Faced with Staff Shortages & High Turnover Rates, How Can Hospitality Groups Also Effectively Manage Review Responses?

What. A. Year.

Hospitality has been hit hard. Staff shortages, turnover around 80%. Brutal.

Nevertheless, if there is one thing hospitality operators know it's customer service. It's what the industry is built on.

So when the topic of responding to reviews comes up, as a hospitality owner/manager, in your bones you know what to do. Provide the same fantastic customer experience online that you strive to achieve every day in person.

But, as you're sitting on your couch at home, tapping away at responses long after the rest of your family has gone to bed, you think "there has to be another way."

Given all the challenges of the day that have you and your staff stretched to the breaking point, responding to reviews whenever it can be fit in is not sustainable. Or, frankly, the best approach.

This is where a vendor like Widewail can help. Our team of expert responders has managed over 450,000 review responses for clients.

Above all else, review response is an important element of developing your brand’s reputation and giving your business the best shot at driving long-term growth. Let's dig into how you can get it done without the headache.

Avoid Turnover & Costly Review Response Training

Whether it’s you or someone within the business, the folks in charge of handling review response likely didn’t receive any formal training. They’ve developed their system for handling the process, and it’s been sufficient for the time being. But what if the team member in charge of review response unexpectedly leaves the company?

Realistically, it'll be a challenge to put aside time, money, and resources to train a new hire on review response tasks. Hospitality businesses often operate on a 24/7/365 schedule, and review response is likely far down on the to-do list. As an alternative strategy, when you partner with an outsourced review response vendor, you don’t have to worry about turnover or training. It’s all taken care of.

Freeing up your staff to focus on their other responsibilities may build a more pleasant work environment for them to come into every day. Lowering turnover rates wherever possible is critical for businesses that want to stay afloat.

By taking the tedious task of review response off of your internal team’s plate, you’re benefiting from professional writers handling the job while prioritizing the satisfaction of your employees. It’s really a win-win.

Bring Back Major Time

Having an outsourced hospitality reputation management team handle review response efforts enables you and your staff to focus on your most important tasks. Crafting the right responses to reviews takes time, and responding promptly interrupts helping guests in person.

As our Reputation Management in Hospitality Guide explains, online reviews have the power to propel your business to the top of search rankings and serve as the foundation for long-term SEO success.

When you take the time to ensure those reviews are being responded to in a professional, consistent manner, you’re taking a major step towards solidifying your brand reputation and building legitimate trust with your target audience. Or, more simply, showing up as a highly rated option when they search for "Hotel [Your City]".

Establish a Unified Brand Voice

How many different locations does your business have? If you have one or two rooftops, feel free to skim this section. But if you’re managing 20+ properties, consider the diversity of experience and temperament you have in charge of authoring responses.

For example, Amy in Orlando has 15 years of experience and always writes exceptional emails. But, while Dana in Miami is an up-and-comer with great interpersonal skills, her digital communications tend to lack attention to detail.

Do you need a standardized approach?

Establishing and delivering a unified brand voice is a whole lot harder to achieve when you have 20 different people approaching responses how best they see fit.

By comparison, working with Widewail means working with a trained and experienced team of writers to appropriately navigate any review situation. This is especially useful when dealing with negative reviews, leveraging Widewail's negative response playbook to make the most out of a bad situation. (As a side note, our team works in tandem with your location reps on negative reviews to make sure we have all the needed context.)

Learn more about the Widewail negative response strategies here.

You also won’t have to worry about your staff being too emotionally invested in defending your business online, which can have problematic and long-term implications.

If delivering the best customer experiences possible is a primary goal for your business, A cohesive brand identity and voice should be part of your strategy.

A single team responsible for the network can achieve this goal.

Take Control of Your Review Response Efforts

Consider how a landscape company is hired to ensure the exterior of your hotel looks pristine and presentable. It’s the first impression others will have of your property before entering, so you want it to look great.

Your online reviews often serve as your first impression with prospective customers. In this comparison, Widewail is the team of landscapers that will ensure customers have a positive first experience with your brand.

Widewail knows what it takes to deliver carefully constructed responses to reviews that are written in the style and voice of your particular brand. Our goal isn’t just to ensure a steady stream of positive feedback comes in; we’ll also take the time to address older negative reviews and do our best to alleviate their concerns.

For example, one of our clients received a 1-star review from a displeased customer of their restaurant. After we extended an invitation to have the customer give the restaurant a second chance, the customer was so pleased with their experience that they adjusted their rating from a 1-star to a 5-star, and had these nice words to say:

The upsides that come with utilizing Widewail’s proven review response solutions are endless. If you’re ready to see what we can do for you or if you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to give us a shout.