Why Sour Guest Reviews Can Be A Sweet Opportunity

By Joel Inman, CEO and Founder of Lexicon Travel Technologies

Love them or hate them, guests reviews are a fact of life these days. They are one of the most viewed pieces of content regarding your property, so you need to pay close attention to them. And while a majority are positive, making them easy to respond to, there will inevitably be bad reviews also. 

In some industries, the guiding belief is to not engage. But not responding to the negative reviews can actually cause more damage than engaging with the dissatisfied guest. Your reputation is on the line, and your reputation is what helps bolster your bottom line. 

According to Reputation Defender, there are many compelling reasons to engage with online reviews:

• 81% of people frequently or always read reviews before booking lodging. 
• 52% of individuals would never book lodging that had zero reviews.
• Customers value guest ratings over a hotel’s brand 72% of the time. 
• 76% of consumers are willing to pay more for a property with higher review scores.
• 80% of people believe property managers that respond to guest reviews care more about their customers.
• 85% agree that a thoughtful response to a review will improve their impression of the property.

While all of these are compelling reasons to care about reviews, we’re going to focus on the last two today. 

Reputation management is something the hotel industry has a firm grasp on, and the vacation rental industry can learn from this. There is a plethora of data supporting the impact reviews have on rates. Cornell University did a study that correlates increased rates with high review scores. TripAdvisor did the same sort of study, supporting the same message. 

We could not agree more. This is why we include responding to guest reviews as one of the core elements in our Client Advantage Program.  

Bad reviews, if handled correctly, should be treated as an opportunity. Your company can learn from that review, correct mistakes, and anyone reading them will know you care enough to address individual concerns. 

Believe it or not, simply reading reviews will help them improve over time. This is because property managers who see bad reviews start to learn why guests are unhappy. Once that information is shared with operations, they make changes in how they do business. This, in turn, is how you eventually change negative reviews into more favorable reviews. 

Best Practices for Replying to a Review  

Because reviews are read by prospective guests, this is a prime opportunity to leave a positive impression. We suggest considering the following as you write your response:

• Shows sincere concern for the situation.
• Respond in a personal and courteous way, using the guest’s name if available. It should not sound like a “canned” response.
• Show you’ve researched the situation, if possible.
• Don’t be defensive. 64% of users agree that an aggressive/defensive management response to a bad review makes them less likely to book.
• Provide an apology for the experience, even if it was not your fault or involved circumstances beyond your control.
• Highlight anything you did with the information to change their experience.
• Offer to have them reach out to you to make things right, if possible. 

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Example:

Dear Cindee,

Thank you very much for your candid review of your recent stay in one of our homes. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us as we strive to improve with each and every stay. 

I greatly appreciate your comments about aspects of the home that need updating. We are committed to exceeding guest expectations. Each and every home is owned individually, but comments such as yours allow us to have frank conversations with our owners. Because of your review, we were able to have a productive meeting with the homeowner and they have committed to new mattresses, bed skirts, window treatments, carpeting, in-room accessories, and more!  

Please reach out to me directly at [email] if you would be willing to give us a chance to turn your experience around. It would be my pleasure to personally welcome you back!

Sincerely,
Denise Smith
Owner, Only The Best Vacation Rentals
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With Lexicon, managing and improving your property’s online reviews is more straightforward and simple than ever before. We have added into our product the ability to respond to reviews right within our Lextranet.  

We believe responding to reviews is so important that we also include it in our Quarterly Insight Review and Client Advantage Program. 44% of Lexicon clients are now earning monthly rebates based on their high scores through our Client Advantage Program. That’s more revenue from bookings, and channel management that pays for itself. 

In the hospitality industry, your reputation directly influences your bottom line and Lexicon is here to help manage both. 

Want to find out how Lexicon can help you drive more bookings and revenue, let’s set up a demo so you can see for yourself!