H O W T O F I G H TB A D R E V I E W S

O N L I N E R E P U T A T I O N M A N A G E M E N T :

I F Y O U ' R E A N I N D E P E N D E N T H O T E L

WHY IS ITIMPORTANT TOFIGHT BADREVIEWS?

9 3 % O F G U E S T SF I N D R E V I E W S

I M P O R T A N T W H E NL O O K I N G A T A

H O T E L

Y O U N E E D A NH O N E S T A N D

P R O F E S S I O N A LR E P U T A T I O N

O N L I N E

5 3 % O F P E O P L EW O U L D N ' T B O O K AH O T E L W I T H O U T

R E A D I N G A G U E S TO P I N I O N

R E S P O N D I N G T OR E V I E W S

=

B U I L D I N G G U E S TR E L A T I O N S H I P S

“In recent research, we found that... good reviews will influence atraveler to spend more, and badreviews will discourage bookings,

even if the hotel room isdiscounted.”

• • •

K E L L Y M C G U I R E , L E A D E R O F H O S P I T A L I T YA N D T R A V E L G L O B A L P R A C T I C E A T T H E S A S

I N S T I T U T E

HOW SHOULDINDEPENDENT HOTELSFIGHT BAD REVIEWS?Respond to bad reviews (when appropriate)

Promote reputation management on a team levelPlace reviews & social media on your own website

RESPONDING TOREVIEWS

W H Y , W H E N A N D H O W

S H O W S G U E S T S Y O U ' R E L I S T E N I N G T O T H E M

A N O P P O R T U N I T Y T O A P O L O G I Z E

G I V E S Y O U T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y T O P O S I T I O NY O U R S E L F A S " T H E G O O D G U Y "

T U R N N E G A T I V E S ( T H E R E V I E W ) I N T OP O S I T I V E S : " W E ' V E F I X E D T H A T P R O B L E MA N D W E ' R E B E T T E R T H A N E V E R "

W H Y R E S P O N D ?

A S S O O N A S P O S S I B L E

W H E N R E V I E W S A R E P A R T I C U L A R L Y N E G A T I V EO R O V E RWH E L M I N G L Y P O S I T I V E

O N L Y B E ON A S MAN Y C H A N N E L S A S Y O U C A NH A N D L E : i f g u e s t s c a n r e v i e w y o u i n p l a c e s y o u c a n ' tk e e p t r a c k o f , y o u l o s e c o n t r o l o f y o u r r e p u t a t i o n

W H E N T O R E S P O N D ?

B E WH E R E Y O U R G U E S T S A R E : k n o w w h i c hs o c i a l & r e v i e w s i t e s a r e i m p o r t a n t t o y o u rg u e s t s , a n d w h i c h r e v i e w s a r e i n f l u e n t i a l

D O N ' T B E A F R A I D T O A P O L O G I Z E : I t ' s o k a y t o t e l lg u e s t s y o u k n o w t h a t t h e r e c a n b e p r o b l e m s t h a tc om e u p & y o u d o t h e b e s t t o f i x t h em .

T H I N K B E F O R E Y O U P O S T : I f a s i t u a t i o n h a s t h ep o t e n t i a l t o b e c o m e a b a t t l e , t a k e a p a u s eb e f o r e y o u h i t ' s e n d ' .

H O W T O R E S P O N D ?

S T A Y AWA Y F R OM S P E C I F I C S ON L I N E : Wh i l e i t ' sg r e a t t o s a y p u b l i c l y y o u ' r e g o i n g t o ma k e t h es i t u a t i o n r i g h t , d o n ' t o f f e r f r e e r o om s o rs p e c i f i c d i s c o u n t s o n l i n e

K E E P I T R E A L : I t c a n b e d i f f i c u l t t o s o u n du n s c r i p t e d w h e n y o u w r i t e a d o z e n r e s p o n s e s ad a y , b u t t r y t o m a k e e v e r y r e s p o n s e s p e c i f i c t ot h e r e v i e w e r - i n c l u d e s p e c i f i c d e t a i l s f r o mt h e i r r e v i e w i n y o u r r e s p o n s e .

