Courtesy of: Sophia @ Thoughtfully.co.uk
TripBarometer, the world’s largest accommodation and traveller survey, stated this year that 93% of consumers allow their travel plans to be influenced by other people’s online reviews. Ok, we can assume this to be a little bias; as of course, this is TripAdvisor’s own survey! However, when I last checked (a few months back), TripAdvisor was sitting at around 200 million unique web visitors a month – now they sit at 260 million. Even for a site like TripAdvisor (founded in 2000), this is quite a staggering increase and certainly demonstrates the enormous amount of people using the site.
If you are not already checking this site regularly, updating and responding for your own property then start now and if you already do, then take it to the next level!
- What you probably already do… Check TripAdvisor once a fortnight or when someone tells you there is a very good / bad review that has been posted.
What you should be doing… Check it daily for reviews and competitor’s reviews. Keep up to date with TripAdvisor news, checking out the top hotels for your sector and industry news. It’s great PR if you or your location are mentioned at the top (for instance Nottingham has been awarded ‘the UK’s best value location’.) If you are honoured with an award such as ‘Traveller’s Choice’, then show it off. You can even download the widgets from TripAdvisor to display on your own site. - What you probably already do… Respond to some, if not all, reviews.
What you should be doing… Respond to everything, but don’t just respond to everything. Have a reputation management strategy and best practice guidelines, particularly if more than one person responds to your reviews. However, don’t just make this strategy revolve around a standardised response – if you are cutting and pasting the same replies it will become very obvious very quickly. The strategy needs to include taking in the feedback, investigating it and acting on it and then responding in a genuine and engaged manner. If people compliment, thank them and get to know them, it’s much easier to complain so these are your biggest brand ambassadors. - What you probably already do… You have claimed your business listing and have your log in details.
What you should be doing… Double check that all your details are up to date – telephone number, website, amenities, refurbishments, etc. (There is news that TripAdvisor may wipe the slate clean on bad reviews if substantial renovations have been done.) Upload as many pictures as you can and change your primary picture regularly. Write a detailed description and make it keyword rich for SEO – TripAdvisor appears in search results a lot (hopefully not above your own site). Don’t over do it with the keywords though as it won’t read well and Google will penalise you. - What you probably already do… Check all your reviews on TripAdvisor.
What you should be doing… Check all your online reviews, everywhere! Of course TripAdvisor isn’t the only source of reviews online. You may even get more on a channel like bookings.com or Twitter, depending on the nature of your guests and where they come from. Sentiment analysis software can help you track these all in one place and measure your results. Keep an eye on bloggers too – the more you get involved and participate online, the more you will reap the rewards of more bookings.