NB: This is a guest article by Ed Ryder, a word-of-mouth strategist at OutRivalReputationManagement.
It surprises me that many hoteliers do nothing with review sites. Even if all the reviews are positive, there should still be some level of management response.
There are many other issues around how hoteliers engage with review platforms and with guests who may leave a review of a hotel, whether it is positive or negative.
So here are 17 mistakes I have found hotels often make with regards to review sites:
1. Not showing that you care
If a review has potential to be damaging to your reputation, somebody on your management team should respond to it.
A response should be written thoughtfully, carefully and intelligently… so that everyone who goes on to read it will get the impression you run a thoughtful, careful, intelligent business.
People want to see that you care. They want to know that if they have a problem, somebody at the hotel will seriously attend to the matter.
Another important thing, research from TripAdvisor shows that 71% of travelers believe management responses matter.
2. Hiding
People don't like this. If you are going to write a response, put your name to it, and your title. When you don’t put a name on your management response, what you have written isn’t as authentic and human as it could be.
Your management response simply won’t mean as much. It shows that you are not 100% committed to your customers, whether that is the reality of the situation or not.
In summary, you weaken their trust and increase their skepticism when you hide behind a company facade.
3. Inadequate proofreading
It only takes one careless error to convey in some readers’ minds that the management at your hotel is not well-educated. Something as simple as using "their" instead of "there" can set that impression.
4. Using overly complicated words
Don’t take it too far with trying to impress the readers with your vocabulary. It isn't helpful. Use conversational English.
5. Attacking the review writer
This is risky. Taking on a defensive tone, belittling the writer, accusing them of being dishonest, blaming them for the problem…
Though it may be tough to do, it’s better to take the high road with not even a hint of these elements being in your writing.
If somebody says there was a bug in their room, and you say it’s their fault for leaving the door open, it’s not going to go over well with a lot of travelers who go on to read that response.
Keep the tone of your response cordial. If the tone is too aggressive or comes across as immature, you could scare away potential guests.
6. Failure to deal with a seriously negative accusation in a review
If somebody says you have bed bugs, and you don’t respond, this probably will be severely damaging.
If you are certain it is a malicious, fraudulent post, then use your capability with the review site's management tools to report it and to request its removal.
If the review has any chance of being accurate, then be completely transparent about how you are addressing the situation.
7. Failure to respond to positive reviews
You shouldn’t respond to every positive review. But do respond from time to time to show readers that you care about what people think, that you appreciate their comments, and take a moment to plug a few benefits connected with staying at your hotel.
8. Responding with a boiler plate response
If you write the same basic response over and over again, you will come across as kind of stupid, shallow and insincere.
You need to mix it up. Make each response unique. Show that you understood what they said.
9. Permitting a low number of reviews
In the minds of travelers, a small number of reviews compared to other nearby hotels could mean "beware" in their minds, unless your property is brand new. And if you have old reviews on the first page, those are stale.
Their value is questionable, because they don't represent the current conditions at your hotel.
10. Asking guests to write reviews through the hotel’s wireless network
If you are asking people to join TripAdvisor for the first time, and they go on to write a very positive review from your IP address, this could cause you problems.
TripAdvisor might begin to think your reviews are being concocted by staff members, and this could lead to punishment by TripAdvisor, such as "red flagging" and a downgrade of your ranking.
Other review sites could react similarly.
11. Not taking full advantage of the visual content you can upload to a review site
Upload all of the photos and video you can. VERY FEW hotels are uploading any video content. A good video presentation could be very helpful.
Try to take advantage of Google’s special interior photography for businesses, where the 360 degree “street view” camera comes into your hotel. Check out this example of a bar.
Currently, Google is providing this service for free. If you can get in on this deal, it’s one extra free marketing tool that your local competitors might not have.
12. Failing to ask for positive reviews
Anytime you let an extremely satisfied guest walk out of the hotel without asking for a review on a specific review site, you are letting opportunity slip right through your fingers.
Extremely satisfied guests, especially those who are first-time visitors, are the most likely to follow-through and write a positive review for you.
13. Ignoring the potential of other review sites, besides TripAdvisor
Yes, TripAdvisor is dominant when it comes to hotel reviews, but you should be making efforts to raise your visibility on Yelp and Google Places too.
Devices with advanced voice recognition technology, like the Apple iPhone’s Siri, will become more advanced and widespread — soon.
People will be curious which hotel Siri, or Google’s upcoming system, will recommend, and they will say to their next generation iPad, Apple television or smartphone: “I’m going to be in Boston next week. And I want a hotel room for less than 200 bucks a night. Which one should I stay at?”
These new voice assistants will comb through Yelp and Google Places and make recommendations based largely upon reputation.
It’s going to be revolutionary. If you want your hotel to be highly likely to be recommended by these devices, you need to take steps now to position yourself for it by getting a dominant quantity of positive reviews on Yelp and Google Places.
Even if the voice recognition revolution is slow to come, there are still a lot of Yelpers out there and plenty of people hit Google up for travel info. It would be a good idea to establish a strong reputation on these sites.
Besides Google Places and Yelp, look for other review sites that might benefit you, like HolidayCheck, a popular site with Europeans.
14. Provoking a sudden flow of 5 star reviews on Yelp by people who are brand new to Yelp
Yes, it’s a good idea to encourage a strong reputation on Yelp, but you need to be careful about who you are asking to post a review there.
If suddenly you begin getting 5 star reviews from people who have just signed up for Yelp, you are in danger of having all of those new reviews taken away from you.
It is better to ask for reviews on Yelp from established Yelpers. (Yelp is tricky.)
15. Blocking access to managers and failure to head off negative reviews at the pass
A lot of hotels seem to have drawbridges around their managers, where the pathway to them is blocked.
It’s better to encourage guests to complain to someone in authority so that problems can be addressed.
If you don’t make it easy for dissatisfied guests to complain, they will make you pay for it with passionate, in-depth negative reviews and negative buzz, and they will gladly spread it around in attempts to reap some satisfaction out of the situation.
The average Facebook user has 130 friends. Do you really want the occasional dissatisfied guest telling 130 people, or more, how much you sucked?
Make yourself available to intercept those problems before they become damaging problems.
16. Asking for positive reviews on more than one review site
By adding complexity to your request for a positive review, you lessen the chances of getting any review.
If you are going to ask your customers for reviews on multiple sites, you’re probably asking for too much. Make it simple. Pick one review site and ask for nothing else.
And if you ask for a positive review and a Facebook “like” and a newsletter sign-up, your request has too much clutter and probably will result in getting nothing for your efforts.
17. Posting fraudulent reviews
This is risky. My gut feeling is that only a few hotels, here and there, are attempting this, for example, in the US. If you do get caught, you could receive some embarrassing attention.
Your ranking will probably be shot to bits by the operators of the review site, and if your hotel is in the US, you might even be prosecuted and fined by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission).
Why risk all that trouble? Just ask your most satisfied guests for the favor of a 5 star review.
NB: This is a guest article by Ed Ryder, a word-of-mouth strategist at OutRivalReputationManagement.
NB2: Download Ryder's Review Trigger Cards to make asking for positive reviews easier.
NB3:Image via Shutterstock.