MAKING REPUTATIONMANAGEMENT A TEAM

EFFORT

R E P U T A T I O N I S AG R O U P E F F O R T

Y o u r h o t e l ' s r e p u t a t i o n d o e s n ' t o n l y e x i s t o n l i n e- i t s t a r t s i n t h e h o t e l .

F r om s a l e s t o F &b , r e c e p t i o n s a n d o p e r a t i o n s ,

y o u h a v e o pp o r t u n i t i e s t o w i n o v e r - o rd i s a p p o i n t - y o u r g u e s t s .

P R O M O T E R E V I E W S O NA T E A M L E V E L

Chang e t h e c u l t u r e o f y o u r ho t e l t o on e t h a t ' sawa r e o f a nd t a k i n g ad v a n t a g e o f y o u r on l i n e

r e p u t a t i o n .

Ge t e v e r y o n e i n v o l v e d : make t h em awa r e o f y o u rr e p u t a t i o n ' s impo r t a n c e , a nd s h a r e bo t h po s i t i v ea nd n e g a t i v e r e v i ew s t o r e c o gn i z e , r ewa r d a nd

l e a v e r o om f o r imp r o v emen t .

G E T T I N G S T A R T E D

Ma r k e t i n g : Eng a g e da i l y w i t h gu e s t s a nd f a n s ons o c i a l med i a a nd o t h e r s i t e s . Mon i t o r f e e db a c k ,

a n a l y s e gu e s t s a t i s f a c t i o n , a nd r e p l y p r omp t l y t os t a v e o f f a n y n e g a t i v e damag e .

S a l e s : U s e r e v i ew s t o ben chma r k a g a i n s t y o u rc ompe t i t o r du r i n g s a l e s p i t c h e s t o s e c u r e n ewcon t r a c t s . Be t t e r r e v i ew s c a n a l s o pu sh h i g h e r

p r i c e t i e r s f o r on l i n e s a l e s .

PUT REVIEWSAND SOCIAL

MEDIA ON YOUROWN SITE

Guests use rev iews and soc ia lexper iences at the point of purchaseto in f luence the i r book ing dec i s ion .

I f there are no rev iews on your own webs i te ,

guests wi l l l eave to go l ook at other s i tes -

and they may not come back . You cou ld endup g iv ing a book ing to a th i rd par ty s i te thatcharges high commiss ion ra tes , or l o se i t

ent i re l y !

W H Y ?

Add rev iews to your s i te to combatth i s bounce ra te .

Hav ing rev iews :

Promotes a s t rong brand imageShows your own conf idence in yourhote l and what people are say ingKeeps rev iews r ight next to the pointo f purchase on your s i te !

W H A T T O D O

More pos i t i ve rev iews g ive you abet te r pos i t ion aga ins t your

compet i to r s .

For example , Tr ipAdv i sor 's Popula r i t y Indexranks hote l s on qual i ty , quant i ty and

recency of rev iews , and that determinesyour page rank ing - and how many book ings

you get .

R E V I E W S A R E AT R U M P C A R D

Rev iews a l so have tang ib le benef i t s : They l e tyou ana lyse and unders tand guest

sat i s fac t ion , and make se rv ice changes andimprovements .

Genuine , pos i t i ve guest rev iews are thes ing le best way to se l l your property .

R E V I E W S A R E AT R U M P C A R D

GO FORTH AND FIGHTBAD REVIEWS TOBUILD YOURREPUTATION -

GOOD LUCK!

Focused exclusively on the hotel sector, NetAffinity is a technology, digital marketing and

web design firm. We have collated thebrightest, most commercially focused,

experienced and passionate team of onlinemarketers, account managers, designers anddevelopers whose combined skill set ensures

our clients' online success.