Improve Your

HOTELRANKINGOn TripAdvisor

Tips to Improve Your

Hotel’s TripAdvisor Ranking

Improve your hotel ranking on TripAdvisor

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Guest engagement

is the first step to

improve your hotel

ranking

Highly engaged hotels

generate nearly four

times more page views

than other hotels on

TripAdvisor

Number of photos

hotels publish are

directly proportional

to guest engagement

Responding to at

least 25% of the

TripAdvisor reviews

helps you retain

your guests

Quality, Quantity

and Recency, the

three pillars of

TripAdvisor Ratings

About RateGain

Be utmost

honest and

authentic about

your brand.

Hotel’s online

ranking is directly

related to their

offline service.

Spread the culture of

great customer

service across all

levels of staff.

Offer value for

money

5 Be prepared for

disaster management;

respond to negative

reviews with ownership.

Never offer

incentives for

writing reviews

Topic 1

Tip #1 Tip #2 Tip #3

Tip #4 Tip #5 Tip #6

Topic 2 Topic 3

Topic 4 Topic 5 Topic 6

IndexWhy is TripAdvisor Ranking Important

Established practices and researched in

improving TripAdvisor ranking

Tips from the Industry Experts

Why is TripAdvisor Rating so important for hotels and its customers?

Let’s answer this by showing how popular TripAdvisor is; as per the latest

ranking on Alexa, TripAdvisor ranks 168 globally.

The graph below shows how TripAdvisor ranks relative to other sites. The

graph demonstrates an increasing trend, establishing TripAdvisor’s

increasing popularity and importance over a period of time.

The TripAdvisor ratings have earned such a credibility in the market that

they are used by other platforms and OTAs also, like MakeMyTrip, Expedia,

etc. The visibility of this information for hotels, certainly helps them optimize

their revenue strategy.

The global hospitality industry is full of challenges; ever evolving guest

expectations, fluctuating demand & supply dynamics, disruptions, rate

parity, etc.

Image Source :http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/tripadvisor.com

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Experienced revenue managers know how to design their revenue

management strategy, making it more targeted and compelling, so as to

appeal to their customers and help them make more profits.

One of the most suggested ways would be to encourage engagement and

interaction with your guests. Below example explains this further.

Consider a hotel with 100 rooms and 80% annual occupancy, which equals

to 29200 nights a year. Take a conservative number of 60% (17,520) e-mail

capture rate and feedback reply rate of 15%, the hotel will have a data-

bank of 2628 reviews in a time span of 365 days.

The challenge here is hotels have very few reviews on TripAdvisor, and thus

there needs to be a mechanism to convert customer survey forms/feedback

received directly by the hotel into customer reviews on TripAdvisor.

TripAdvisor’s Review Express help cater to this challenge very effectively.

According to a report published by the Cornell University School of Hotel

Administration, online reviews of hotels are increasingly having an impact on

room demand and now appear to be responsible for rate swings of more

than 10%,

The study highlights a direct link between the rise or fall of RevPAR and

improvements or declines in the online reputation of a hotel,

• driven by ratings on sites such as TripAdvisor.

• Factoring in multiple review sites, a 1% increase in the hotel’s “online

reputation score” was found to increase RevPAR by almost 1%, the study

found.

In this white paper, we are sharing the established practices and researched

facts that play a significant role in improving a hotel’s TripAdvisor ranking.

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Guest engagement is the first step to improve your hotel ranking

With so many travelers relying on online reviews before making their

purchase, it has become absolutely imperative for hotels to pay special

attention to their Guest Reviews.

Also, it is possible to see the demographic mix (apart from other factors like

time of the year) of the reviewers on TripAdvisor. This information will help a

hotel on gearing up their services and facilities as per the majority of the

demographic mix visiting their property. Please refer to the picture below-

Image Source: http://bit.ly/2dw0LBo

For e.g. In a hotel which is a popular destination for couples, they can offer a

complimentary flower boutique or a wine bottle, a hotel with more business

travelers coming in, could offer happy hours on weekdays. And for a hotel

with more families visiting them, they should make available a right amount

of double occupancy amenities in rooms and extra beds for kids.

Revenue management tools have this widget available where hotels can

see a demographic mix of their reviewers from different sites in one single

screen.

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Such insights come in so handy for hotels to devise their operational

strategy and redefine their target market if required.

As we have just seen how a hotel’s ranking on TripAdvisor is increasingly

becoming an important criterion both for hotels and travelers, all the more

because TripAdvisor pays special attention to the content and

authenticity of the reviews.

Image Source: BrandGain

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A recent study by Google and Ipsos MediaCT confirms this trend, as shown

below:

Highly engaged hotels generate nearly four times more page views than other hotels on TripAdvisor

Another factor hotel’s TripAdvsior ranking is very important is because it

reflects directly on their popularity against their competitors in their locality.

As a hotelier, you cannot afford to ignore this factor as, the closer you are

to being No. 1, chances are more likely that travelers will book your

property as against your competitors.

