Contributing Author: Anna Merrick

A recent survey showed that more than half of travelers say that they wouldn’t book a hotel that doesn’t have reviews and furthermore noted that 87% say that reviews positively influence their booking decision! Also, the number of reviews you have on Google Places, the rating, and frequency of those reviews is correlated with the visibility of your listing according. As you can see… it’s pretty clear that online reputation should be a critical objective for any business in the service industry, as online reviews affect bookings and revenue!

Here’s a few things that we think you should consider when trying to either gain or improve the rankings or reviews of your hotel:

1. Guest Satisfaction Survey

There are SO many online resources, including surveys, out there nowadays and it is crucial that as a business owner you take advantage of them. Not only do these post-stay surveys give you insight as to how your customers feel about your hotel but it also gives them the opportunity to publish their review to TripAdvisor. While having this option can be scary, think of it has a way to be transparent with your future customers and benchmark yourself against the competition.

2.  Hotel Website

Another way of using online resources which will improve the ratings of your hotel is having an up-to-date website. It should include pictures of all aspects of your hotel from the front entrance, lobby, multiple pictures of your different room offerings, to the amenities. An additional way to gain customer confidence is providing different events, specials, and anything else you may offering in the coming months. And obviously, include reviews from customers on every.single.page of the website.

3. Remarkable Service

This starts from the moment they click on your website to the time that they check out of your hotel. From the beginning, don’t promise your guests anything that can’t be delivered. It’s best to be honest than over promise and leave guests underwhelmed.

In order to stand out and avoid negative reviews from your customers try some of these:

• Small gestures: welcome note, complimentary bottle of water (it’s all about the little things!)
• Transparency during booking process: Don’t give out any surprise fees. Lay it out from the very beginning.
• Motivated staff: Find people that are passionate about the service industry and continuously train them to be the best that they can be by going the extra mile (or two) for your guests.
• Great value: Be sure that for the money that they are spending to stay with you that they are getting everything they would want from impeccable wifi to a top-of-the-line indoor pool.

4. Listen To Your Guests

You know the saying, “the customer is always right”? Well this rings just as true in the hotel industry. As mentioned before, post-stay surveys will help you be able to do so to see where your need to focus your attention on whether that's on the look of the hotel or the waiting staff at breakfast. Always, always be listening to your guests will help improve future experiences of guests in your hotel thus improving your ratings and rankings.