Hoteliers Guide - Rackspacec1963552.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/Hoteliers-Guide-To... ·...

Hoteliers Guide to Review Sites and Forums

Revinate, Inc San Francisco, CA T +1 (415) 671-4703 E [email protected] http://www.revinate.com/

Table of Contents

The Importance of Reviews 3

Reviews Are Your Brand 3

Best Practices for Responding to Reviews 4

Should I respond to all reviews? 4

Who should respond? 5

When should I respond? 5

What should I say? 5

Best Practices for Increasing Review Volume 6

Be Remarkable 6

Don’t Be Shy 6

Be Scrupulous 6

Listen 7

Recognize and Reward 7

Convert Upset Guests into Advocates 7

Profiles of Top Review Sites 8

TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) 8

Expedia (www.expedia.com/) 10

Hotels.com (www.hotels.com) 12

Yelp.com (www.yelp.com) 13


http://www.Revinate.com/ 1

Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) 14

Travelocity (www.travelocity.com) 15

Priceline (www.priceline.com) 16

Yahoo Travel (travel.yahoo.com) 17

TravelPost (www.travelpost.com) 18

Profiles of Top Forums 19

FlyerTalk (www.flyertalk.com) 19

BetterBidding (www.betterbidding.com) 19

Fodor’s (www.fodors.com) 20

Next Steps 21



The Importance of Reviews

Reviews Are Your BrandThe most influential source of information for people booking leisure travel is now online review sites 1. If you

aren’t actively monitoring what customers are saying about your hotel online, you need to make it a priority.

Hotel business is being won and lost every day because of user generated travel reviews and social media

mentions.

In fact, a recent global study of the hotel industry found that while “location” is an important reason why

guests select a particular hotel, it is the guest experience that has the most influence on hotel selection2. In

this connected age, it has never been easier for guests to share their hotel experiences with friends, social

networks and every other traveler who researches hotels online.

User reviews influence travelers on both travel review sites and online travel agencies (OTAs). TripAdvisor, one

of the sites at the forefront of the social media revolution in travel, still dominates. Recently, however, online

travel agencies have become the largest producer of online reviews 3. In the second half of 2009, OTAs

accounted for 74% of all traveler reviews, up from 47% in the first half of 2008.

Revinate focuses exclusively on helping hotels manage online reviews and social media. Our powerful,

intuitive solution allows hoteliers to stay on top of everything being said online about their properties, and

their competitors. We provide the analysis to understand just how social media impacts your business, and

we guide you to the actions you can take to drive measurable profit.

Because there are many review sites, and because each site has different guidelines for hoteliers, we created

this document as a primer on each key source of reviews. Additionally, because we’re often asked for

guidance on responding to reviews and increasing review volume, we partnered with Daniel Edward Craig, a

leading voice on the best social media practices for hoteliers, to outline proven best practices.

If you would like more information on Revinate, please email [email protected] or visit us at

www.revinate.com. Also bookmark our blog at http://blog.revinate.com for our latest musings on the travel

industry, hotels, and emerging trends in social media. And finally, we would love to hear from you about

whether you find this document helpful and what other resources you would like to see.



1 Consumer Travel Report Part One: Behavioral Trends, PhoCusWright

2 Market Metrix, “What is more important than location in selecting a hotel?” January 13, 2010

3 Consumer Travel Report Part One: Behavioral Trends, PhoCusWright

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.revinate.com

http://www.revinate.com

http://blog.revinate.com

http://blog.revinate.com

Best Practices for Responding to Reviews

As a hotel manager, when a guest comes to the front desk to register a complaint, do you: 1) look busy; 2)

skulk out the back door; or 3) handle the matter personally?

Not that difficult a question, is it? Then why do only 7% of negative reviews on TripAdvisor get a response?

Does the fact that reviews are often anonymous and directed at travelers rather than hotels let us off the

hook? Or are hoteliers even paying attention? Consumers certainly are. Reviews are playing an increasingly

important role in booking decisions. Some would say that online reviews deserve even more time than

internal surveys, as the feedback is just as (if not more) valuable, and the impact is public.

According to TripAdvisor, a property’s response to criticism can have more influence on traveler decisions

than the criticism itself. Hoteliers have a chance to redeem themselves, yet the vast majority chooses to

remain silent, willfully allowing reputation and business to suffer. Granted, not all review sites allow hotel

responses. Online travel agencies posted three times as many hotel reviews than traveler review sites last

year, yet whereas Expedia and Hotels.com allow responses, Priceline and Travelocity don’t, effectively

shutting hotels out of the conversation.

