Top 5 Secrets to Building a "Review-Getting" Program

Are you a hotel manager, struggling to get positive reviews? Struggling to get your staff motivated? There's a little-know (SECRET, new formula) that's guaranteed to double your reviews in a matter of weeks. As a hotelier, I too struggled with online reviews until I changed our focus on what really matters in the business we call Hospitality.

(When you get to the bottom, please share what you're doing at your hotel to get more reviews - most liked answer wins!)

For the most part, all of our customers only want to stay at good hotels with great reviews. And your staff only wants to work with a happy team and superb leadership. Believe it or not, but these are FACTS. So what does this mean to you? It means you need to change your focus to start providing an exceptional guest experience and reaping the rewards! Meaning, you will start to dramatically improve your reputation with this shift in thinking.

Here are the steps that helped my hotels reach the top:

1. Get Wise.
   I researched all the channels my guests were booking through. Then I quickly came up with a list of 10 websites that we needed to focus our attention on. I improved my presence on each site with fresh, clean and engaging content. I like to call them our "Drivers".
   
   
2. Setting Goals.
   After figuring out what sites we needed to get amazing reviews on, we set monthly goals for each. We wrote them down on a dry erase board and reviewed them weekly. We took this idea one step further by setting individual review goals with each staff member...
   Example:
   Total Monthly Reviews for Entire Hotel
   TripAdvisor - 56 reviews
   Hotels.com -40 reviews
   Expedia - 47 reviews
   Yelp - 14 reviews
   Google Local - 18 review
   Facebook - 10 reviews
   Total Monthly Reviews for Employee A (with name mentioned)
   TripAdvisor - 6 reviews

   Hotels.com -4 reviews

   Expedia - 3 reviews

   Yelp - 1 reviews

   Google Local - 2 review

   Facebook - 1 reviews

   .(Set monthly goals for each team member)
3. You Can Not Do It Alone.
   I figured out that having our entire team involved in the program is the only way we will benefit and start receiving excellent reviews. Staff training is very important. I trained them on how to provide great, memorable service, how to go above and beyond just checking guests in and out. I also showed them how to ask for reviews in any department...Remember .."Service does not cost a penny. It creates a stronger team".
   
   
4. Provide Tools and Incentives.
   After our team was well-trained in offering fantastic service, I provide them with tools to ask for feedback and reviews. I created the We Care Card that gets direct feedback from guests and stops negative reviews by fixing there issue right then and there.
   
   Giving everyone on our teams their very own business cards (Staff Review Cards) has made them proud to ask for reviews. When their name is mentioned on positive reviews, we incentivized with gift cards or cold hard cash! Trust me, it works!
   
   
5. Follow Up and Repeat.
   Let's not just sit back and wait for reviews to rush in. On a monthly basis we check the results of our efforts and goals, visit our "Driver" websites, provide on-going coach and training and see how we can improve our service, staff, and scores.