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Learn How to Use Google Reviews at Your Hotel

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Learn How to Use Google Reviews at Your Hotel Learn How to Use Google Reviews at your Hotel Guide Managing Guest Satisfaction Surveys: Best Practices Index Introduction 2 Can you explain Google’s rating system? 3 What’s different about the new Google Maps? 5 Do reviews affect my hotel’s search ranking? 6 How can we increase the number of Google reviews? 7 Can I respond to Google reviews? 8 Managing Guest Satisfaction1 Surveys: Best Practices Introduction Let’s be honest, Google user reviews aren’t very helpful And then there’s the near-ubiquitous “+1” button, a way when compared to reviews on other review sites. for Google+ users to endorse a business, web page, They’re sparse, random and mostly anonymous. You photo or post. can’t sort them, filtering options are minimal, and the rating system is a moving target. These products are increasingly integrated, allowing traveler planners to view rates, availability, location, But that’s all changing. photos and reviews without leaving the Google ecosystem. Reviews and ratings appear to play an increasingly critical role in Google’s master plan for world domination This all makes Google reviews difficult to ignore—for in online travel planning. They now show prominently in travelers and hotels. So what do hotels need to know? In Search, Maps, Local, Google+, Hotel Finder and the this final instalment in ReviewPro’s popular Google For new Carousel—and on desktops, mobile search and Hotels series, we answer questions from webinar mobile applications. attendees related to Google reviews. Managing Guest Satisfaction2 Surveys: Best Practices Can you Explain Google’s Rating System? (I) Registered Google users can rate a business by visiting its Google+ 360° Guest Local page and clicking the Write a Review icon. Google adopted Intelligence Zagat’s 30-point scoring system after acquiring the company in 2011, but recently announced it is reverting to a simpler five-star rating ReviewPro aggregates hundreds of system. All ratings will be converted in the coming months. millions of reviews & social media mentions (in 45+ languages, on 100+ of the most relevant OTAs, The new system allows users to rate a business as follows: review websites and social media platforms) and allows you to get a 360° Guest Intelligence overview of your reputation by integrating 1 Star: Hated it Online Reputation & Guest 2 Star: Disliked it Surveys. 3 Star: It’s okay 4 Star: Liked it Request a Free 5 Star: Loved it ReviewPro Demo now If you are a Restaurant click here Managing Guest Satisfaction3 Surveys: Best Practices Can you Explain Google’s Rating System? (II) It seemed strange that Google purchased Zagat, adopted and then quickly abandoned its scoring system. And that it purchased Frommers in 2012, only to sell it back less than a year later. But it appears that Google only had eyes for the companies’ content, which is now populated throughout Local pages, Maps and other products. This adds a layer of user and expert content, which is critical to credibility and conversions in today’s travel planning. Managing Guest Satisfaction4 Surveys: Best Practices What’s Different About the New Google Maps? Google is in the process of rolling out a redesigned Google Maps, which it describes as immersively interactive. Not only is the new layout more user-friendly and visually rich, it allows users to personalize the search experience and makes suggestions based on previous activity. Flight Finder is built in to Directions results, and most likely we’ll see Hotel Finder soon integrated too. In the image note the new star rating in the info box. When you click the blue reviews link you’re taken to the hotel’s Google+ Local page (or, if the hotel has merged pages, its Google+ page). Click in the bottom corner and a photo carousel of local sites, businesses and attractions appears. A hotel listing on the new Google Maps Managing Guest Satisfaction5 Surveys: Best Practices Do Reviews Affect my Hotel’s Search Ranking? Reviews and ratings are widely believed to influence If your hotel has five or more reviews (the limit used to be Google’s page rank algorithm, but during the webinar David 10), your rating will show too—more real estate. And the Zammitt, Google’s UK Travel Industry Manager, dispelled higher your property’s rating, the more clicks it will likely to this myth by telling us they in fact have no impact on receive. organic search results. Of course, this doesn’t mean that reviews don’t influence traveler decisions. And this will only increase as Google stockpiles reviews and, let’s hope, adds ways for users to sort and filter them according to preferences. Already we’re seeing fewer anonymous reviews and more reviews tied to Google+ user profiles, adding credibility by putting a face behind the opinion. And for Google+ users, reviews from people in your Circles are listed first. Moreover, reviews earn more “real estate” in search. In the screen capture below of a search for hotels in Toronto, review information is populated into the Hotel Finder box and below, in organic results. Click on the blue reviews link and you’re taken to the hotel’s Google+ Local page. Google reviews and ratings are integrated into search results Managing Guest Satisfaction6 Surveys: Best Practices How Can we Increase the Number of Google Reviews? Many hotels struggle with this. If you want to take a proactive Answering Reviews approach, you can try the usual tactics: ask guests, give out a business card, display signage, add a link on your website and ReviewPro gives you the tools you Facebook page, or send a post-stay email. need to improve internal communications and coordination with more comprehensive & flexible reporting, as well as workflows, on a Unfortunately, from what I’ve been told these tactics don’t reap corporate & property level significant results. Writing Google reviews isn’t as popular a pastime as with TripAdvisor. Your best bet is to have an active Answer comments directly from within ReviewPro thanks to our advanced Google+ page because it allows you to interact with Google users technology platform & coordinate who are more likely to write reviews. actions internally with our ticketing system. As Google reviews grow in prominence, more reviews will accumulate naturally. A big reason for the success of TripAdvisor Request a Free and Yelp is the frequency in which they appear in search results. ReviewPro Demo now As Google increasingly favors its own products, it will pull traffic away from these sites and build a larger arsenal of user reviews. If you are a Restaurant click here Managing Guest Satisfaction7 Surveys: Best Practices Can I Respond to Google Reviews? Once you have claimed and verified your Google+ Local page, you can respond to reviews directly from page or from your merged Google+ page. Sign in, scroll to the review and click Respond. As with other review sites, responding is an opportunity to clear up misperceptions, to thank advocates, and to show that you’re listening. For tips, check out ReviewPro’s new guide, How to Respond to Reviews. Lastly, Google Alerts will help you track new reviews, but it won’t catch everything. ReviewPro will do a comprehensive job of tracking, aggregating and scoring reviews and mentions, not only from Google but from all major review sites and social networks. Managing Guest Satisfaction8 Surveys: Best Practices About Us ReviewPro is the leading provider of Guest Intelligence solutions to independent hotel brands worldwide. The Visit our Resource Hub company’s comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions includes Online Reputation Management (ORM) and the The Leading Source of Guest Intelligence best Guest Survey Solution (GSS), which enable hoteliers to obtain practices and content for the Hospitality Industry deeper insight into operational and service strengths and weaknesses, increasing guest satisfaction, ranking on review sites and OTAs, and driving revenue. The company offers the industry-standard Global Review IndexTM (GRI), an online reputation score (available exclusively to ReviewPro clients), which is used by thousands of hotels worldwide as a benchmark for reputation management efforts, based on review data collected from 161 online travel agencies (OTAs) and review sites in more than 45 languages. More than 19,000 hotel brands worldwide are Learn More currently using ReviewPro’s solutions. Request a Free ReviewPro Demo now Managing Guest Satisfaction9 Surveys: Best Practices www.reviewpro.com [email protected] @reviewpro Managing Guest Satisfaction Surveys: Best Practices.
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