Expert guide: The power of hotel guest reviews

When travelers search for a place to stay, reviews from former guests can play a pivotal role in their decision-making process — almost half (46%) rank guest reviews ahead of recommendations from family and travel booking websites when deciding where to book.* Our recent Path to Purchase research shows that for hotel bookers, travel ratings and reviews are among the most important features when deciding where to book travel.

Guest reviews are also an important measure of the guest experience. In our marketplace, partners who have a strong guest experience score — which measures different aspects of your guests’ interactions with your property, including positive reviews — may see higher visibility and placement in search results and may be eligible for our VIP Access program. You can view your guest experience score at any time in Partner Central, including suggestions for how to improve your guest experience and reviews.

Read on to learn how to get more reviews for your property and confidently respond to feedback, whether it’s positive or negative. Plus, discover how you can leverage reviews to enhance your marketing and guest outreach strategy.

Many guests will happily leave reviews about their stay. All you have to do is ask — and make it easy for them to share their feedback.

• Place a sign in the hotel room with a message like “Let us know how your stay is going” or “Tell us what you think — leave a review!” Add your property’s website and social media profiles, as well as links to hotel review sites.

• Ask for reviews on any materials you share with guests, such as Wi-Fi information or a list of local attractions. You can even ask for reviews on your Wi-Fi sign-in confirmation page.

• Encourage your front-desk staff to ask for reviews. It’s a natural follow-up to the “how was your stay?” conversation at checkout.

• Request reviews through our Messages tool. This sends a custom templated message requesting a review and includes a link to the post-stay review form.

Access the Messages tool in Partner Central to turn on and customize automatic post-stay review requests.

Access Message Center

• Address the guest by name, thank them for their feedback, and let them know you’re listening. Don’t give a copy and paste or standardized answer. Acknowledge the issue and show a sincere desire to get things right. Rather than being defensive, offer an empathetic apology and focus on how you can move forward.
  

• Try to respond within 24 hours. Any longer and it may seem like you don’t care about the guest’s experience.

Of course, not all reviews are bad. When you receive positive feedback, that warrants a response too. Be gracious and humble, thanking the guest for sharing their experience. You can quickly reply to multiple reviews using our Post-stay reviews tool in Partner Central. Simply sort your list to view the reviews that are awaiting a reply, enter your comments, and hit submit.

Reviews don’t just help travelers decide where to stay. They can also help you improve the guest experience. More than half (52%) of travel professionals make changes to their business due to negative customer reviews.** Make time to regularly go over your Reviews insights from the Post-stay reviews tool in Partner Central to find common themes in your guest feedback that might indicate what your guests love — and what you can improve upon for future stays.

View and respond to guest reviews, and access valuable review insights, through the Post-stay reviews tool.

Access Post-stay reviews tool  

With so much information out there, today’s guests are more discerning than ever. Make them feel more confident about booking your property by sharing guest reviews, responding appropriately, and showing travelers you care about their experience. 

Consistently collecting and responding to reviews can contribute to an exceptional guest experience, helping you unlock greater visibility and other exclusive partner benefits.