Best practices for e-mailing your guests

A recent Nielsen study* confirms it: consumers around the world rely on online reviews. Seventy percent of survey respondents indicated they trust online consumer feedback more than branded websites, advertisements, or just about any other kind of endorsement. For that reason, asking past guests to write reviews is critical to continuing to pull in new guests.

A great way to ask your recent guests is to send a follow-up e-mail. However, attracting their attention – or even making it past the spam filters – can be difficult. Here are a few best practices for e-mailing your guests:

• Catch their attention right at the start: You only have a split second to entice them to open your e-mail. Make it relevant, personal and to the point.

• Choose your e-mail account wisely: Create an account with the property’s name or a familiar staff member so your guests will recognize whom the e-mail is from.

• Be direct, but polite: Let your guests know how much you appreciate their feedback and provide a direct link to your TripAdvisor listing. Visit your Management Center for a link that you can include in your e-mail.

• Say thank you: Even if your guests do not write a review, an e-mail is a great way show your appreciation, build a lasting relationship and let them know you look forward to welcoming them back again soon.

• Avoid the dreaded spam filter: Keep exclamation points and all capital letters to a minimum. Spam filters will pick up on these formatting styles and your e-mail will go unnoticed.

Click here to discover how hoteliers have encouraged reviews and why you should ask your guests to write them.

* Source: Nielsen’s “Consumer Trust in Online, Social and Mobile Advertising Grows” 

How to improve your popularity ranking on TripAdvisor

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The TripAdvisor Popularity Index is based on traveler feedback and reflects how a property ranks compared to competitors within a geographic area. The closer you are to the top of the list, the more likely it is that travelers will see your listing when they search for properties in the area. In addition, research shows that travelers are drawn to places that are highly praised by other travelers.

Our popularity ranking algorithm is based on three key components: quantity, quality and recency of reviews written about the property.

• Quantity: Ask your guests to write reviews, and use our management center tools to remind them after they check out.  Offering incentives for reviews is against the rules, though – take a look at our policy to make sure you understand what is and isn’t okay.
• Quality: Guests who enjoyed first class hospitality and a memorable experience are more likely to write positive reviews. Monitor what previous reviewers have written to see what worked and did not work best for your property so you can maintain and improve your service.
• Recency: Recent reviews factor more strongly on your popularity rankings and older reviews have less impact on a hotel’s ranking over time. Once again, encourage guests to write reviews to keep fresh content rolling in.

All reviews must be authentic opinions of real travelers. We take content integrity very seriously and screen every review. If you are caught breaking our guidelines, it can take a big hit on your popularity ranking. Please review the guidelines to learn more.

The key to building a successful business and a higher popularity ranking is stellar hospitality and paying attention to your customers needs. Encourage customers to write reviews, learn from them and watch your hard work pay off.

Encourage reviews the right way, without incentives

If your business is listed on TripAdvisor, it is important for you to understand our incentives policy. While we encourage you to ask guests to write reviews, giving out incentives in exchange for reviews is against TripAdvisor’s policy.

Incentives are rewards or preferential treatment given in exchange for reviews. This can be in the form of drawings, raffles, discounts, special treatment (i.e. upgrades, coupons, free amenities, gifts), etc. We strictly prohibit incentives because they can impact the legitimacy of reviews; guests who receive incentives may be more likely to write reviews that don’t match their true experience.

TripAdvisor penalizes properties that offer incentives. All reviews in question are removed and further penalties, which range from a warning to a red badge on your property page, are given out on a case-by-case basis.

There are many acceptable ways to encourage reviews. To begin simply ask! Showing that you appreciate your guests’ feedback can go a long way.

For on and off-line tools to help remind guests, look no further than the Management Center. You can add widgets to your website or Facebook page, hand out reminder cards and much more!

Log in to your Management Center to access all of these helpful tools, and to contact TripAdvisor if you have any questions regarding incentives.

To read more about our incentives policy, see this guide.

Hoteliers share their top tips for promoting a TripAdvisor award

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Chosen based on the candid feedback of millions of TripAdvisor travelers, our 2012 Travelers’ Choice award winning-hotels were recognized in a number of categories, from most luxurious to best B&Bs and Inns. We recently chatted with some of the newly-awarded hotels to find out how they celebrate their win and attract guests in the process. In the video above, discover the top six ways to promote your Travelers’ Choice award – straight from the winning hoteliers themselves.  If you’ve won a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, or any other industry award, these tips will give you some great ideas to spotlight those accolades, as well!

Also see our Tip Sheet for more details on promoting your award.

Visit Us at ITB Berlin!

TripAdvisor will be at ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, on Wednesday, March 7^th, to Sunday, March 11^th.

The annual event has more than 170,000 visitors from 180 countries and we are excited to meet everyone! We will be set up in Hall 25 at booth number 127.  Come by to see us and learn more about maximizing your presence on TripAdvisor, our new Review Collection Solutions, and more.

TripAdvisor executives will also be presenting at the event:

“How TripAdvisor is transforming travel via social media” with Adam Medros

• Location: Hall 7.1c, eTravel Stage
• Date & Time: Wednesday, March 7^th at 2:30 p.m.

“Mobile and Hospitality – Improving Guest Interaction” with Nathan Clapton

• Location: Hall 7.3 Auditorium Europa
• Date & Time: Wednesday, March 7^th at 2:55 p.m.

“Mobile Travel Trends, Forecasts and Prediction” with Nathan Clapton

• Location: Hall 7.1c, Auditorium eTravel Lab
• Date & Time: Thursday, March 8^th at  11:45 a.m.

