Creating Hotel Reviews Responses: Beginner’s Guide to Using Templates
Hoteliers who want to increase their guests’ loyalty, enhance online rankings, and save time should make responding to online guest reviews and maintaining their online reputation a top priority. The following guide provides instructions for implementing the use of templates for responding to guest reviews.
Why You Should Respond to All Reviews
We are all familiar with the concept that potential customers read reviews before booking or purchasing. What is not as well known is that 89% of customers take no action before reading these reviews (Source: WebTribunal). Even more importantly, 97% of consumers who read reviews also read the business’ responses to those reviews (Source: Brightlocal). Hence, hotel owners or managers who respond to guest reviews increase the likelihood of a purchase or booking nearly twofold, from 43% if companies do not respond to 89% if they do (Source: Brightlocal). Furthermore, according to the Harvard Business Review Study, responding to all reviews results in improved ratings and higher rankings for hotels. These improved ratings can be vital in whether potential customers see your hotel or not; for example, when searching for ‘Best Hotels in Mannheim’ Google’s recommendations are limited only to those with a rating of above 4.
Benefits of Using Templates
Hoteliers looking to provide a personal connection with guests while responding quickly and efficiently can benefit from using templates as part of their review response process. Responses designed in advance provide an opportunity to include SEO-optimized keywords and maintain a consistent tone across all replies. This also makes it easier for new team members onboarding; having access to a library of templates addressing common complaints and praises serves as an effective training tool while ensuring high levels of professionalism across the board.
Using Templates: Tips & Tricks
Rather than starting from scratch when building out template libraries, hoteliers can begin by downloading our Excel file containing 3 positive review response examples and 8 negative review response examples addressing specific complaints like unclean rooms and additional charges (file accessible via the full article below). This file also includes 10 review response snippets for more specific customer issues like poor breakfast service or lack of amenities. As templated responses have acquired a negative connotation due this risk being seen as unoriginal compared with crafting tailored replies, it is important that any templates are personalized where appropriate — always address the key points in any given review within your response too! Keep our blog post on ‘The Dos & Don’ts Of Responding To Online Guest Reviews’ in mind when designing your templates; knowing how best how respond will achieve better results than simply sending out templated responses without thought behind them!
Conclusion
Due its ability streamline review answering processes while maintaining some personalization between guests and hoteliers alike, using templates is an effective strategy that hoteliers should consider implementing into their processes. However, they should always be used sparingly; if overused they risk giving off unoriginal vibes which could damage relationships between the hotelier and potential customer base over time. With some careful planning ahead though — designing comprehensive libraries including SEO-optimized keywords alongside tailored responses acknowledging individual customer concerns — there are plenty of opportunities here for streamlining customer service processes efficiently without losing out on customer loyalty at present or into future!
Read an extended version with Excel file here:
