Online reputation: aspects to consider

Online reputation reflects the perception and evaluation that customers and other users have of your establishment on various review and opinion platforms and websites. This reputation is built based on their experiences after receiving the services they have contracted.

However, we cannot overlook factors such as the digitisation of the marketing process and the easy access to the internet for most of the society, which make online reputation a crucial factor in measuring the health of our tourism establishment.

What should be considered when evaluating online reputation?

Below, we outline a series of aspects and tips that we consider fundamental to understanding the scope and relevance of online reputation.

1) Broadening the spectrum: a common mistake is to confuse online reputation with ratings on different intermediary platforms. No, that's not the case. The ratings and comments received on different channels are one aspect of a more holistic concept such as reputation. Therefore, when analysing your accommodation's reputation, you should also consider your presence and corporate image on social networks as well as your own website.

2) Which review sites should you consult? If we were to ask our clients, almost all of them would mention the same three or four review portals. Therefore, many establishments only review the feedback from these websites to improve their ratings. However, we believe it's important to review the ratings from all different collaborators you work with. This way, you will obtain a greater amount of data to make more accurate decisions.

Advice

If your distribution is extensive, we recommend investing in specialised software for managing comments and online reputation. This will allow you to aggregate information from all your collaborators onto a single platform.

3) Decision-making factor: nowadays, over 70% of travellers, before booking their accommodation, review the latest eight to ten comments to ensure their evaluations match the hotel's current rating.


4) Responding to comments: we've saved this point for last because it's an aspect that generates considerable controversy and offers various ways of handling it. Therefore, regarding whether to respond to customer comments, both positive and negative, our answer is a definite Yes. However, with nuances. On one hand, you should always respond if the reviews meet certain established standards: tone, respect, understanding of the complaint, etc. On the other hand, we believe it's essential to provide a personalised response, which should always be in private, never in public.

The importance of maintaining a positive reputation

As demonstrated, actively managing your online reputation is crucial. This involves listening to customers and taking appropriate actions to ensure a positive reputation evolution. This not only enhances your accommodation's image but also becomes a significant tool for guest retention and increased bookings.

Therefore, at The Revenue Team, we encourage you to improve this strategic aspect of your marketing process. If you're unsure how to plan a protocol or define guidelines in this area, we're here to help; our team has proven experience in creating operational processes to enhance the online reputation of various tourism products.