When a guest takes the time to write a review for your property, the property should respond. If someone took the time to tell a staff member a compliment or a complaint, you wouldn’t just walk away without acknowledging it! After all, it takes time and effort to write a review, and reviews impact your ability to reach future guests.
You may have noticed that sometimes, writing a lot of responses to reviews can be tough. You don’t want to have a stale response that repeats the same platitudes to everyone. This will actually come off like you’re not listening and you’re just checking something off of your to-do list. In addition, it’s important when receiving criticism to not become defensive or, worse, attack the reviewer. There’s a delicate balance between being too bland or too salty.
That’s why we decided to develop the recipe that you need to craft a pitch-perfect review response. Tie on your apron and join us for a master class on review responses. You’ll be able to turn a stale review response into one that will please the toughest of critics.
Let’s walk through the stages of prepping, cooking, seasoning, and serving up crowd-pleasing responses to reviews that will both satisfy the reviewer and welcome future travelers to your hotel.
The Secret Recipe for a Perfectly Crafted Review Response
1. Prep Your Response
Hoteliers need to prep the response by assessing what the review calls for and gathering all necessary information needed to respond. Just like gathering ingredients before you begin, this will help make it easier to work out your response. Make sure this is done both quickly and effectively to ensure the review is responded to in a timely manner.
- When specific negatives are mentioned, talk to employees involved to get the whole story
- Begin the review by addressing the guest by name
- Set the table by writing with a warm and friendly tone
