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Improve Your
HOTELRANKINGOn TripAdvisor
Tips to Improve Your
Hotel’s TripAdvisor Ranking
Improve your hotel ranking on TripAdvisor
www.rategain.com 1
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Guest engagement
is the first step to
improve your hotel
ranking
Highly engaged hotels
generate nearly four
times more page views
than other hotels on
TripAdvisor
Number of photos
hotels publish are
directly proportional
to guest engagement
Responding to at
least 25% of the
TripAdvisor reviews
helps you retain
your guests
Quality, Quantity
and Recency, the
three pillars of
TripAdvisor Ratings
About RateGain
Be utmost
honest and
authentic about
your brand.
Hotel’s online
ranking is directly
related to their
offline service.
Spread the culture of
great customer
service across all
levels of staff.
Offer value for
money
5 Be prepared for
disaster management;
respond to negative
reviews with ownership.
Never offer
incentives for
writing reviews
Topic 1
Tip #1 Tip #2 Tip #3
Tip #4 Tip #5 Tip #6
Topic 2 Topic 3
Topic 4 Topic 5 Topic 6
IndexWhy is TripAdvisor Ranking Important
Established practices and researched in
improving TripAdvisor ranking
Tips from the Industry Experts
Why is TripAdvisor Rating so important for hotels and its customers?
Let’s answer this by showing how popular TripAdvisor is; as per the latest
ranking on Alexa, TripAdvisor ranks 168 globally.
The graph below shows how TripAdvisor ranks relative to other sites. The
graph demonstrates an increasing trend, establishing TripAdvisor’s
increasing popularity and importance over a period of time.
The TripAdvisor ratings have earned such a credibility in the market that
they are used by other platforms and OTAs also, like MakeMyTrip, Expedia,
etc. The visibility of this information for hotels, certainly helps them optimize
their revenue strategy.
The global hospitality industry is full of challenges; ever evolving guest
expectations, fluctuating demand & supply dynamics, disruptions, rate
parity, etc.
Image Source :http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tripadvisor.com
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Experienced revenue managers know how to design their revenue
management strategy, making it more targeted and compelling, so as to
appeal to their customers and help them make more profits.
One of the most suggested ways would be to encourage engagement and
interaction with your guests. Below example explains this further.
Consider a hotel with 100 rooms and 80% annual occupancy, which equals
to 29200 nights a year. Take a conservative number of 60% (17,520) e-mail
capture rate and feedback reply rate of 15%, the hotel will have a data-
bank of 2628 reviews in a time span of 365 days.
The challenge here is hotels have very few reviews on TripAdvisor, and thus
there needs to be a mechanism to convert customer survey forms/feedback
received directly by the hotel into customer reviews on TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor’s Review Express help cater to this challenge very effectively.
According to a report published by the Cornell University School of Hotel
Administration, online reviews of hotels are increasingly having an impact on
room demand and now appear to be responsible for rate swings of more
than 10%,
The study highlights a direct link between the rise or fall of RevPAR and
improvements or declines in the online reputation of a hotel,
• driven by ratings on sites such as TripAdvisor.
• Factoring in multiple review sites, a 1% increase in the hotel’s “online
reputation score” was found to increase RevPAR by almost 1%, the study
found.
In this white paper, we are sharing the established practices and researched
facts that play a significant role in improving a hotel’s TripAdvisor ranking.
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Guest engagement is the first step to improve your hotel ranking
With so many travelers relying on online reviews before making their
purchase, it has become absolutely imperative for hotels to pay special
attention to their Guest Reviews.
Also, it is possible to see the demographic mix (apart from other factors like
time of the year) of the reviewers on TripAdvisor. This information will help a
hotel on gearing up their services and facilities as per the majority of the
demographic mix visiting their property. Please refer to the picture below-
Image Source: http://bit.ly/2dw0LBo
For e.g. In a hotel which is a popular destination for couples, they can offer a
complimentary flower boutique or a wine bottle, a hotel with more business
travelers coming in, could offer happy hours on weekdays. And for a hotel
with more families visiting them, they should make available a right amount
of double occupancy amenities in rooms and extra beds for kids.
Revenue management tools have this widget available where hotels can
see a demographic mix of their reviewers from different sites in one single
screen.
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Such insights come in so handy for hotels to devise their operational
strategy and redefine their target market if required.
As we have just seen how a hotel’s ranking on TripAdvisor is increasingly
becoming an important criterion both for hotels and travelers, all the more
because TripAdvisor pays special attention to the content and
authenticity of the reviews.
Image Source: BrandGain
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A recent study by Google and Ipsos MediaCT confirms this trend, as shown
below:
Highly engaged hotels generate nearly four times more page views than other hotels on TripAdvisor
Another factor hotel’s TripAdvsior ranking is very important is because it
reflects directly on their popularity against their competitors in their locality.
As a hotelier, you cannot afford to ignore this factor as, the closer you are
to being No. 1, chances are more likely that travelers will book your
property as against your competitors.
