Case Study: Never Stay Here! The Power of Negative Online Reviews… Case Study: Never Sta
Case Study: Never Stay Here! The Power of Negative Online Reviews… Case Study: Never Stay Here! The Power of Negative Online ReviewsIf you book a hotel for your next vacation, you will likely view ratings from online opinion leader TripAdvisor. As the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor has integrated their review system with over 500 major travel partners including online booking site Kayak and leading hotel chains Wyndham, Best Western, and Four Seasons. The site has over 600 million reviews and opinions of accommodations, airlines, experiences, and restaurants in every country in the world. 1.2 million of the reviews are for hotels, inns, B&Bs, and specialty lodging, and even more 46 millionare for restaurants. 280 reviews and opinions are added every minute!How important are online reviews? Very important, it seems, to both travelers and to the hotels and other services being reviewed. As a Cornell University study done by the Center for Hospitality Research noted, it was 2010 when social media really took over the travel industry. This was the first year in which “guest experience mentioned in customer reviews” became the factor that surveyed consumers reported had most influenced their hotel choice. Today, TripAdvisor reviews can turn obscure hotels into sold-out sensations, save travelers from vacation disasters, and even change the hospitality standards of entire nations.Trip Advisor reviews rests largely on their perceived trustworthiness. Researchers have found that consumers put a high level of trust in online reviews of products and services.159 One study found that 59 percent of consumers said online reviews were as trustworthy as a friend’s recommendation; in another, that number was 84 percent. Another key finding was that four out of five consumers have changed their minds about a recommended purchase based solely on negative information they found online.Since online reviews are important, the challenge to marketers is how to manage the reviews, especially the dreaded negative reviews. Everyone knows all reviews cannot be positive, but there are ones that strike a chord of fear for hospitality companies: bed bugs, dirty sheets, discourteous front desk staff, and so on. The question for every hotel is, how do we respond to negative reviews?There are several options for handling negative reviews. Obviously, the first option is to do nothing at all, and many hotels go this route. The small-hotel owner is incredibly busy, so following up on and responding to online reviews may be low on his or her list of daily priorities. Perhaps these owners are not social media savvy or they are unaware of social media monitoring tools that will make tracking and responding to comments easier. Some of the more sophisticated monitoring tools are expensive, costing as much as $2,400 a month.Still, most marketers agree that listening and responding to negative reviews is the best strategy. TripAdvisor says that hotel owners think of its service as a marketing platform; they find value in the feedback even if it’s negative. One TripAdvisor member referred to it as a “built-in focus group, helping us make decisions on how to improve our services and facilities year after year.” A TripAdvisor study found that owners who are willing to respond to online comments are more likely to get booking inquiries.At several hotel chains, including Red Roof Inns, local managers regularly respond to negative online reviews. The responses themselves can be tricky; what do you say? It’s clear that the overall goal of the response is to satisfy the reviewer and to change the public perception of your property. If the reviewer appears incorrect, how can the hotel politely attempt to correct the information without insulting the reviewer or creating an online argument?If a reviewer has a truly bad experience, many hotels consider the guest deserving of a discount or free night at the hotel. But hotels must be careful not to publicly promote this reward, or less ethical reviewers might intentionally write bad reviews in the hope of getting free nights at the hotel.TripAdvisor has features to help hotels with some of these obstacles. The hotel can send a private message via the TripAdvisor message system that apologizes and explains their plan for improvement. If the hotel feels a review is incorrect, there is an opportunity to report the review as inappropriate to TripAdvisor and request removal or correction.Some businesses have taken more extreme actions in response to negative reviews. There are a few reports of hotels fining their customers as much as $500 for a bad review. The customer is warned in the fine print of the contract and hotels deduct the fee from the credit card used at check-in.169 Some small businesses have even sued customers for defamation in their online reviews.Online reviews are important for business survival and revenue growth. One study revealed that a one-star increase in a Yelp rating can lead to as much as a 9 percent increase in revenue. Another Cornell University study found that for every increased point in reputation rating (TripAdvisor’s 1 to 5 scale), hotels can increase prices by 11 percent and not lose business.In the competitive world of hotel marketing, it’s clear that social media marketing and visitor review sites will continue to influence travelers’ decisions and must be taken seriously. Discussion Question:3. How does your perspective apply to Travelocity hotel reviews? Which do you trust more: the reviews of fellow travelers or the opinions of travel “experts”? Explain your choice. Arts & Humanities Communications Marketing MKTG 400 Share QuestionEmailCopy link