If you are attending ITB Berlin, please come visit us at our stand!

Hoteliers Share the Secrets to their Success with TripAdvisor

The owners and managers of four Caribbean properties recently sat down to tell us how they use TripAdvisor as a tool for their business – from marketing their accommodations to staying current with the needs of guests. Representatives from each weighed in on making TripAdvisor reviews work for them, sharing customer feedback with staff, and the role of TripAdvisor Business Listings. All very popular with travelers, these establishments were also the recipients of 2012 Travelers’ Choice Awards. In the following video, hear from the management of these four properties – Hermitage Bay, Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, East Winds Inn, and The Cove Atlantis – and gain insight into their success.

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How Travelers Interpret Reviews: Get The Facts

Want to know how travelers assess and react to reviews of your property on TripAdvisor? You’ll find real insight in research findings conducted by three independent professional bodies*.

Fact 1: Today’s traveler places growing importance on independent customer reviews

The growing sophistication of travel marketing has created more sophisticated travel consumers, who cut through the hype and seek out independent opinions and reviews. In a survey¹, 81% of travelers said reviews were important when deciding which hotel to book, and almost half said they wouldn’t book a hotel unless it had reviews.

Fact 2: Fifty million travelers value TripAdvisor reviews

Did you know that TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel website, attracting 50 million unique users every month²? This user loyalty testifies to the usefulness of our traveler reviews and opinions.  According to a recent PhoCusWright study commissioned by TripAdvisor³, 98% of respondents found TripAdvisor reviews to be accurate of the actual experience; and 89% of respondents agreed that TripAdvisor hotel reviews “Help me plan a better trip”.

Fact 3: Travelers turn to the ‘wisdom of the crowds’

Recent research supports what we at TripAdvisor have always maintained: travelers form an educated view based on the opinions of many. A survey conducted by Forrester Consulting¹ found that 77% of travelers usually ignore extreme comments about properties and base their assumptions on a general assessment of customer responses (as well as property photos and descriptions).

Fact 4: Travelers appreciate a Management Response

While no single hotel review may be decisive for a traveler, we’re aware that the reviews and opinions on TripAdvisor are important to properties listed on the site. Ensuring the honesty of all reviews – and preventing fraud – is our top priority. While no system is perfect, and the anonymity and open access of the Internet offers its own challenges, TripAdvisor has adopted an extremely detailed, sophisticated and frequently updated process to screen review submissions.  Hoteliers also have the right to dispute any comments (contact Customer Services: 1-617-431-5424 (US, Canada) or +44 203 318 5019 (UK, Australia, India)), as well as the right to reply – in a Management Response. When an owner responds promptly and professionally to a review, addressing any specific complaints as well as the positive comments, a Management Response can be very effective. In fact, 71% of surveyed travelers¹ª found them to be very persuasive.

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*The three research companies were Forrester Consulting, comScore Media Metrix and PhoCusWright
¹ “TripAdvisor Custom Online Survey 2010”, conducted by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by TripAdvisor
¹ªQuestioned in relation to a specific review from an official hotel rep. Survey by Forrester Consulting, as above.
²Source: comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide, August 2011
³According to a July 2011 PhoCusWright survey of 3,641 respondents. Participants for the study were solicited at random through a pop-up invitation link on TripAdvisor.com.

Turndown is out, WiFi is in: New survey reveals marketing opportunities for hoteliers

The results of the first-ever 360° survey from TripAdvisor were released this week, with a focus on lodging amenities from the points of view of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers and more than 600 U.S. hotel representatives. The responses reveal that where guests are concerned, amenities truly count:  

Of the travelers surveyed, 54 percent said they have canceled a lodging reservation because they found better amenities at a different property.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the most important amenities, Wi-Fi Internet access and breakfast included with booking ranked top for travelers. And according to the survey, hotel owners and managers correctly assessed the importance of these and other amenities to their guests. Turndown service was the least important according to both groups, with 87% of guests and 83% of hoteliers indicating that this luxurious extra is becoming a thing of the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But hoteliers have the opportunity to appeal to more travelers by placing further value on other amenities guests care about, like shuttle service to local attractions or the airport. 66% of travelers indicated the importance of shuttle service, vs. only 41% of hoteliers.

The advantage of room service and a hotel’s pet policies, on the other hand, was overestimated by hoteliers. Turns out travelers care only slightly more about whether an establishment will welcome their pooch than they do about turndown service.

While hotels seem to have a good sense of what is important to travelers, TripAdvisor’s 360° survey does reveal opportunities for establishments to better meet traveler needs when it comes to certain amenities. These days, it seems free Internet will get you a whole lot further than a chocolate on the pillow.

See Gadling.com’s coverage of the survey, as well as the full press release here.

The best address on the block

For many travelers choosing a hotel, the “where” is as important as the “how much” or even the type of property.  So close to Times Square that you can see the lights? Or right in the heart of a beautiful, remote spot? How about a convenient, short ride from a major airport? You can put the best things about your location front-and-center for potential guests by including them in your property description. Many properties on TripAdvisor are successfully using this space to that end.

Reputation management – you have to create it before you can manage it!

TripAdvisor partnered with Tnooz this week on a webinar focusing on Reputation Management.  Some very useful tips came out of the webinar, one being you can’t manage a reputation until you have created it and that takes work and dedication!  Below are some of the tips they shared:

• Getting your employees on board is essential – they have to know what your vision is and share it. Hiring and training people who are committed to providing excellent customer service goes a long way.  
• User-generated content (reviews and opinions) can help you get more revenue from your own booking website and become less dependent on paid advertising, OTAs or wholesale contracts.