The visitor overview rating is a vital KPI for lodging suppliers, influencing every thing from OTA visibility to visitor belief. So when Reserving.com introduced a significant replace to how these scores are calculated, the hospitality trade 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 Supervisor at Reserving.com, and Lee-Anne Singer, Advertising 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 overview rating went dwell on the finish of January. The important thing change? The rating is now weighted extra closely in the direction of latest evaluations, relatively than being a easy common over time.
“We’re altering the maths, the logic, behind how we compute your total property degree 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 find out how to 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 resorts to serving home-stay properties and multi-national chains, so the system has to additionally change to adapt to how the market is at present, and it must behave in a good method 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 would like is a handbook – a greatest apply information – so I can return to my workforce and assist them perceive find out how to profit from these modifications.”
Rodica supplied three core takeaways for lodge groups:
- Prioritise visitor expertise from starting to finish.
- Actively stop detrimental evaluations by checking in with friends throughout their keep (however don’t attempt to block detrimental evaluations with underhanded practices!)
- Be an amazing host – consider every visitor as a customer in your individual house.
Capturing Suggestions Earlier than It’s Too Late
One of the useful ways mentioned was gathering suggestions earlier than friends depart the property—and earlier than they get that automated overview request from Reserving.com.
Lee-Anne shared how the Singer Group blends old-school hospitality with fashionable instruments to attach with friends at each stage of their journey:
“As [Rodica] accurately identified, we’d like to have the ability to give folks entry to talking to us in the way in which that they like.”
Rodica famous that many detrimental evaluations could be prevented if friends have a option to share frustrations discreetly and within the second. One instance she shared was a lodge utilizing expertise 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 influence 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 combination between GuestRevu and Reserving.com, responding to evaluations has turn out to be considerably simpler, as Lee-Anne highlighted:
“It’s simply unhealthy manners to not reply,” she mentioned. “Now, my managers can do it multi function place – it’s life-changing when it comes to productiveness.”
Learn the way to reply to evaluations even sooner with GuestRevu’s built-in AI assistant
Fame as a Income Software
In direction of the tip of the dialogue, the dialog turned to how overview scores can and may 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 realized to make the most of overview insights for operations, and now they even have the potential to be a income administration device.
Rodica echoed that view, emphasising that evaluations reveal invaluable insights about operations, visitor preferences, and even workers efficiency.
Amy summed it up:
“Your evaluations are your story. Be sure it’s the one you need potential friends to listen to.”
Regularly Requested Questions
Can greater commissions affect overview 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 influence income?
It relies upon. Rodica suggested discussing this together with your Reserving.com account supervisor for tailor-made knowledge and insights.
Will hoteliers ever be capable of overview their friends?
Not at present. Whereas it is a standard request, particularly from house and short-term rental suppliers, there are not any fast 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 expertise that powers them. However, on the coronary heart of all of the expertise is the visitor expertise. As Rodica reminded us:
“If a common supervisor is targeted on that have, the visitor evaluations will observe, I can guarantee you, nearly 100%.”
Again of Home Banter will proceed to discover these trade shifts with the folks shaping them. In case you’re a hospitality skilled trying to keep forward of the curve, you’ll want to be part of the mailing listing on the Visitor Revu web site for upcoming episodes.
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This submit initially appeared on the GuestRevu weblog right here and is reproduced with their permission.