Source: Google Think, Ipsos MediaCT
An essential metric that hotels use to measure their success on TripAdvisor
is to map their ranking within their local market, well-known as the
Popularity ranking (“POP”) or Popularity Index.
The POP ranking is based primarily on the quality, quantity, and recency of
TripAdvisor reviews for each hotel in a city.
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Consider this hypothetical situation
A mediocre, non-engaged hotel ranks in the 41st percentile in its local
market, it implies that it may not be very visible to most of their potential
travelers. On the contrary, the POP rankings for highly-engaged hotels,
were 63% higher, placing them in the 67th percentile – denoting they
could be seen by at least two of every three travelers searching that local
market.
The graph below depicts the response score of one hotel against its
comp-set.
For the clarity of those who think Rating and Ranking are the same things;
TripAdvisor Rating is different from TripAdvisor Ranking.
TripAdvsior Rating is basis the real traveler’s review and rating about your
hotel, based on their stay experience. 5 being the highest. However,
TripAdvisor rankings, also known as Popularity Index, is basis your overall
ranking amongst other properties in your locality. The more recent and
positive are your reviews and the better is your TripAdvisor rating; the
higher will be your TripAdvisor Ranking.
Hope this will clear any doubt you might have about TripAdvisor Ranking
and Rating.
Image Source: BrandGain
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Number of photos published are a noteworthy factor to consider. Hotels
that circulate 10 or more management-provided photos generate 2.2
times more page views on their TripAdvisor listings as compared to hotels
with fewer photos.
Good visuals connect well with visually – attentive customers.
There exists an influential relationship and return between the number of
hotel-provided photos uploaded to TripAdvisor and guest engagement.
Photos do lot more than just hook travelers’ attention. Pictures, along with
guest reviews, give probable guests another pronounced reason to
choose your hotel for their next voyage.
Number of photos hotels publish are directly proportional to guest engagement
Responding to the TripAdvisor reviews helps you retain your guests
It is important that guest reviews get the due acknowledgment from hotel
management. Hotel Management Responses can help improve any
adverse guest attitudes about the hotel. Research shows, worldwide, that
travelers who write positive or negative reviews appreciate receiving
management responses to their comments. Plus, travelers who wrote
reviews said management responses would encourage them to return to
the property.
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However, a tricky situation could be handling negative reviews. Never try
to delete a negative review, instead approach the guest and try to
understand their concern. If genuine, apologize and offer them a better
deal for their next booking.
The graph below, highlights the review share of a hotel vs its competitors,
highlighting the percentage of positive, negative and neutral reviews.
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Image Source: BrandGain
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The diagram below explains how important is the guest response on each
service type for a hotel to know, so as to improve their service in areas
where more attention is needed vs your competition.
Image Source: BrandGain
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Image source: http://bit.ly/2deAxB7
Respond to as many guest reviews as possible, stay ahead of your
competition by responding to maximum guest reviews.
The diagram below explains the four essential characteristics of Highly
Engaged Hotels.
TripBarometer conducted an annual study, in which more than 35,000
TripAdvisor users worldwide answered in what some consider the
world’s largest accommodation and travel survey.
Many interesting findings, including the diagram below, confirm the
role of review sites at the planning stage:
Image source: http://bit.ly/1geUVN5
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This data clearly establishes that ranking higher than your competitor in
your category, has a positive impact on the sales and revenue. The
impact of guest reviews on online brand reputation also cannot be
ignored. The stats below, confirms this even stronger.
• There are over 125 million reviews on TripAdvisor, generated by some
34 million active users.
• On average, there are 260 million unique visitors per month on the site.
• Various studies have found a direct correlation between an
accommodation’s TripAdvisor score and its RevPAR.
• One study showed rates could increase by up to 11% without affecting
bookings negatively for a highly ranked establishment.
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As per Brian Payea, TripAdvisor’s Head of Industry Relations, three basic
things a hotelier should keep in mind are:
• Quality of Reviews
• Quantity of Reviews
• Recency of Reviews
Quality of Reviews - The importance of the quality of the reviews cannot
be ignored in affecting your overall ranking on TripAdvisor. The quality here
refers to the ratio of positive and negative reviews received for your
property. A hotel receiving more positive and 5-star reviews as compared
to their competitor, will of course rank higher on a review site.
Quality, Quantity and Recency, the three pillars of TripAdvisor Ratings
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Quantity of Reviews - As per a study conducted by trip advisor, 53% of its
users said they would not book a property that has no
reviews. Also, the more the reviews available the better it is for hotels.
There are categories Trip Advisor has defined for review also. Refer to the
picture below for more understanding.
One smart technique would be asking customers to send their feedback
directly to TripAdvisor. Rationalize your efforts toward one single platform
for collecting customer reviews, or else erosion may deter the amount of
reviews you’ll receive. The figure below explains these points very explicitly:
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Recency of Reviews - Decay factor plays a very significant part in case of
guest reviews. Recent and latest reviews always are more impactful than
older ones. Reviews published a year back will not hold less importance
against the recent ones. Thus, hotel staff should always encourage their
guests to write reviews, so that they always have fresh reviews available for
their property. Travelers always look for most recent reviews, while making
their booking decision.
