A new and innovative online platform I ran across is taking aim at mitigating negative hotel guest reviews. MyGuestXP connects any hotel Wi-Fi systems, allowing hotel management to step in before negative reviews hit websites like TripAdvisor. This new concept in customer service monitoring and fulfillment lets hoteliers address guest complaints before any brand damage is done.
The way MyGuestXP works is straightforward. On the final day of a guest’s stay, a message is sent asking for feedback on their overall experience. When negative reviews appear, they are in turn forwarded directly to hotel management to be addressed. Positive reviews go straight to online rating sites like TripAdvisor. The end result is much more positive reviews of the hotel property in digital.
Obviously, the value to any hotel brand is the total costs savings of mitigating negative PR and reputation. Negative reviews have been shown to be the second most important factor for a reservation behind price. Online guest reviews and recommendations weigh as heavily as suggestions from relatives for a high percentage of travelers (79%), and almost all (90%+) travelers say they are influenced by such reviews. MyGuestXP CTO Arday Ardayfio told Hotel Management Magazine recently:
“If positive reviews are the lifeblood of the hotel industry, negative reviews are the kryptonite. Giving hotel operators a chance to intercede and fix negative reviews before they hit the web can be the difference between success and failure.”
This report from 2014 at Hospitality Upgrade lays down the rules on how reviews weigh on a hotel business. Or, citing
Kelly McGuire of SAS, the key takeaway from the report by we find:
“Reviews and price trump all other factors. The research suggests that positive reviews are the primary motivators for consumer choice behavior, followed by lower price. To a lesser extent, consumers pay attention to aggregate ratings, TripAdvisor rank and brand name. However, it appears that consumers are not so concerned about the content and language of reviews.”
The best way for me to sum up here is by mentioning our PR firm’s efforts at teaching hoteliers best practices for keeping a healthy digital reputation. I cannot tell you how many times an owner or director has called me worried sick over an irate and unreasonable guest’s TripAdvisor review. Logic should suit here. The best way to keep a stellar reputation is to provide stellar service and to deal with any problems as soon as is humanly possible. The reviews of MyGuestXP (so far) are very positive, which means the founders and investors may have a gold mine on their hands. I’ll follow up with proper testing soon.