Globally, we have seen an increase in review volume by 46.5%, with regions like Europe and South – America leading the pack.
NB: This is an article from ReviewPro
However, the APAC region is the only region to show a decrease in volume for Q1 2022, when compared to Q1 2021. Volume declined by –8.9%, which could be attributed to some countries in Asia still being under lockdown in Q1.
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Looking at the results on a more granular level reveals that while Ctrip and Trip.com declined, global sources like Google, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, and Expedia all showed slight increases. The biggest review source in the region, was Google, providing 34.6% of all guest reviews, followed by Booking.com with 19.0%.
While generating lower review volume, Ctrip and Trip.com did provide the highest average review scores, during both the quarters, at 92.1% and 91.2% respectively. Tripadvisor’s index wasn’t far behind, at 90.1%. By comparison, Booking.com’s index was only 80.5%, a difference of almost 10 points.
What Should Hoteliers Do with This Data?
When the share of review sources is shifting, it can indicate your guest type is shifting as well. It is important to then dig deeper and look at the level of satisfaction for those growing markets, as well as advertise the things they like best about your property and improve the pain points they raise in their reviews.
For example, if your European guests really love your pool then you can highlight these photos on your Booking.com profile, while on the other hand, add in a few European options to your breakfast buffet if you notice many negative reviews.
What About Guest Satisfaction in APAC?
Globally, guest satisfaction is going down as the review volume is going up. The Global Review Index fell by 0.7 points from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, a trend we have seen since the outbreak of the pandemic. In APAC, we see no difference, however, the GRI ™ for APAC was 86.6%, the highest of all the regions. In comparison to Q1 2021, this meant a modest decrease of 0.4 points.
How to Safeguard Guest Satisfaction?
With fewer reviews coming in, positive reviews are more important than ever. As the decline in guest satisfaction is still very modest, there is no need to panic… yet. However, it is important to remain vigilant about your online performance.
Look into what guests are saying to understand how and where to improve the guest experience, in a way that will impact your online reputation. When analyzing the reviews for APAC with semantic analysis, we can see that the categories negatively impacting the GRI the most are Room, Cleanliness, Establishment, Food & Drinks, and Service.
How Are Hoteliers Responding to Guest Reviews in APAC?
Even though review volume in APAC went down, so did the management response rate slightly. However, APAC remains the top of the class region in responding to reviews with a response rate of 65.4%. This is considerably higher than the global average of 60.2%.
When looking at how fast APAC hoteliers are responding to reviews, the average lies at 3.8 days. This is faster than the global average of 4.0 days, but lower than the recommended 48 hours.
In line with the global trend, APAC hotels responded to significantly more positive reviews than negative reviews. Tripadvisor received the highest proportion of review responses, at 79.2%, compared with Booking.com at only 44.8%.
How to Improve Your Management Response Rate?
Responding to reviews is still key to a positive online reputation. Make sure you have an optimized management response strategy ready for when review volume goes up again:
- Prioritize negative reviews: Overall we can see that in Q1 positive reviews were prioritized, but responding to negative reviews is more important. Ensure guests not only see the negative review but also how you deal with negative feedback and highlight any improvements you have made based on that feedback.
- Leverage technology to improve speed: using management response templates and direct response integrations will help you to respond faster to key review sources.
