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How do you pick between hotels for your next trip?
You probably search for services they offer, compare rates, check star ratings and read reviews from past guests. And you’re not alone. TripAdvisor found 80% of their users read at least six to 12 reviews before booking.
This shows how much your online reputation management for hotels matters when it comes to convincing people to choose your property.
The great news is that the right approach to hotel reputation management will help you generate more bookings. This is a guide to reputation management in the hotel industry, where we’ll teach you how to use online reviews as your marketing superpower. We’ll cover the basics of reputation management for the hotel industry and how it drives business.
We’ll cover:
Online reputation management is your hotel’s digital footprint. From Google and Tripadvisor reviews to tagged photos on Instagram, your hotel’s online reputation is anything people say about your property in the digital sphere. This can be on social media, review sites, forums, comment sections on blog posts and in media articles.
Reputation management is when you monitor and influence your hotel’s online presence. This lets you build a positive brand image for your property.
The first thing that comes to mind here is likely reading and responding to reviews. While that’s an important part, it’s not everything. Your social media presence and website also influence your hotel’s reputation.
Pro tip: If you’re curious, you can read more about hotel review management in this article.
Review scores can have an enormous impact on your hotel’s online reputation. They directly impact how much business you get, how much you can charge and how you’re perceived in the market. Here’s how:
Did you know 97% of travelers consult online reviews before booking a hotel? Making a reservation at a new place can be daunting, so guests want to be certain they’re choosing correctly. Good online reviews give potential guests confidence to book with your property.
In addition to positive reviews, reviews with constructive criticism can help you. If you notice a trend, such as guests always needing more towels or wishing the gym were open later, you can make improvements accordingly.
Having a good star rating is great, but reviews also give you a competitive advantage over other hotels in your area. Guests are almost four times more likely to book a hotel with a higher review score, so hotel online reputation management is good for business, too! Boosts Visibility and SEO
Potential travelers do their research, but they can’t look at your hotel if they don’t find it online. Active profiles across major review sites helps your property come up in search results. This means more travelers can find you and add you to their list of potential properties to stay at.
A solid online presence is essential if you want to get people’s attention. That means making it easy for your target market to find you on their favorite channels. As a result, you’ll grow your reach and get more of your ideal guests to book with you.
Your hotel’s website is the most important part of your online presence. It gives potential travelers information, so you generate more commission-free, direct bookings.
Highlighting online reviews on your website adds social proof that gives potential guests confidence. You can do this via plugins from major review sites or have guests leave comments directly on your website.
Social media is not just a place to share your latest offers and promote your services. Many people use social media channels to reach out to hotels. Engage with them to show that you value their interest. This ensures they think of you first when it’s time to book.
Travelers also love tagging their hotels in posts and stories. Reshare this content to show you appreciate their engagement. Or, take it a step further by offering giveaways when people share.
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are valuable distribution partners that increase your visibility. Keep your listings updated and provide relevant information about your hotel to set the right expectations. That means adding seasonally appropriate images, uploading fresh photos after renovations and highlighting new services and offers. OTAs are also a reliable source of reviews that help you gauge guest sentiment.
The internet is the main way people book travel, so many sites for online reviews have popped up to match demand. Some are OTAs, while others are information-based and link to a hotel’s site. This section covers how major review sites, OTAs, social media and guest data are all resources for your reputation.
The major review sites, Google Reviews, Tripadvisor and Yelp, are likely familiar already. These sites have incredible SEO and offer major visibility benefits to your property. Unlike OTAs, these sites don’t offer their own booking engines. Instead, they simply display information about your property and guide guests to reserve with you. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), like Booking.com and Expedia, also display information about your property for browsing travelers. The main difference is that these sites let travelers book through them. This increases visibility and last-minute bookings, but comes with a high commission fee.
Social media is also a common place for guests to leave reviews. Facebook has a specific review feature for businesses, but that’s not the only thing to check. You may also get feedback on tagged photos, Instagram posts and even LinkedIn! If you're active on a channel, it's important to monitor it so you never miss a review.
In addition to being active online, your own feedback channels provide an important spot for guests to leave their thoughts. Checking in during your stay and automatically asking for feedback at checkout offers valuable insight into how guests think of your hotel.
