Does charging more inevitably lead to harsher guest reviews? Is there a ‘tipping point’ – a rate threshold beyond which guest satisfaction predictably dips, and positive reviews become harder to earn?
NB: This is an article from Demand Calendar
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Where, exactly, is that line between premium pricing and perceived poor value?
Understanding this relationship is crucial for a hotel’s success. Your Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) directly measure financial performance. At the same time, online review scores significantly impact booking decisions, shape your brand’s reputation, and can justify (or hurt) your pricing power. Balancing enhances profitability and safeguards your long-term position in a competitive market.
Finding clear answers is challenging. The connection between what a guest pays and their review is often vague. Nevertheless, despite these data challenges, you can gain valuable insights. In this post, we’ll examine common obstacles and explore creative ways to understand the balance between price and praise at your property.
The Data Dilemma: Why Finding the Rate-Review Link is Tricky
So, why is drawing a clear line between the rate charged and the review received so challenging? If you’ve ever tried to correlate your daily rate strategies with the feedback appearing online, you’re likely familiar with these frustrating data hurdles. It’s not just you; these are common obstacles across the industry.
Obstacle 1: The Anonymity Factor on External Sites
Consider the significant public review platforms – TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and Yelp. A guest checks out, and days or weeks later, a review pops up under a username like “TravelBug78”. While the feedback might be detailed, there’s often no direct, verifiable link back to a specific reservation in your property management system (PMS). You see the score and the comments, but you usually can’t definitively connect that review to the exact room rate, room type, or even stay dates for that anonymous reviewer. Was their comment about the room being “a bit pricey” based on your standard off-season rate or a premium charged during a major city event? Without that connection, the context is lost.
Obstacle 2: The “Known Guest” Exceptions – Valuable but Limited
There are, thankfully, sources where the guest is known. However, they come with their limitations:
- Internal Guest Surveys: These are your most valuable assets for this analysis. Whether sent via email after a stay or collected through in-room technology, you can usually link survey responses directly to a specific guest folio. This allows for a direct correlation: “Guest in Room 305, who paid $189/night, rated ‘Value for Money’ as 3 out of 5.” This is powerful data. The main limitation? Response rates are often low compared to the total number of guests.