Given their influence on booking decisions, it’s a safe bet that soon all OTAs will allow hotel responses. It’s

time for hoteliers to make more time for monitoring and responding to public feedback. Here are some tips

for responding to reviews to minimize damage and cast your hotel in a more positive light. Each property will

have a different approach, so I recommend answering these questions on your own and compiling the

results into a brief strategic plan.

Should I respond to all reviews?

You should respond to any feedback that is damaging to your hotel’s reputation, even if simply to

acknowledge the issue and apologize. An unanswered complaint leaves travelers to draw their own

conclusions, as in “I guess it’s true” or “The hotel doesn’t care”.

Respond to positive reviews occasionally to show you’re listening, to express appreciation and to reinforce

the positive, but don’t feel obliged to reply to each one. Travelers read reviews for advice from other travelers,

not for a succession of gloating responses from hotel managers. That said, your advocates deserve proper

reverence. If the host site permits, send a private note of thanks and flag their profile to acknowledge them in

person on their next stay.

Bad response: “It is with tremendous joy that I read your most gracious remarks regarding our cherished

employees, who take immense pride in pleasing our valued guests …”



Good response: “Thank you for your wonderful remarks, which I have shared with our staff. We are thrilled

to hear that you enjoyed your stay, and look forward to welcoming you back soon.”

Who should respond?Given their influence, online reviews should be handled at the highest level and disseminated at all levels. It’s

okay for a verbally gifted middle manager or executive assistant to draft responses, provided they’re

approved by—and addressed from—a senior manager. As a rule I discourage hotel owners from responding.

They have too much at stake and aren’t always as diplomatic as managers.

Bad response: “How dare you insult my bootifull hotel! I spit on your mother’s grave!”

Good response: “We welcome all constructive criticism, as it helps us to get better.”

When should I respond?

The sooner the better. The longer a complaint is left to fester, the more business it will drive away. But first

thoroughly investigate the incident, draft a reply, sleep on it, delete all threats and curses, and have it

reviewed by a highly literate and judicious colleague.

If your property rarely receives reviews, negative reviews will have a longer shelf-life, which makes monitoring

and responding even more important. If you receive frequent reviews, regular responses are necessary to

keep them up front and center—ideally on the first page. To stay on top of reviews I recommend a reputation

management tool like Revinate, which will scour the web for mentions of your hotel on all social media

platforms and deliver a daily summary to your desktop.

Bad response: “I would have appreciated it if you had brought this issue to my attention while a guest

rather than two years later.”

Good response: “You will be happy to know that, as a result of guest feedback like yours, we have

implemented the following changes …”

What should I say?A poorly worded response risks making things worse, whereas a well executed response will prompt readers

to conclude that, despite unfortunate circumstances, management cares and is on the ball. Thank the

reviewer, acknowledge positive comments first, and apologize. Explain what you’ve done to fix the problem

—or why it can’t be fixed. Readers will be put off by stock replies, and a few changed words won’t fool

them, so tailor each response. Never offer compensation, as it might encourage more complaints.

Bad response: “Let’s try to avoid hyperbolizing, shall we, as in ‘worst hotel experience EVER!’ Yes, we

dropped the ball, but we got slammed that morning and two employees called in sick.’”

Good response: “Clearly we were not performing to our usual standards that morning, and for that I

sincerely apologize. I have reviewed your feedback in detail with our restaurant manager.”



Best Practices for Increasing Review Volume

While many hoteliers understand that the quality of their reviews is important, many don't realize that the

number of reviews they get is just as important. Old reviews containing outdated or negative remarks will

continue to be shown to potential guests if you don't have new reviews to replace them. Bad reviews sitting

too long on your listing will impact bookings for many, many months on end. To increase reviews, hotel

consultant, Daniel Edward Craig, advises the following:

Be RemarkableIn the age of social media, remarkable means worth remarking about. Set realistic expectations of your property and

empower employees to exceed them in creative and memorable ways. It’s the little details guests remember: the birthday

cupcakes sent by the front desk; the extra bath amenities to replace the stash in the guest’s suitcase; the emergency

tracheotomy performed by the concierge. Independent boutique hotels rank high on review sites because they provide

unscripted, intuitive service. Toss that script aside and be spontaneous.