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at how you can get started with reputation management at your hotel.
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork, it’s time to focus on improving your online reputation. Start by benchmarking where you’re at. Then, start coming up with ways to get more guests to share their great experiences at your hotel.
The first step in successfully managing your hotel’s online reputation is to assess your current situation. Know what people are saying about your hotel, including its strengths and weaknesses. Also, consider your market to understand your reputation compared to your competitors'.
Social listening is an excellent habit. Set up Google alerts with the name of your hotel, search across social media and keep an eye out for new reviews. This gives you valuable insights into what people are saying, even when they aren’t interacting with you directly.
Hotel reputation management software gets data from post-stay surveys and tracks reviews on every platform. It gathers every source onto one dashboard, so you can read and respond to reviews directly. This saves valuable time and ensures you never miss a guest comment again.
Good hotel reputation management tools do more than just help you track reviews. They show how guest sentiment is trending and analyze things that come up often. Do guests often praise your value for money? Do they love your extra-fast WiFi? Or is the sluggish service at breakfast a regular cause for complaints?
Data-based reports from your reputation management tool let you find out. And, AI lets you go deeper with sentiment analysis and get recommendations for where to improve.
Next, look at your main competitors. How many reviews do they have? What’s their overall rating? What do guests frequently praise and criticize? Collect your findings in a spreadsheet to spot trends and opportunities.
Here’s how this could look:
As you collect this data, you may realize you don’t have a lot of reviews yet. In that case, it’s time to get more people to talk about your hotel’s many features and benefits.
While 40% of hotel guests are likely to leave a review after a wonderful experience, the other 60% won’t share their thoughts online. Luckily, prompting a review encourages more guests to get vocal. A survey by BrightLocal found that a whopping 65% of consumers leave reviews when asked to do so by a business!
There are several ways you can make sure guests get prompted to leave a review, including:
Getting more reviews is a great start, and responding appropriately is the next step. Quick and relevant answers are important because they show that you value feedback. This makes a good impression on the reviewers and potential future guests.
That said, managing guest feedback for hotels is more than copying and pasting the same message. Whether positive or negative, it’s important to tailor your responses to each review.
Even though you consistently do your best, things go wrong sometimes. And disappointed guests will air their grievances publicly. When this happens, don’t panic. Examine the review and find out what happened from your team. Then respond thoughtfully, focusing on both empathy and solutions.
First, thank the reviewer for their comment and apologize for the negative experience. Next, outline how you plan to improve your service. Finally, offer your email in case they’d like to chat through it further—this personal touch can go a long way.
Or, if the situation permits it, you can use a negative review to attract your target audience. For example, Snowbird Lodge turned a review about difficult slopes into brilliant advertising.
Talk about a great way to show expert skiers and adrenaline junkies where to book their next winter trip!
Negative reviews also serve as a roadmap to improvement. Recurring issues that pop up are great indicators of where you can improve.
Once you know which area of service needs the most work, create a plan to improve. There are a few ways to do this:
These are just a few examples. The concrete actions you should take depend on your hotel’s strengths and weaknesses.
Here’s a bonus tip: When you implement these steps, share them with your audience. They’ll love seeing that you’re investing in creating better experiences for them.
Part of getting good reviews is going beyond just giving guests a place to stay. A delightful guest experience gives travelers something they’ll want to rave about. Here are some tips for guest engagement:
Hotels can expand their reach in a creative way through hospitality-specific PR. These firms secure coverage across diverse media channels, like influencers and travel websites. This creates more brand awareness and offers another way to showcase your hotel’s unique features.
Managing your online reputation may seem daunting, but thankfully, technology makes it easier. Hotel reputation management software automates many of these processes. This means less time spent gathering feedback and more time spent implementing it.
Hotel reputation management software lets hotels monitor, analyze and respond to guest feedback across online platforms. It centralizes reviews from multiple spots into one unified dashboard. This way, hoteliers get to track their online reputation at a glance.
Reputation management in the hotel industry is much easier with the right software. These tools consolidate your guest sentiments without requiring a lot of effort. It makes analyzing insights more efficient, so you get granular data on where your hotel excels and where it could improve.
