Property Reputation Management Explained (briefly)
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Managing your business's reputation has become an essential part of running a successful hospitality business. If you own any type of property which accommodates guests, there’s a good chance they are previewing your reviews before making a purchasing decision and also leaving reviews once they have stayed.
Keeping on top of how your business is perceived online is an activity to long term increase your bookings and win over more potential bookers.
“Personally, when I am booking a short term stay, I will always check online review platforms like Trip Advisor and Google reviews before making a booking” - Daniel the Staycationer
It has become the norm for modern day bookers to scan your social media engagement, website, reviews and overall appearance online. They are looking for social proof that your company is legitimate and other people have had a good experience before parting with their money.
Your job as a property owner is to actively manage the perception of your business online to make sure it is as positive as possible.
What you need to do as a property owner / manager
Stay on top of all review platforms
Whether it’s Booking.com, Google my business, Trip Advisor or even more niche websites, you need to be responding to reviews and also incentivizing positive ones.
Send automated feedback surveys
Asking guests for feedback will ultimately result in more reviews since guests are more inclined to share their experiences when personally asked to do so. This makes the guest feel heard and allows you to actively manage any constructive feedback without them posting it publicly.
Keep a consistent tone
Create templated responses to make sure you keep a consistent tone with your review responses. Having a clear framework removes any emotional responses and keeps everything professional.
Schedule time to respond
You need to actively manage your reputation online, so it is certainly worth allocating x amount of time per week to responses. Being responsive looks good in the eyes of potential bookers and timely responses go a long way.
Control the channels
Create listings with channels you think will best suit your business. Being on all of the major ones is important again for social proof as they are usually what potential guests turn to before making a purchasing decision, but you may decide to only feature your business on a handful of channels.
Create a testimonial page on your website
Having a dedicated page on your site with positive reviews is a great way to manage your reputation. You can control which reviews you use and if a potential guest is looking to book, they will almost certainly check out that page before doing so.
The benefits of managing your properties reputation
Increases credibility
Boosts overall bookings
Improves your search ranking
Brand equity
Cost effective
Conclusion
You want to protect your brand and make sure your potential and current customers are happy. With your reputation impacting so many aspects of your business, (OTA rankings, search engine rankings, click through rate, occupancy etc) it’s important you implement these simple steps into a long term strategy for your business. If you need any further help with managing your reputation, get in touch with our team at Hostimize!