What you can learn from hotel towels

The power of social proof

“Help save the environment”

We’ve all seen those well-meaning signs in hotel bathrooms, urging us to reuse our towels. Perhaps you have them in your own hotel. But how effective are they?

Enter psychologist Professor Robert Cialdini. In one study, he investigated how he could impact towel reuse using one simple concept: the power of social proof.?

Instead of just appealing to our environmental conscience, Cialdini tapped into our innate desire to fit in.?

Cialdini persuaded a branch of a well-known hotel chain to introduce a second version of the sign, saying that 75% of hotel guests reused their towels during their stay.

In those rooms, the number of people reusing their towels increased by 26%.

Why? Simply put, we're social creatures. We look to others to guide our behaviour, especially when we're unsure what to do.?

It's why we check reviews before trying a new restaurant or why we're more likely to laugh at a joke when others are laughing too.

This principle isn't just about towels. It's a powerful tool that can be applied across your entire hotel operation. Here are a few ideas:

• Label your restaurant’s best-seller as your “most popular dish”
• Publish guest reviews on your hotel website and booking pages
• Add labels to your different room types online saying “most booked” or “x people booked this week”

This isn’t about manipulating your guests (the “most popular” option should always actually be the most popular). You're simply showing them what others in their situation typically do.

So next time you're crafting a message for your guests, ask yourself: how can I show them they're in good company?

After all, if it works for towels, imagine what it could do for the rest of your hotel.

P.S. Need more social proof? Collect more reviews with no manual work. Take our 2-minute tour

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