Before investing in a hotel reputation management tool, make sure it’s the right solution. Features to look for when evaluating options include:
Every hotel has different needs, so there’s no “best” online reputation management software. However, considering your unique needs makes it easier to find the right one. Some of the top companies include:
Revinate offers review monitoring, sentiment analysis and survey capabilities integrated with marketing tools. It’s popular with independent hotels and groups alike.
TrustYou aggregates reviews from 140+ sources and provides detailed sentiment analysis. It also offers surveys, messaging and a meta review feature.
ReviewPro focuses on guest feedback, online reputation scores and service optimization. It supports case management and integrates with major PMS and CRM systems.
While broader than hospitality, Medallia is widely used by major hotel chains. It gathers feedback across touchpoints and uses AI to highlight trends and areas for improvement.
Birdeye isn't hospitality-specific, but you can use it to manage reviews, respond quickly and improve local search rankings. It’s often used by hotels that want a strong presence on Google.
Yext combines listings management with reputation tools to improve review engagement. It’s especially helpful for hotels aiming to have a presence on multiple platforms.
And these are just the beginning! Search for phrases like “online reputation management services for hotels” or “reputation management hotel industry” to find other options.
Pro tip: To analyze your reviews, you have to generate them first! Request a demo to see how Canary’s Smart Checkout gathers guest feedback across platforms.
Get the most out of your reputation management software by picking one that integrates with your systems. This not only helps you see your feedback at a glance, but it also offers:
Your staff plays a critical role in forming your hotel’s reputation, both online and off. Give them the right tools and training to provide the best service in everyday situations and more challenging interactions. The better they can do that, the more positive reviews you’ll see.
Dealing with guests isn’t always easy. When special requests, difficult personalities and busy days converge, providing great service gets tough. One way to help your team learn to better manage these situations? Offer specialized training. Online modules or role-playing exercises prepare staff to handle difficult scenarios. This way, they're confident in their skills even when uncommon events come their way.
Creating clear policies gives your staff the autonomy to handle issues effectively. The goal should always be to quickly solve the problem to your guest’s satisfaction. With clear protocols, your staff will know which levers they can pull to offer solutions. Whether it be a free drink at the bar or a complimentary late checkout, make it clear what staff has the authority to do.
Even with the best staff and great service, issues you have no control over can still pop up. For issues like theft or an illness outbreak, a crisis communication plan should be in place.
First, consider your hotel’s main weaknesses and which crisis is most likely to occur. Common problems hotels face include accidents involving guests, vendor strikes or even data breaches. It's also important to consider events like natural disasters or widespread supply shortages. If these things occur when guests are at your hotel, they'll expect you to have a plan in place.
It may be helpful to work with pros to set up your custom crisis communication plan. On top of an action plan, PR agencies often provide media training for senior leadership. This is valuable practice for responding to media questions if a crisis does occur.
If you ever read negative headlines about your hotel, stay calm. If you have a crisis communication plan, consult it for your next steps. Depending on the situation’s gravity, call in your PR and/or legal team.
The first step will most likely be to issue an apology for any wrongdoing. Then, show that you’re doing everything to correct the mistake and ensure it never happens again. It’s critical to communicate honestly and sincerely. If you get probing questions, remain courteous and professional.
After the initial wave of the crisis subsides, there’s more work for your PR team. They’ll need to create positive content around your brand to rebuild your reputation.
The best way to see how your online reputation is developing is to measure and track key performance indicators (KPIs). Trends in review scores and star ratings offer valuable feedback about your efforts.
Measure the following metrics regularly to know if you’re making progress:
Leverage your KPI data to see if your action steps are moving you in the right direction. Keep track of when you implement a new service standard or training to see its impact on your score.
Check review content as well to know what guests are saying about your new offers or amenities. Continuously improve your results by adapting your strategies accordingly.
Now you know: hotel reputation management is about more than just responding to reviews. Getting it right takes time and dedication. But sticking with it can result in massive advantages for your hotel: extra bookings, more visibility and an increased willingness to pay among your guests. If you’d like to learn more about how Canary can help you wow guests and generate reviews, request a demo with us today.
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