Don’t Be ShyRecently, the Roger Smith Hotel in New York reported in the Wall Street Journal that its TripAdvisor ranking

has jumped 100 places since last year, in part because front desk staff now mention TripAdvisor at checkout.

Encourage happy guests to write reviews by handing them a card with a link to review sites or placing one in

their room. Or send a text message or email a few minutes after departure, while they’re still basking in the

afterglow of their stay and have extra time during travel. But don’t overdo it; badgering, groveling and holding

guests at gunpoint may have the opposite effect.

Be ScrupulousAfter resigning from a hotel a few years ago, I asked my manager for a reference letter, and he told me to

write the letter and he would sign it. No argument there. If only hotels could do the same on behalf of guests.

Problem is, artificially stacking the deck may set expectations your property can’t meet, leading to more bad

reviews. Moreover, any attempt to game the system, like offering incentives and rewards in exchange for

reviews, jeopardizes the integrity and spirit of social media. You risk penalties from review sites and a

backlash from travelers. Better to channel that devious thinking toward fine-tuning the guest experience.



ListenTripAdvisor is the largest travel review site, but far from the only place travelers are talking about your hotel.

You might be missing out on business from online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity because of

low rankings and lackluster reviews. Strive for consistency in reputation on all platforms. Use a social media

monitoring tool like Revinate to track and consolidate mentions across the web and compare performance

with competitors. By interacting with guests before, during, and after their stay via sites like Facebook,

Twitter and Foursquare, you’ll encourage them to spread the word.

Recognize and RewardAs a front desk agent I used to live in constant fear that every difficult guest I encountered was a silent

shopper who would recommend I be fired. In the age of social media, everyone’s a critic and should be

treated accordingly. Fear can be a strong motivator, but a carrot is more effective than a stick. Encourage

staff to go that extra mile by sharing feedback throughout the hotel and recognizing and rewarding

individuals and departments for high ratings and favorable mentions.

Convert Upset Guests into AdvocatesTravelers tend to judge hotels less on problems that occur than on how well they’re handled. Anyone who

uses social media to voice displeasure is also likely to be vocal when an issue is expertly handled. Empower

your employees to resolve complaints with ingenuity and flair. Check in with guests at various touch points

during their stay to catch issues in real-time, and never let a guest leave dissatisfied.



Profi les of Top Review Sites

TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com)

TripAdvisor is the largest and most popular travel community in the world, with more than 40 million unique

monthly visitors (August 2010), 20 million registered members and more than 45 million reviews and

opinions. Because users create profiles and share user generated content, TripAdvisor is, in fact, also a

specialized social network.

Traveler Reviews

Anyone can login to TripAdvisor at any time to

write a review. The fact that reviews aren’t

validated against bookings has caused some

controversy but not enough to diminish the

popularity of the site.

In addition to providing open feedback, reviewers

rate hotel value, rooms, location, cleanliness,

service and sleep quality on a scale of 1 to 5.

Reviewers also detail whether they traveled for

business or pleasure and whether they traveled

alone or not. They also note whether they would

recommend the hotel to a friend.

Hotel Responses

Hotel representatives, registered on the site as

‘owners’, can respond to reviews written about their properties. One response is allowed for each customer

review and once posted, the response can’t be edited. All responses are moderated, so hotels won’t see

their review immediately after submission. When approved, the review will be displayed directly underneath

the relevant review.

Hotels that would like to respond to a review should visit http://www.tripadvisor.com/owners to find their

Owner’s Page. Once registered, owners can log on and click on "Manage your listing" at the top-right of any

page to go to the Owners' Center. Click on ‘Respond to a Review’ and follow the directions.

Revinate customers can respond from within the Revinate system by clicking the ‘Respond to Review’ link.

This link will deep link directly to the Owner’s page where a response can be crafted.



http://www.tripadvisor.com/owners

http://www.tripadvisor.com/owners

TripAdvisor Response Guidelines

Since all responses are moderated, hotels must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Responses can’t be directed solely to the author of the review or TripAdvisor staff

• No commenting about TripAdvisor policies.

• No profanity, threats, personal insults, reports of violent criminal activity

• No commercial web addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers for promotional purposes

• No text entirely in ALL CAPS

• No Hearsay

• No Content not relevant to tourists

• No HTML

TripAdvisor Popularity Index

TripAdvisor Popularity Index is a very visible

ranking of a hotel’s popularity ranking in a market.

