How to Improve Your Hotel’s Online Reputation & Drive More Direct Bookings

HANGOUTMarch 22, 2016

Online Reviews

of travelers indicate that their decisions are highly influenced by reviews & other user generated content.

The average number of websites travelers visit before booking a trip.

of consumers say they won’t book a hotel if it has zero reviews.

of customers will book a room at a property that responds to reviews over a hotel that does not.

of travelers changed their primary choice during the booking process after using social media and review sites.

The percentage by which a hotel can increase its pricing while maintaining the same occupancy or market share if it improves its review scores by 1 point on a 5-point scale.

92%

11%

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Importance of Online Reviews

3

53%

33%

(e-tailing group)

(Expedia Media Solutions/Compete)

(PhoCusWright)

(Cornell University)

(Tripadvisor)

(World Travel & Tourism Council)

68%

Impact of Reviews on Revenue

A 1 point increase in a hotel’s Global Review Index™ equals up to:

+0.89% in ADR

+0.54% in Occupancy

+1.42% in RevPAR

• Study by Cornell University in collaboration with ReviewPro & STR.

• The results reaffirm the impact of Online Reputation on all offline & online distribution channels.

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3 Factors That Affect Ranking

5

Recency Quality Quantity

Online Reputation Improvement

The Focus of ORM Has Changed

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Online Reputation

Management

Reputation Improvement

Creating a Guest-Centric Culture

Actionable insight for operational/service improvements

Process changes

Involving key stakeholders

Setting goals

Taking action

Measuring performance & reporting

1

2

3

4

5

Increased Guest Satisfaction

Growth in Review Volume

Improved Online Rankings

Higher ADR6

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Guest Intelligence = ORM + GSS

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Online Reputation Guest Surveys

Action Across the Organization

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Revenue & Distribution

General Manager

Food & Beverage

Quality & OperationsSales & Marketing

Front Desk

Housekeeping & Maintenance

How We Help You Do It

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Advanced Semantic Analysis

Customized Filters & Views

Mobile AppAutomated Reporting

Competitive Benchmarking

Tips to Boost Your Rating Online

Set Clear Goals for Online Reputation

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• Set guest satisfaction objectives. • Track and benchmark the performance

of your hotel, group or chain. • Make comparisons between properties

and track their evolution over time.

• Track and benchmark your competitor set.

ReviewPro’s Global Review Index™ (GRI)The industry-standard online reputation score based on data from 175+ review sites & OTAs

in 45+ languages.

Listen to What Guests Say & Act On It

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• Detailed performance analytics including Semantic Analysis (analysis of negative & positive mentions to help prioritise service/operational improvements).

Your Hotel Your Competition

The Importance of Responding to Reviews

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• Shows that you’re listening & you care.

• Opportunity to thank for feedback & apologize.

• Opportunity to reinforce the positive & change negative

perceptions.

• Helps you to see the guest’s perspective & be accountable.

Does the same issue come up again & again?

Focus on fixing the problem rather than

crafting responses.

Expert Tips for Climbing the Ranks

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• Analyze reviews for guests likes & dislikes.

• Ask, “How can we make guests happier?”

• Identify touch points that “light the guests up”.

• Review opportunities to “sparkle sunshine” on guests daily.

• Read reviews & share with staff daily:- Reinforce primary objective to

make guests happy.- Understand their role &

relationship between guest happiness & revenue.

Adele Gutman MilneVP, Sales, Marketing & Revenue

Every time you make a guest truly feel cared for, respected and appreciated, you create an opportunity for another positive review. Every employee must do this at every touch point, for every guest.”

“

Benefits of a High Ranking

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Library Hotel Collection sees the following benefits of their outstanding online reputation:

• More travel shoppers see the positive comments.

• Greater demand.• More opportunities to

convert.• Higher average daily rate.

• Billboard effect.• Happier staff.

HAPPY GUESTS

GREAT REVIEWS

HIGH RANKING

Q&A

Techniques to Increase Review

Volume

TripAdvisor Review Collection Program

• Launched in partnership with TripAdvisor.

• Allows you to embed the TripAdvisor review form in your guest survey.

• Gather valuable direct feedback from your guests while building review volume and freshness on TripAdvisor.

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Google Review Collection Widget

• Google Reviews appear everywhere the client searches:–Google Search Knowledge

Panel Google Maps.–Google+

• Helps direct booking. as links in Google go to Hotel Website.

• BUT many hotels have a relatively low volume of Google reviews.

• The Google review collection widget helps the hotel get more Google reviews, enhancing their listings across the Google Network.

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Using Reviews to Guide Messaging &

Drive Direct Bookings

Guiding the Messaging

• Use review analytics, semantic analysis and competitive benchmarking to identify the best sales messages for your hotels:

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Improving Website Conversion Rates

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Sharing Feedback to Drive Bookings

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Key Takeaways

Reputation Improvement Key Takeaways

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• Create a guest-centric culture. Involve the entire organization & share results within meetings.

• Implement company wide guest satisfaction objectives & metrics at departmental level.

• Listen to what guests are saying online – about your hotel and your competitors – and act on it.

• Use Semantic Analysis to understand most mentioned concepts (positive & negative).

• Establish clear policy for responding to reviews & feedback.

• Actively try to increase review volume on review sites & your hotel’s own website.

• Ensure guest feedback is incorporated into processes, training & improvements to drive guest satisfaction.

Q&A