What is the importance of online reputation in 2021?

Reviews are the face of your hotel in a world where everyone is a critic. When you respond to a hotel review, it means you agree with the input you’ve received. Most crucially, with the growing number of review platforms, it has become fashionable to “check out” a resort before making a reservation on sites like TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and even Facebook.

Online Reputation has Always Been Important

Online reputation was already important before the pandemic, but now even more so. It acts as a reflection of your hotel’s operational reality, as it is exposed for everyone to see. Guests will keep sharing their experiences through online reviews and will have higher expectations than before. They want to feel safe and enjoy their stay at the same time.  

Potential guests will continue reading online reviews to understand the guest experience, especially those regarding cleanliness and safety measures. Showcasing your hotel’s protocols is not sufficient enough, as travelers will want to be reassured by previous guests as well.  

If your hotel is closed, older reviews will remain visible and so will the negative ones. Negative hotel reviewers are more active than those who leave good hotel evaluations. Because those guests would want to tell the rest of the world about their experience as quickly as feasible. After all, you failed to live up to their expectations.  

Your organization needs to make sure that they are in control by replying to every single review because this is what travelers will see first when they first start searching for hotels.  

Have a Clear Strategy

When your hotel does re-open or (if it has already re-opened), your hotel needs to be prepared and have a clear strategy to be able to manage this online feedback, as you will suddenly be going from almost no reviews to an increasing volume of reviews.