It has become a very important measure of guest

satisfaction and because higher ranking hotels are

displayed first, bookings. The primary factors that

determine a hotel’s rank are the quantity of

reviews, how well those reviews rate the property, and how current the reviews are. Furthermore, fraudulent

activity on TripAdvisor can impact rankings.

Additional Information for Hotels

TripAdvisor offers paid opportunities so hotels can include more information in their listings, including the

property's phone number, e-mail and web site address. In addition, paying hotels have the ability to include

special offers in their listings.

!



Expedia (www.expedia.com/)

Expedia is the largest online travel agency (OTA). Unlike TripAdvisor, Expedia provides travelers with the

ability to research, plan, and book their travel. Because bookings happen on the site, Expedia has verified

the importance of good reviews to drive business. Jennifer Davies, Senior Content Manager at Expedia

says, “On Expedia.com, good reviews of 4.0 or 5.0 generate more than double the conversion of a review of

1.0 – 2.9.”4

Traveler Reviews

A reviewer is required to book a hotel

room with Expedia in order to be

eligible to write a hotel review.

Reviewers use a 5 point scale to rate

overall satisfaction, hotel service, hotel

condition, hotel cleanliness and room

comfort. They can also write a free-

form review.

Hotel Responses

Expedia encourages hotels to monitor and respond to customer reviews. Hotel Partners can respond to

customer reviews via Expedia's extranet, Expedia Partner Central or via email to [email protected].

Hotel Partners can respond to the reviews that guests have written anytime within six months following the

completion of their hotel stay.

Expedia Partner Central

Once logged in to Expedia Partner Central at https://

expediapartnercentral.com/ hoteliers may click ‘Customer Review

Requests’ to respond to reviews or request removal of reviews.

The hotel must then enter in the information about the review.

No information is pre filled so you must copy and paste the

review and provide information about when it was posted.

!

!

!



4 Hotelmarketing.com, 2-17-10



https://expediapartnercentral.com




Expedia provides the following guidelines about

responding to reviews:

1. Keep your reply focused on the specifics of the

review. The Traveler Opinions section of Expedia

and the Guest Reviews section of hotels.com is not

a place for additional marketing or promotion of

your property.

2. While the reviewer may have taken liberties with

tone, language, and even facts about policy in the

review, we respectfully request that you keep the

tone of your response professional and direct. Do

not post questions or comments directly to the

reviewer. Instead, address the specifics in a manner

that speaks to all Expedia and hotels.com

customers.

3. Avoid references to other hotels or chains,

regardless of whether or not they operate in your

market.

4. Note that Expedia will not post hotelier responses which do not address the specific content of a review. Neither will

Expedia post reviews which contain offensive language or otherwise objectionable content.

5. Responses to positive comments in a review should only be provided to offer clarification about a subject raised.

6. Please keep responses at a maximum of 300 words.

Revinate customers can link directly to their page on Expedia Partner Central if they want to respond to a

review that they see within the Revinate system.

!



Hotels.com (www.hotels.com)

Hotels.com, an operating company of Expedia, is well known for its Price Match Guarantee.

Traveler Reviews

Like Expedia, Hotels.com ensures

the integrity of reviews by requiring

that customers book a room

through the site and complete their

stay prior to posting a review.

Upon check out, Hotels.com will send the customer an email with a link to access a survey. Reviewers use a

5 point scale to rate the hotel overall, hotel service, hotel condition, room comfort and room cleanliness. In

addition to a free-form review, the reviewer also notes whether he/she would recommend the hotel and what

type of trip it was.

Hotel Responses

Hotels.com encourages hotels to participate in the guest reviews forum by responding to their guest reviews.

Hotel Partners can respond to customer reviews via Expedia's extranet, Expedia Partner Central or via email

to [email protected]. Please see the previous page for details on using Expedia Partner Central.

Revinate customers can link directly to their page on Expedia Partner Central if they want to respond to a

review that they see within the Revinate system.

!





Yelp.com (www.yelp.com)

Yelp combines local reviews and social networking functionality to create a local online community. Adding

social web functionality to user reviews creates a de-facto reputation system, whereby site visitors can see

which contributing users are the most popular, respected, and prolific, how long each has been a member,

and which have interests similar to theirs. The site covers restaurants, stores, local businesses and more.

More than 9.8M people came to Yelp in May, 2010.

Traveler Reviews

Reviews on Yelp are often

written in a more playful

manner than on other

review sites and include a

rating based on a 5 point

scale.

