Negative reviews have a dramatic influence on our booking behaviors. Research shows that the majority of reviews are positive, and negative ones are quite rare. The consequence of this rarity is that people pay more attention to negative reviews. The reason behind is simple:

People want to feel secure during the decision-making process.

According to prof. Eric K. Clemons people are more likely to write reviews if they have extreme emotions about something. Also, they prefer to check extreme reviews first when it comes to decision making. It means that most people only check 1-star or/and 5-star reviews but nothing in between.

Even if guests have a pleasant stay at a hotel only those who had extreme positive emotions will write a 5-star review.

And good reviews can have a huge impact on profitability. Research shows, more than 1 in 3 guests are willing to pay up to $50 more for hotels that provide better service than nearby competitors.

How can you avoid negative reviews?

Lots of people are afraid of face to face confrontation. So instead of walking to the front desk and asking for a solution, they stay silent and what’s more important: unsatisfied.

A recent study has found, that:

“Nearly 50% of guests don’t report problems, mostly beacause they don’t like confrontation or because there is not an easy or quick way to do so”.

Unsatisfied guests write bad reviews and as I mentioned earlier bad reviews have a powerful impact on decision making.

Having a great front desk team who are happy to help guests is a must. But sometimes, it’s just not enough.

Guests who are afraid of confrontation or just simply lazy to report the problem at the front desk need a solution or more likely a platform where they can send requests or report problems fast and easy.

Creating an app for your guests might seem like a good idea but this is not a budget-friendly option also most of your guests simply won’t download a new app just to communicate with you.

It is wiser and more user-friendly to choose a messaging platform that your guests are already familiar with.

At Bonomi, we chose a popular messaging platform to create our chatbot assistant tailored uniquely for the needs of hotels and its guests.

Bonomi Assistant helps guests-who otherwise would use 3rd party services for booking and contact- to connect directly with your hotel. After booking, the Assistant guides them throughout their whole stay, answers their questions, gives them personalized offers, and grants them a frictionless communication channel to express their desires and problems, making guests satisfied not just to avoid bad reviews but to build loyalty. We’ll discuss that in a future article!