Luxury Hoteliers Magazine 1st Quarter 2017 | Page 22

business travelers will more likely book the loyalty hotel , so they can use their rewards in some of the best hotels for their personal travels . In the end , the hotel operations needs to execute at the highest levels , as customer service remains at the core of the business .
Are bad reviews a concern ? How much do they influence travelers in the research phase ?
At the moment , a guest visits on average 11 different web sites before making the actual booking . This means that they are looking up hotels ’ websites and reading critical reviews , as well as shopping for the best rate . Each negative review has a large impact on the hotel . Not only does it influences placement on the web , but also psychologically the impact outweighs positive review . It is therefore important to deal with bad reviews very carefully . Things can sometimes go wrong and if a bad review does happen , it needs to be handled the right away . This includes a proper timely response and if needed an appropriate service recovery offer . It shows other readers that the hotel staff cares about their guests .
How do you manage reviews throughout the journey ?
Just like each guest is important , each review is as well . Every employee needs to be mindful of creating a unique personal experience for the guest , which is the main reason to return to the same hotel . Generally , guests only write reviews if they either had the most amazing experience or something went terribly wrong . Therefore , the guest relations team needs to constantly find different ways to encourage guests to leave positive reviews . This starts even before the guest arrives . The reservations team needs to reach out to each guest individually , to customize their stay and glitches need to be resolved to guest satisfaction before they leave . Even a bad experience can be turned around to a positive review , as long as it is caught on time and handled the right way . Each review needs to be responded to in a timely , personal manner , whether it is a good or bad review .
What are qualities you look for in a successful sales team ?
22 ILHA