Hotel Responses

Yelp allows businesses to respond to reviews privately or publicly, with the public response appearing directly

below the review they’ve commented on. Yelp requires business owners to upload a real photo before

messaging customers in order to make the message personal. To respond to a review, hotels should go to

the ‘Reviews’ tab after logging into the ‘Yelp for Business Owners’ account. From there, hotels will be able to

add a public comment to any of their reviews.

Revinate customers can respond from within Revinate by clicking the ‘Add Owner Comment at Yelp’ link.

Other Tools for Business Owners

To help hotels get the most out of their online presence, Yelp offers a suite of free tools for hotels that allows

them to:

• Track how many people view their business page

• Add photos, a detailed business description, up-to-date information, history, and specialties

• Announce special offers and upcoming events

• Recommend other businesses

!



Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)

Founded in 2001, Orbitz.com is one of the largest online travel sites. The site was created to address

consumers' need for a comprehensive display of fares and rates in a single location. In May, 2010, the site

had about 8.2M monthly unique visitors.

Traveler Reviews

Reviewers on Orbitz use a 5 point scale to score hotel features and

amenities. Reviewers also can write a free-form comment and provide

travel tips. Orbitz recently changed their policy to allow anyone to write a

hotel review, regardless of whether he/she booked the hotel through

Orbitz.

Hotel Responses

Hotels are not able to respond to traveler reviews on Orbitz.!



Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)

Travelocity is the sixth largest travel agency in the world. Travelocity’s key differentiator is ‘The Travelocity

Guarantee’ which ensures that Travelocity will take care of travelers during their stay if conditions aren’t

pleasant. For example, they will try and relocate travelers to a different hotel if they arrive and there is a

renovation project going on that causes undue noise.

Traveler Reviews

Anyone is able to write a hotel review on

Travelocity, regardless of whether they have

booked a room through Travelocity or not.

(Note: Travelocity includes a Tip that reviewers

should only review hotels that they have

stayed in during the last 12 months, but there

is no verification step.)

Reviewers write a review and score the hotel

and its amenities on a 5 point scale, and

indicate whether they would stay at the hotel

again.

Hotel Responses

Travelocity recently changed its policy to allow management responses to reviews. In a note to hoteliers the

representative said, "Hotels are highly encouraged to respond to reviews as it shows that the hotels value

their customer’s opinion. Responding also creates additional genuine content about the hotel which search

engines can find."

Management responses can be emailed to [email protected]. The email should contain your Sabre hotel ID as well as contact information, review title, review date, and proposed response. Responses are moderated, much like TripAdvisor. Reviews will be rejected if you break the following rules:

i. Topics or media unrelated to a travel experienceii. Mention of competitors or specific price paidiii. Personally identifiable information, such as full namesiv. Materials that infringe a copyrightv. Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other language not suitable for a public forumvi. Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers, or websitesvii. Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses, or other forms of contact informationviii. Critical or spiteful comments on other reviews posted on the page or their authors

!





Priceline (www.priceline.com)

In addition to proving discounted hotel rooms and other travel services, Priceline is best known as the ‘Name

Your Own Price’ Web site.

Traveler Reviews

Hotels reviews on Priceline can only be

written by guests who stayed at the

hotels and booked through Priceline.

Guests are emailed a survey following

their hotel stays. The survey asks guests

to rate hotel features on a scale of 1 to 10 and provide free form answers about what they liked and didn’t

like about the hotel.

Interestingly, individual amenity ratings aren’t exposed to the

public. Rather, an individual’s ratings are averaged out to reveal

one score.

However, the average scores of the hotel features are revealed in

the hotel’s overall score.

Hotel Responses

Hotels are not able to respond to reviews on Priceline.

!

!



Yahoo Travel (travel.yahoo.com)

Yahoo Travel is the 5th most popular US travel agency.

Traveler Reviews

Any user on the site can write a hotel review.

Using a 5 point scale, reviewers rate service,

cleanliness, location, value and the hotel overall.

Reviewers also enter a free form field about

what they like and dislike about the hotel. There

is no verification that a reviewer stayed at the

hotel.

Hotel Responses

Hotels are not allowed to respond to reviews posted on Yahoo Travel.

!



TravelPost (www.travelpost.com)

TravelPost is a community built by travel enthusiasts for travel enthusiasts. The site contains over a million

reviews, photos and blogs.

Traveler Reviews

Any visitor to the site can create a hotel

review. Reviewers rate hotels on a 5 point

scale and provide a free-form review. In

addition, they have the option to post the

reviews to their Facebook profiles.

