Let’s talk about guest satisfaction. Once a review is posted, the guest is usually long gone. Obviously, you have the option of contacting him and responding to his comments. You should definitely use this chance – no matter if your guest’s feedback was positive or negative – because active review management can increase your direct bookings by a good 12%. At the same time, handling negative feedback in a professional manner shows both the guest in question as well as future guests that you’re open to criticism, that the satisfaction of your guests is important to you and that you continuously work on improving. This will create a relationship of trust, a bond between you and your guests. That way, you can use critical reviews to your benefit.
Guest satisfaction is subjective
So far, so good – but obviously it would be even better to avoid negative feedback in the first place, right?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you and your employees are doing your best to offer a great experience to your guests in your hotel. However, you probably know first-hand that even perfect service doesn’t automatically result in a positive review. Never forget: every person is different and experiences things differently. The mattress that was too hard for one guest will have another sleep like a baby. The bread rolls at breakfast are too crunchy, the A/C is too cold, the interior is too minimalistic – or the other way around. You’ll never be able to make everyone happy because your guests are simply too different. However, if multiple guests complain about the bread rolls in their reviews, then it’s obviously a good idea to try one yourself and get a picture of the situation.
Mistakes happen and there will always be things that can be improved – the earlier you know about them and are able to fix them, the better.
Increase your guest satisfaction during the stay !
Our tool offers you the opportunity to receive individual feedback from guests during their stay via an Instant Survey – creating an interface between the reception and the guest. Using WLAN, your guest can contact you via his smartphone, tablet or laptop and explain the situation easily and without much effort. This will give you as the hotelier the chance to take care of his issue straight away and find a solution. The use of Instant Surveys will circumvent the possible inhibition threshold of mentioning possible defects in personal conversations and offer a convenient and direct way of communication. During your guest’s stay, you have the opportunity to always stay informed about his well-being – and can take appropriate action straight away and thus avoid a potential negative review in advance.
Use Instant Surveys to improve your ranking
The direct feedback from instant surveys not only allows you to look after your guests better, but also enables you to uncover, fix and hereafter avoid previously unknown problems. By actively measuring the guest satisfaction, you will be able to continuously
improve and thereby automatically receive fewer negative reviews – which in turn leads to higher rankings and better ratings on TripAdvisor, Facebook, Google and co.
More positive reviews through in-house feedback
Using our in-house feedback, you can ask your guests for feedback at the end of their stay – for instance when they’re checking out at the reception. Here, they will receive your questionnaire through your Customer Alliance backend – the same questionnaire you would otherwise send via email after the guest’s stay has ended. In-house feedback eliminates this step – simply hand your guest a tablet with the integrated questionnaire. And while you’re processing the check-out, your guest can give his review of your hotel in a relaxed manner. Studies have shown that guests generally leave more positive reviews if they give the feedback on site, possibly also in a personal conversation. Use this opportunity for honest communication with your guest – and profit from his direct feedback and from increased customer satisfaction.
Want to find out more about instant surveys, in-house feedback or our tool? Or have questions about review management that are best answered in a personal conversation? Fantastic! Simply register through the form below and one of our employees will contact you.
