The visitor evaluate rating is a vital KPI for lodging suppliers, influencing all the things from OTA visibility to visitor belief. So when Reserving.com introduced a serious replace to how these scores are calculated, the hospitality business understandably had questions.
On the most recent episode of Again of Home Banter, GuestRevu’s Amy Branford sat down with Rodica Buzescu, Group Product Advertising and marketing Supervisor at Reserving.com, and Lee-Anne Singer, Advertising and marketing Director of the Singer Group and Chairperson of FEDHASA Western Cape, to unpack what’s modified, why it issues, and the way hoteliers can adapt.
A Extra Dynamic Evaluation Rating
Reserving.com’s up to date visitor evaluate rating went stay on the finish of January. The important thing change? The rating is now weighted extra closely in direction of latest evaluations, quite than being a easy common over time.
“We’re altering the maths, the logic, behind how we compute your general property stage rating, and making it a bit extra dynamic, weighing it by recency, so counting these most up-to-date evaluations a bit extra.”
Whereas round 50% of properties noticed no change in any respect, others skilled small shifts of 0.1 or 0.2 factors. Solely a small share (about 4–5%) noticed extra dramatic motion.
We’ve additionally analysed how your Tripadvisor rating is calculated and how one can enhance it
Why the Change?
Suggestions from companions performed a pivotal function within the resolution to replace the system. Many long-time Reserving.com companions felt their scores have been static and unresponsive to latest enhancements or declines in visitor expertise.
“Through the years, we developed from serving solely lodges to serving home-stay properties and multi-national chains, so the system has to additionally change to adapt to how the market is right this moment, and it must behave in a good means each for the lodging and the traveller.”
What Hoteliers Have to Know
For hoteliers, adapting to the brand new system means embracing agility and focusing extra intently on real-time visitor satisfaction. Lee-Anne Singer captured the sentiment completely:
“What I need is a handbook – a greatest apply information – so I can return to my crew and assist them perceive how one can profit from these adjustments.”
Rodica provided three core takeaways for resort groups:
- Prioritise visitor expertise from starting to finish.
- Actively stop unfavorable evaluations by checking in with friends throughout their keep (however don’t attempt to block unfavorable evaluations with underhanded practices!)
- Be an amazing host – consider every visitor as a customer in your personal residence.
Capturing Suggestions Earlier than It’s Too Late
Some of the beneficial ways mentioned was gathering suggestions earlier than friends depart the property—and earlier than they get that automated evaluate request from Reserving.com.
Lee-Anne shared how the Singer Group blends old-school hospitality with trendy instruments to attach with friends at each stage of their journey:
“As [Rodica] accurately identified, we’d like to have the ability to give individuals entry to chatting with us in the way in which that they like.”
Rodica famous that many unfavorable evaluations will be averted if friends have a solution to share frustrations discreetly and within the second. One instance she shared was a resort utilizing know-how to gather mid-stay suggestions with out placing friends in uncomfortable face-to-face confrontations.
Use in-stay surveys to get visitor suggestions whereas there’s nonetheless time to kind out points
Ought to You Reply to Opinions?
Sure! Even when it doesn’t affect your Reserving.com rating (but), each Rodica and Amy pressured the worth of responses for future bookers.
Rodica famous that some friends search for the unhealthy evaluations, and what issues most is seeing that the property acknowledges and tries to resolve issues.
With the mixing between GuestRevu and Reserving.com, responding to evaluations has develop into considerably simpler, as Lee-Anne highlighted:
“It’s simply unhealthy manners to not reply,” she stated. “Now, my managers can do it multi functional place – it’s life-changing by way of productiveness.”
Learn the way to answer evaluations even quicker with GuestRevu’s built-in AI assistant
Popularity as a Income Instrument
In the direction of the tip of the dialogue, the dialog turned to how evaluate scores can and will feed into broader income and operational methods.
Lee-Anne mirrored on the evolution of the function on-line evaluations have performed for hoteliers. Initially, evaluations have been simply one thing you responded to, then we discovered to benefit from evaluate insights for operations, and now they even have the potential to be a income administration software.
Rodica echoed that view, emphasising that evaluations reveal invaluable insights about operations, visitor preferences, and even employees efficiency.
Amy summed it up:
“Your evaluations are your story. Ensure that it’s the one you need potential friends to listen to.”
Continuously Requested Questions
Can greater commissions affect evaluate scores?
No. Reserving.com scores are based mostly solely on visitor evaluations and can’t be influenced by fee ranges.
Do stricter cancellation insurance policies affect income?
It relies upon. Rodica suggested discussing this together with your Reserving.com account supervisor for tailor-made information and insights.
Will hoteliers ever be capable to evaluate their friends?
Not at the moment. Whereas this can be a fashionable request, particularly from residence and short-term rental suppliers, there are not any speedy plans to introduce it.
The underside line?
From grading methods to visitor expectations, the function of on-line evaluations is evolving, and so is the know-how that powers them. However, on the coronary heart of all of the know-how is the visitor expertise. As Rodica reminded us:
“If a common supervisor is concentrated on that have, the visitor evaluations will comply with, I can guarantee you, nearly 100%.”
Again of Home Banter will proceed to discover these business shifts with the individuals shaping them. For those who’re a hospitality skilled seeking to keep forward of the curve, remember to be part of the mailing listing on the Visitor Revu web site for upcoming episodes.
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This put up initially appeared on the GuestRevu weblog right here and is reproduced with their permission.