Hotel Responses

Hotels can respond to reviews by using the

comment feature and checking the ‘I

represent the hotel’ box. In addition,

TravelPost will investigate factual errors raised

by hotels and remove the review if it can be proven to be a lie.

Other Information for Hotels

Hoteliers can visit the owner page to add their hotels for free. Once a hotel is added to sister site Kayak, it

automatically appears on TravelPost.com and SideStep.

Unlike other sites, TravelPost allows guests to receive incentives (like a coupon for a future stay) for writing

reviews, but hoteliers cannot tell guests what to say in the review, and the reviewers must disclose that they

were given incentives by the hotel to write the review.

!



Profi les of Top Forums

FlyerTalk (www.flyertalk.com)

With almost 500,000 monthly unique views in May, 2010, FlyerTalk is a travel forum where frequent travelers

discuss all aspects of travel with their peers. The majority of the forums deal with hotel and airline points and

rewards programs. The community is self-moderated and rules of the forums are taken seriously. New

members are encouraged to read other posts and the FAQ prior to posting. Because airline and hotel status

is part of a member’s profile, FlyerTalk is a great place for hoteliers to see what their most influential and

frequent guests are saying.

Traveler Reviews

While FlyerTalk isn’t a review site, travelers do post their opinions about hotels within the different forums.

Many people will ask for recommendations in cities they are traveling to so hotels get mentioned all the time.

In addition, there are forums for both luxury travel and budget travel where travelers comment on hotels.

Hotel Responses

Unlike online review sites and OTAs, Hoteliers stick out like sore thumbs on TravelTalk, since the community

is really about sharing travel tips with like-minded people – frequent travelers. While hoteliers can sign up for

a Flyer Talk account and monitor what is said about their brand, responses about guest’s hotel stays should

be minimal and natural. Salesy notes from someone unfamiliar with the site will get flamed. However, in the

forums about points programs, if a hotel representative can add value or clear up confusion, a post would be

welcomed by members.

BetterBidding (www.betterbidding.com)

With 70,000 monthly unique visitors in May 2010, Better Bidding is much smaller than the other sites

covered, but it is included because of the volume of reviews it captures. In addition to providing tips for

bidding on Hotwire.com and Priceline.com, the site provides a very straight forward and easy to use forum

for reading and submitting hotel reviews.

Traveler Reviews

Unlike other review sites where users post scores, users on BetterBidding only provide written reviews.

Hotel Responses

Like most forums, any registered user can review and comment on any post. Hotel representatives aren’t

offered an official “hotel” account, but hoteliers can respond to any review as a representative of the hotel.



Fodor’s (www.fodors.com)

Best known for it’s printed travel guides, Fodor’s

also operates a feature-rich Web site for travelers

that about 474k people visited in May, 2010.

Traveler Reviews

In addition to professional Fodor’s reviews, the

site also allows anyone to submit a review in the

reviews section or discuss a hotel in the forum.

Traveler reviews are shown beneath the professional review and include a free-form review and ratings for

room, atmosphere, service and value, on a 5 point scale.

The forum allows any registered user to submit a topic or contribute to a topic. Hotels are often discussed as

travelers seek advice on itineraries and trip details.

Hotel Responses

Hotels can not respond to hotel reviews in the review section.

Like most forums, any registered user can review and comment on any post. Hotel representatives aren’t

offered an official “hotel” account, but hoteliers can respond to threads in forums. The site doesn’t allow

commercial content so make sure your response is helpful and authentic rather than salesy and forced. (For

example, if you see someone asking for advice on a romantic hotel for an anniversary, don’t suggest your

airport hotel.)



Next Steps

Reading this document is the first step toward ensuring that you know what travelers are saying about your

hotel. When you take your online reviews seriously and act on the data, whether to fix issues, make more

informed decisions or placate an unhappy customer, your sales and customer satisfaction will most certainly

improve.

If you are looking for a service that will aggregate all your reviews, track your social media performance and

make it faster and easier to take the appropriate action, please contact us at [email protected]. Our clients

include the world’s largest hotel chains, boutique hotels, asset management companies and brands. We look

forward to working with you.





Hoteliers Guide - Rackspacec1963552.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/Hoteliers-Guide-To... ·...

Documents

Transcript of Hoteliers Guide - Rackspacec1963552.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/Hoteliers-Guide-To... ·...