TripAdvisor reviews are the only type of online review that matters for hotels, whether it’s a large, branded, commercial resort or a small, in-home bed and breakfast. If you’re an experienced hotelier, you are well aware of this fact. TripAdvisor has cornered the market on travel reviews, and love it or hate it, it’s not going away anytime soon.
A high-quality lodging experience with attentive customer service helps, but only if those guests leave a positive review on TripAdvisor. Wrapping up their experience into a neat, tidy, positive review could ultimately determine whether all your work was worth it.
TripAdvisor reviews are invaluable for two reasons.
SEO Value
If you run an established hotel with a powerful brand name, you likely have a website that’s professionally built and maintained with constant attention given to SEO best practices. TripAdvisor will not beat your brand’s hotel domain in search results. For all other hotels, however, especially ones without a corporate brand, your TripAdvisor profile will outrank your hotel’s website on Google search results.
Go ahead, give it a try. Search for your hotel by name in Google and see what shows up first.
This is why you need positive TripAdvisor reviews; it’s what your customers see first when they search for your hotel online.
They’re Trusted
The platform averages 390 million unique monthly users and 96 percent of TripAdvisor users consider reviews before booking a hotel. Over half of users will not book a room at a hotel with zero reviews. TripAdvisor is the go-to resource for travelers around the globe and it is highly trusted. Don’t you want your guests to trust you too?
When your guests read positive reviews on TripAdvisor, they are willing to trust your brand, your staff and your hotel with something that many people consider as invaluable: their vacation.
Whether they’re only getting away for a weekend or they’re planning their annual trip (the only vacation they’ll have all year!), they’re putting an incredible amount of trust in whichever hotel they end up choosing, and you want that hotel to be yours. With the TripAdvisor brand and thousands of reports from other happy guests, you can earn that trust before the next guest even finalizes their reservation.
What if You Had a Say?
Maybe you’ve already embraced TripAdvisor and have started incorporating reviews onto your website. Maybe you’re resistant because you worry about the impact of negative reviews.
But what if you had some control over what’s posted?
Using Accrue Reviews, you can send customers a link for feedback. They share their thoughts, and all positive reviews are posted on TripAdvisor. If they have serious negative complaints, the feedback is redirected to you, so you have a chance to work out the issue privately with the unhappy customer.
Want to learn more? Contact us today to get the details on how it works and how it could benefit your hotel.