When you list your property on a reviews site, there is a chance that you may receive a negative review. However receiving occasional negative reviews actually provides you with great opportunity to grow your business. It’s good market research, revealing what your guests want, what they don’t want and what they will and will not accept.
There are ways to reply to a grievance that can be to your advantage. Your response to a negative review can help you provide an even better experience, leading to more and more positive reviews being submitted.
There has been a lot of coverage in the media about how to respond to a negative review. Here’s a quick summary.
1. Respond quickly
If you don’t receive notification when a review is submitted, keep a close eye on review sites that you appear on. When a review is posted it is important that you respond quickly, at the very least on the same day it appears on your listing. This reassures guests (past, present and future) that you value feedback and are listening to them.
2. Remain professional
Remember that the response you publish is seen by anyone who comes across your property on the review site, not just the person who wrote the review. Most importantly this includes potential future guests. It is important to thank the reviewer for their feedback and to maintain a polite tone. Don’t get defensive, but do state facts. If a review has especially riled you, it is a good idea to draft your response then revisit it a couple of hours later before you go ahead and post it. Done well, good interaction can clearly communicate a pro-active, customer-focused quality service; exactly what guests look for when booking their holiday accommodation.
3. Acknowledge their concerns
If a guest has complained that e.g. the shower screen leaked, thank them for bringing it to your attention. Without this feedback you may have never known that you had a leaky shower. Sometimes feedback will highlight something that you didn’t even realise would be a concern to some people, risking upsetting even more guests unknowingly. Feedback enables you to quickly make amends and can be a great way to collect useful tips to enable you to achieve even higher standards.
4. Explain how you will fix the problem and when
It shows you are prepared to be accountable and take action; and that you care about the feedback you receive. It is likely that the fact you do your very best to ensure you have happy guests will be noticed and appreciated.
5. Emphasise the good points and end on a positive note
It is very likely that the review will include something good along with the bad. So after acknowledging the issue and clarifying what you are going to do to resolve the situation (if possible), you can finish on a positive note.
E.g. If a review says ‘Comfortable beds, shame I couldn’t open the window‘, a suggested reply could be ‘Thank you for letting me know the window wouldn’t open. We redecorated the property last month and this wasn’t noticed at the time (it has warmed up a lot since). We have fixed this now. The beds are brand new so I’m glad you found them so comfy. We replaced all of the bedroom furniture when we redecorated as well.’
Finally, remember that potential guests viewing your listing on a review site are more likely to believe the authenticity of contributors if there is the odd rough diamond to be found amongst the gems. You appear more transparent if you have a number of reviews (including a few negative ones) rather than only a select few which are outstandingly excellent.
