, hotels can gather data. It can compile information on how to improve pricing, net revenue management, and revenue management, which are crucial components for increased earnings.
Generates A Brand Image
ORM can help your hotel business project a favorable image when it is correctly controlled. You may demonstrate to clients that you value their input and take their thoughts into account by reacting to their feedback and promoting favorable testimonials.
Additionally, it gives you the chance to influence how people view your brand rather than having them build an opinion based only on internet reviews and comments. That can be accomplished through advertising campaigns and other initiatives that positively represent your business.
A Talented and Motivated Workforce
Top talent is also more readily attracted to hotels with a good reputation as a place to work. Additionally, your hotel will bring in even more business if your staff members are talented and passionate about what they do. For example, a hotel in Normandy could attract local tourist agencies to offer their guests historical tours of Band of Brothers. In this way, the guests have new experiences, the hotel offers a new service, and the agencies have new customers.
Time and Money Saving
When implementing strategic management systems, hotels may increase the effectiveness of their operations. By applying data analytics, hotels can determine which techniques are most successful, rank them, and spend resources accordingly. Hotels can stop wasting time and money on endeavors that don’t support their objectives. Costs can be reduced, and valuable time can be saved.
Hotels can shorten the time needed to plan and implement strategies. Quickly identifying and resolving problems is also beneficial. That can help hotels stay on the appropriate growth path and prevent expensive delays.
More Visibility and Authority
Positive evaluations are more likely to improve exposure, partner prospects, and general online presence for hotels. In turn, better brand recognition and exposure may aid in luring in additional visitors.
Customers are considerably more likely to use a brand with credibility, and if they have heard of and seen your hotel before, they are more inclined to trust you as well.
How to Effectively Implement Online Reputation Management for Hotels
Ask for Reviews
It’s easy to ask for online reviews from visitors either while they’re staying with you—allowing you to address any concerns before they become known to the public—or after they check out via an automated email or text message. Be sincere, not obnoxious. A reputation management software or CRM software can automatically send emails asking for input, and you can set up guest chat platforms to ask for guest reviews while they are there.
Throughout the visitor’s stay, provide little surprises and delights for them. By doing this, you have a better chance of getting that review on your own.
Collect Data
Utilizing management tools like the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to gauge client happiness and loyalty pays off. You can get a feel for the situation by asking a customer to score their pleasure and likelihood of referring your hotel on a short survey.
Others who give you excellent grades can be requested to write a review, while others who express unhappiness can be asked to go into more detail about their issues. By doing so, you can build your reputation for caring about how you’re doing things and increase trust.
Respond to Reviews
Outsiders’ opinions of your company can be influenced not only by negative and positive reviews but also by your responses. In many cases, hotels receive critical feedback or bad ratings. While these can be painful, ignoring the criticism or being rude in your review response can cause much more harm than the review itself.
Claim Your Profile On Online Reputation Sites
Most likely, Yelp or TripAdvisor already mentioned your company on their website. You can use that important advertising resource to your benefit, but you must first assume possession of it.
One powerful tool to enhance your online visibility is TravelPerk’s online booking platform. By taking control of your listing, you not only assert ownership but also gain the opportunity to shape the narrative surrounding your brand.
Take ownership of your listing to influence the story more. Fill the page with informative content to increase traffic to your website and social media networks.
Be Active On Social Media
Building your brand’s visibility and online reputation can be accomplished with the help of social media.
Although it’s not unusual for busy hotel managers to leave aside social media, advertising bargains, and promotions, building a social marketing presence is the ideal approach to social media. You may cultivate your company’s reputation in addition to increasing brand visibility by posting frequently and engaging with followers.
In this context, leveraging hotel digital marketing strategies becomes crucial. By employing a comprehensive digital marketing plan that includes targeted social media campaigns, SEO, and content marketing, hotels can enhance their online presence.
Pay Attention to Feedback
Consider helpful comments and, if necessary, make improvements. That is a tried-and-true method to increase client happiness and favorable ratings! Pay close attention to complaints that come up often.
Travelers won’t make a reservation without them; therefore, hotels should actively encourage public evaluations. Do not be afraid of unfavorable comments. Positive and negative feedback are equally likely to be written by visitors. And the occasional unfavorable review can help you gain more credibility.
FAQs
How Can Hotel Reputations Be Audited Online?
Start a reputation audit by looking up what has previously been stated online about your hotel.
To get a picture of your internet reputation, search for a range of forums and feedback formats. Look in areas like:
Online review sites, sites to book a hotel, forums devoted to travel, social media sites, and search engines.
How Can You Approach Negative Reviews?
Never fail to express gratitude for a reviewer’s input, particularly if it is unfavorable.
Even if you disagree with the reviewer’s assertions or believe they are unjustified, you should apologize after thanking them. Use your reaction to acknowledge the problem, make things right, and suggest a solution, at the very least.
What Financial Impact Can Reputation Management Have On A Hotel?
Travelers use review sites and online travel agencies not only to discover the lowest rates or bargains but also to get a more accurate impression of the hotel they are considering. Online reputation represents the experiences of clients who share their personal experiences. Even though the prospective guest considers all available information, certain factors are more important than others.
The Wrap-Up
Hotels depend on reviews in several ways. They have a direct bearing on the booking percentage. Ignoring hotel review management has an impact on your business performance as well as the revenue you make.
So go ahead, get as many reviews as you can, take note of your mistakes, and dominate the industry.