Source: Google Think, Ipsos MediaCT

An essential metric that hotels use to measure their success on TripAdvisor

is to map their ranking within their local market, well-known as the

Popularity ranking (“POP”) or Popularity Index.

The POP ranking is based primarily on the quality, quantity, and recency of

TripAdvisor reviews for each hotel in a city.

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Consider this hypothetical situation

A mediocre, non-engaged hotel ranks in the 41st percentile in its local

market, it implies that it may not be very visible to most of their potential

travelers. On the contrary, the POP rankings for highly-engaged hotels,

were 63% higher, placing them in the 67th percentile – denoting they

could be seen by at least two of every three travelers searching that local

market.

The graph below depicts the response score of one hotel against its

comp-set.

For the clarity of those who think Rating and Ranking are the same things;

TripAdvisor Rating is different from TripAdvisor Ranking.

TripAdvsior Rating is basis the real traveler’s review and rating about your

hotel, based on their stay experience. 5 being the highest. However,

TripAdvisor rankings, also known as Popularity Index, is basis your overall

ranking amongst other properties in your locality. The more recent and

positive are your reviews and the better is your TripAdvisor rating; the

higher will be your TripAdvisor Ranking.

Hope this will clear any doubt you might have about TripAdvisor Ranking

and Rating.

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Number of photos published are a noteworthy factor to consider. Hotels

that circulate 10 or more management-provided photos generate 2.2

times more page views on their TripAdvisor listings as compared to hotels

with fewer photos.

Good visuals connect well with visually – attentive customers.

There exists an influential relationship and return between the number of

hotel-provided photos uploaded to TripAdvisor and guest engagement.

Photos do lot more than just hook travelers’ attention. Pictures, along with

guest reviews, give probable guests another pronounced reason to

choose your hotel for their next voyage.

Number of photos hotels publish are directly proportional to guest engagement

Responding to the TripAdvisor reviews helps you retain your guests

It is important that guest reviews get the due acknowledgment from hotel

management. Hotel Management Responses can help improve any

adverse guest attitudes about the hotel. Research shows, worldwide, that

travelers who write positive or negative reviews appreciate receiving

management responses to their comments. Plus, travelers who wrote

reviews said management responses would encourage them to return to

the property.

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However, a tricky situation could be handling negative reviews. Never try

to delete a negative review, instead approach the guest and try to

understand their concern. If genuine, apologize and offer them a better

deal for their next booking.

The graph below, highlights the review share of a hotel vs its competitors,

highlighting the percentage of positive, negative and neutral reviews.

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Image Source: BrandGain

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The diagram below explains how important is the guest response on each

service type for a hotel to know, so as to improve their service in areas

where more attention is needed vs your competition.

Image Source: BrandGain

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Image source: http://bit.ly/2deAxB7

Respond to as many guest reviews as possible, stay ahead of your

competition by responding to maximum guest reviews.

The diagram below explains the four essential characteristics of Highly

Engaged Hotels.

TripBarometer conducted an annual study, in which more than 35,000

TripAdvisor users worldwide answered in what some consider the

world’s largest accommodation and travel survey.

Many interesting findings, including the diagram below, confirm the

role of review sites at the planning stage:

Image source: http://bit.ly/1geUVN5

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This data clearly establishes that ranking higher than your competitor in

your category, has a positive impact on the sales and revenue. The

impact of guest reviews on online brand reputation also cannot be

ignored. The stats below, confirms this even stronger.

• There are over 125 million reviews on TripAdvisor, generated by some

34 million active users.

• On average, there are 260 million unique visitors per month on the site.

• Various studies have found a direct correlation between an

accommodation’s TripAdvisor score and its RevPAR.

• One study showed rates could increase by up to 11% without affecting

bookings negatively for a highly ranked establishment.

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As per Brian Payea, TripAdvisor’s Head of Industry Relations, three basic

things a hotelier should keep in mind are:

• Quality of Reviews

• Quantity of Reviews

• Recency of Reviews

Quality of Reviews - The importance of the quality of the reviews cannot

be ignored in affecting your overall ranking on TripAdvisor. The quality here

refers to the ratio of positive and negative reviews received for your

property. A hotel receiving more positive and 5-star reviews as compared

to their competitor, will of course rank higher on a review site.

Quality, Quantity and Recency, the three pillars of TripAdvisor Ratings

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Quantity of Reviews - As per a study conducted by trip advisor, 53% of its

users said they would not book a property that has no

reviews. Also, the more the reviews available the better it is for hotels.

There are categories Trip Advisor has defined for review also. Refer to the

picture below for more understanding.

One smart technique would be asking customers to send their feedback

directly to TripAdvisor. Rationalize your efforts toward one single platform

for collecting customer reviews, or else erosion may deter the amount of

reviews you’ll receive. The figure below explains these points very explicitly:

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Recency of Reviews - Decay factor plays a very significant part in case of

guest reviews. Recent and latest reviews always are more impactful than

older ones. Reviews published a year back will not hold less importance

against the recent ones. Thus, hotel staff should always encourage their

guests to write reviews, so that they always have fresh reviews available for

their property. Travelers always look for most recent reviews, while making

their booking decision.

