The holy grail of hotel customer communication these days is the online review. So much of your digital reputation is wrapped up in just a few hundred characters and a set of stars. Travelers make lodging decisions based on your reviews. Having more quality, sincere and positive reviews will help your overall marketing efforts. At Accent Amenities, we ask our customers to leave reviews on our website. Each hotel amenity product page has a form our customers can fill out to share their experience with other hoteliers. Every business will have a slightly different strategy, but it all starts with a few quick steps to make sure you are moving in the right direction.

Here are six quick tips to get more hotel reviews.

1. Make sure you are active on multiple hotel review sites.

This might seem like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many hotel and vacation rental owners are unaware of their online review presence. Where are your guests leaving reviews? Make sure you are present and active in those places.

2. Understand your demographic and how they tend to review businesses.

Are your guests young millenials or older baby boomers? Where do they reside? Are they more likely to leave reviews on Yelp or Trip Advisor, or maybe Facebook? When you know where they exist online, you can better tailor your digital efforts. You’ll also learn more about them for good customer care and service.

3. Don’t ignore negative reviews.

When a negative review leaves you upset and angry, take a step away before responding but don’t forget about it or ignore it. Ignoring a problem will not make it go away. Nine times out of ten, all a disappointed guest needs is a friendly reassurance from management. When you respond thoughtfully, positively and with care, your disgruntled guest will leave the situation feeling better and more likely to do business with you again in the future.

4. Don’t ignore positive reviews.

This might seem silly but we see it all the time. Business owners tend to focus on how best to respond publically to negative reviews. When a positive review is left, the response is often, that’s so nice! I don’t have to worry about that one. But the opposite is true. Just a quick kind note of thanks will go very far in your customer relationship. Take a minute to reach out and thank them for their time in leaving you a review. Let them know you are genuinely thrilled to know they enjoyed their experience.

5. Turn reviewers into brand ambassadors.

Reviewing is not a passive sport. It takes time and effort for your guests to leave positive reviews. This means they had an exceptional experience and will likely want to visit you again. Why not turn them into a brand ambassador? The next time they book a visit, ask them if they’d be willing to post on social media about their experience. In exchange you could offer them a free room night or a coupon to one of your dining outlets.

6. Ask your guests to leave reviews.

Social media is social, so go ahead and ask your guests for reviews! Remind your Facebook followers that they can leave reviews at anytime. Tell your guests at checkout that you would love and appreciate a review on TripAdvisor. Leave a card at their door kindly encouraging an online review. The touch points are endless. You just need to get the word out with friendly reminders.

Have you found ways to encourage more online reviews? Tell us about it on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love to hear from you!