PERSPECTIVE
Consider the“ exception guest”— the one who enjoys their stay but casually mentions,“ Everything is great, except … my thermostat isn’ t working,” or“ I wish I had a better view.” Without proactive engagement, they might never mention it. Resolving issues in real-time improves guest satisfaction and reduces negative feedback.
Even more importantly, these moments of service recovery can become new storytelling opportunities. A guest who experiences exceptional recovery— perhaps a team member who went above and beyond to turn their stay around— may very well share a positive online post.
TURN HYPE INTO BOOKINGS With a strong reputation and social media strategy, guest praise becomes a marketing tool. Don’ t miss the opportunity to take these positive reviews and merchandise them( in other words, use them to market your hotel) on your owned channels like your website, social media, email and even in sales materials.
For social media, like your hotel’ s Instagram, TripAdvisor encourages hotels to take reviews and“ build them into custom graphics that incorporate your hotel’ s branding.” Take this a step further by including your management’ s response to the review, which gives your guests the first peek at the hospitality they can expect when they book with you.
When it comes to your website, displaying positive reviews on your site— as part of a testimonials section, on your hotel details pages, or even on your homepage— can be the difference between a booking and a bounce. With multiple webpages visited throughout the online booking journey, there’ s opportunity to draw attention to what makes your hotel unique at relevant steps of the reservation process. Strategically place guest feedback where it matters— meeting planner reviews on the“ Events” page, family-friendly reviews on room descriptions, or glowing guest praise on your homepage.
Of course, there are other places to consider peer-to-peer marketing through positive reviews: including one in each of your email campaigns, printing them in sales materials for everything from groups to weddings to meetings, inserting them in your sales team’ s email signatures, and even engaging influencers to pull this language into their posts(“ I saw all the glowing reviews on TripAdvisor about the hotel’ s incredible location, so I knew I had to experience it for myself.”) are all impactful strategies.
When selecting reviews, focus on emotions— relief( your hotel saved the day), joy( a delightful surprise), excitement( breathtaking views), or gratitude( exceptional service). These are very positive feelings that all travelers resonate with and drive bookings.
A marketing strategy that integrates social media, review management and guest storytelling ensures that the guest journey— from initial interest to post-stay experience— leads to real bookings.
54 hotelsmag. com May / June 2025