Image source: http://bit.ly/1geUVN5
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The figure below explains the importance of recent reviews and how
reviews impact guest booking behavior.
To elaborate further on all three tips shared above; encourage and
provide your guest with easy means to write reviews. You will not get it if
you don’t ask for it. Also keep all information and services your hotel
provides up to date. Always put in efforts to exceed your customer’s
expectations during their stay and see the positive reviews pouring in.
Global reviews also make an impact, as they represent views from around
the word and mind it only organic results influence your ranking and not
the paid ones.
The long and short of the story is; give your guest a memorable
experience, encourage them to write reviews, learn and improve from the
feedback. And watch your revenue grow!!!
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Image source: http://bit.ly/2deAxB7
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Your revenue will increase because of the following factors-
• More increased conversions
• More repeated customers
• Capability to charge a premium price
Few more easy tips from the Industry Experts are listed below for the ease
of the hoteliers, which will help them improve their TripAdvisor Ranking-
Tip # 1 Be utmost honest and authentic about your brand
Being honest is the best way to set the expectations correctly for your
prospective guests. Overstating, unrealistic commitments and walloping
realities will make your guest disappointed and thus unlikely to give you great
reviews you yearn for.
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Tip # 3 Spread the culture of great customer service across all levels of staff
An amazing guest experience will ensure that you get the good guest
reviews. From the time guest checks into the time they check out and any
and everything in between, ensure that their stay is as pleasant and
delightful as it can be.
This exercise does not end here only, it is also important to monitor your guest
reviews and respond to them as well. Focus and strategize about how can
you continue to improve what you are doing good and work towards
completely changing what is not going in your favor. Also, this exercise will
help you come out with that one thing which will help you stand out from
the competition and offer an experience that your guest will totally relish.
Further, more precise planning will be required to work on these findings, the
budget can also be a constraint. But taking steady, small steps will also give
impressive results over a period of time. And guest reviews will certainly show
improvement in terms of both quality and quantity.
Tip # 2 Hotel’s online ranking is directly related to their offline service
Train and instruct your staff to provide best in class customer service. Involve
them at all stages of customer service and reviews so that they feel party to
both positive and negative feedback received from the customer. This will
also help set everyone’s stake in the culture and practice you are trying to
establish in your hotel.
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Tip # 5 Be prepared for disaster management; respond to negative reviews with ownership
Tip # 4 Offer value for money
Customers complain mostly about high Wi-Fi charges, hidden charges, etc.
Many hotels charge their customers highly for such items. However, many
hotels are very generous in offering these as freebies in order to make their
customers happy. Hotels should do their due diligence in terms of costs vs
benefits received in terms of customer delight and positive reviews.
Most hotels are not prepared to handle negative reviews. The majority of
them will think of either ignoring them or worst hiding them. And this is never
recommended; responding to negative comments portrays that you are
listening to the voice of the customer and also value the efforts & time a
guest has invested in to write that feedback.
Be modest and humble enough to accept in case things have gone wrong
from your end. As a recourse, hotels can offer some incentives & offers to
make up for the guest. And also thank your guest for making an effort to
write about you.
Train your staff to prevent negative reviews and also to identify and resolve
on-property issues before they escalate to online complaints. This also means
giving staff the authority to do what it takes to ensure guests don’t leave
dissatisfied.
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You should genuinely be thankful to your guest for writing in a negative
feedback because this provides you with an opportunity to make an
improvement at your end. Each review comment that you receive is a mirror
of the service you provide and guest experience at your hotel. Hotels can
also appoint a Process Improvement Team (PIT) for assigning roles and duties
to staff, tracking them and achieve them also as per the feedback
received.
According to recent research by PhoCusWright, one area where most
hoteliers will be increasing their level of investment in 2016 is online reputation
management.
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This tactic is highly condemned by authentic review sites, as it largely alters
the authenticity, accuracy, and validity of a guest review.
Incentivizing your guest like to offer discounts and upgrades for writing
reviews is a violation of TripAdvisor rule. Such reviews are not only deleted
instead penalty can also be imposed on your hotel.
As per TripAdvisor, such techniques have helped as many as 5.3 million
hotels, restaurants on TripAdvisor.
Tip # 6 Never offer incentives for writing favored reviews
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Founded in 2004, RateGain is a leading provider of cloud-based product
and service around the function of Rate Intelligence, Price Optimization,
Seamless Electronic Distribution and Brand Engagement to the world’s
leading Hotels and Online Travel Agents.
With continued innovation and excellence in customer focus, we are proud
to serve over 12,000 clients and numerous industry partners.
Our customers are global and so are we, with offices in 10 countries across
all major continents, supported by over 500 passionate professionals and
seasoned industry experts.
Through world-class solutions, RateGain helps its industry leading customers
beat their competition and make more revenue every day.
Contact us at: marketing@rategain.com
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About RateGain Technologies
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