Image source: http://bit.ly/1geUVN5

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The figure below explains the importance of recent reviews and how

reviews impact guest booking behavior.

To elaborate further on all three tips shared above; encourage and

provide your guest with easy means to write reviews. You will not get it if

you don’t ask for it. Also keep all information and services your hotel

provides up to date. Always put in efforts to exceed your customer’s

expectations during their stay and see the positive reviews pouring in.

Global reviews also make an impact, as they represent views from around

the word and mind it only organic results influence your ranking and not

the paid ones.

The long and short of the story is; give your guest a memorable

experience, encourage them to write reviews, learn and improve from the

feedback. And watch your revenue grow!!!

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Your revenue will increase because of the following factors-

• More increased conversions

• More repeated customers

• Capability to charge a premium price

Few more easy tips from the Industry Experts are listed below for the ease

of the hoteliers, which will help them improve their TripAdvisor Ranking-

Tip # 1 Be utmost honest and authentic about your brand

Being honest is the best way to set the expectations correctly for your

prospective guests. Overstating, unrealistic commitments and walloping

realities will make your guest disappointed and thus unlikely to give you great

reviews you yearn for.

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Tip # 3 Spread the culture of great customer service across all levels of staff

An amazing guest experience will ensure that you get the good guest

reviews. From the time guest checks into the time they check out and any

and everything in between, ensure that their stay is as pleasant and

delightful as it can be.

This exercise does not end here only, it is also important to monitor your guest

reviews and respond to them as well. Focus and strategize about how can

you continue to improve what you are doing good and work towards

completely changing what is not going in your favor. Also, this exercise will

help you come out with that one thing which will help you stand out from

the competition and offer an experience that your guest will totally relish.

Further, more precise planning will be required to work on these findings, the

budget can also be a constraint. But taking steady, small steps will also give

impressive results over a period of time. And guest reviews will certainly show

improvement in terms of both quality and quantity.

Tip # 2 Hotel’s online ranking is directly related to their offline service

Train and instruct your staff to provide best in class customer service. Involve

them at all stages of customer service and reviews so that they feel party to

both positive and negative feedback received from the customer. This will

also help set everyone’s stake in the culture and practice you are trying to

establish in your hotel.

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Tip # 5 Be prepared for disaster management; respond to negative reviews with ownership

Tip # 4 Offer value for money

Customers complain mostly about high Wi-Fi charges, hidden charges, etc.

Many hotels charge their customers highly for such items. However, many

hotels are very generous in offering these as freebies in order to make their

customers happy. Hotels should do their due diligence in terms of costs vs

benefits received in terms of customer delight and positive reviews.

Most hotels are not prepared to handle negative reviews. The majority of

them will think of either ignoring them or worst hiding them. And this is never

recommended; responding to negative comments portrays that you are

listening to the voice of the customer and also value the efforts & time a

guest has invested in to write that feedback.

Be modest and humble enough to accept in case things have gone wrong

from your end. As a recourse, hotels can offer some incentives & offers to

make up for the guest. And also thank your guest for making an effort to

write about you.

Train your staff to prevent negative reviews and also to identify and resolve

on-property issues before they escalate to online complaints. This also means

giving staff the authority to do what it takes to ensure guests don’t leave

dissatisfied.

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You should genuinely be thankful to your guest for writing in a negative

feedback because this provides you with an opportunity to make an

improvement at your end. Each review comment that you receive is a mirror

of the service you provide and guest experience at your hotel. Hotels can

also appoint a Process Improvement Team (PIT) for assigning roles and duties

to staff, tracking them and achieve them also as per the feedback

received.

According to recent research by PhoCusWright, one area where most

hoteliers will be increasing their level of investment in 2016 is online reputation

management.

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This tactic is highly condemned by authentic review sites, as it largely alters

the authenticity, accuracy, and validity of a guest review.

Incentivizing your guest like to offer discounts and upgrades for writing

reviews is a violation of TripAdvisor rule. Such reviews are not only deleted

instead penalty can also be imposed on your hotel.

As per TripAdvisor, such techniques have helped as many as 5.3 million

hotels, restaurants on TripAdvisor.

Tip # 6 Never offer incentives for writing favored reviews

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Founded in 2004, RateGain is a leading provider of cloud-based product

and service around the function of Rate Intelligence, Price Optimization,

Seamless Electronic Distribution and Brand Engagement to the world’s

leading Hotels and Online Travel Agents.

With continued innovation and excellence in customer focus, we are proud

to serve over 12,000 clients and numerous industry partners.

Our customers are global and so are we, with offices in 10 countries across

all major continents, supported by over 500 passionate professionals and

seasoned industry experts.

Through world-class solutions, RateGain helps its industry leading customers

beat their competition and make more revenue every day.

Contact us at: marketing@rategain.com

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