Hospitality, the most studied sector
The effect of replying to reviews has been measured on hotels, and the results are clear. Hotels that start responding receive 12% more reviews and gain 0.12 stars on average1. They also receive fewer negative reviews, but more detailed ones: an unhappy guest thinks twice before leaving two curt lines when they know the hotel will read them1.
Another study, of hotel reviews posted on travel sites, shows that responding to negative reviews improves the ratings of subsequent reviews, when the reply is visible to those who write afterwards2.
Your guests come from everywhere
A hotel receives reviews in several languages. Reply in the guest's language: it is also the language of the travellers who will read the review after them, often looking for practical information about parking, noise or breakfast times.
The trap is word-for-word translation: stiff, sometimes wrong phrasing. Two simple, accurate sentences are better than an approximate paragraph.
For a review in French: "Merci d'avoir remarqué la chambre côté jardin, la plus calme de la maison. Nous espérons vous accueillir à nouveau au printemps, quand le petit-déjeuner se prend dehors."
The most frequent reviews
Noise
"The street-side room is the most exposed to noise, and we should have told you when you booked. We now say so on our website; on your next stay, ask for the garden side. — Sophie, front desk"
Breakfast
"Thank you for noticing the homemade jams: the fruit comes from our neighbours' orchard. We'll pass on your compliments!"
Check-in
"Waiting twenty minutes on arrival after a long journey is tiresome, and we're sorry. We now send a message the day before to prepare check-in, so handing over the keys takes two minutes."
Reviews from other sites
Your Google profile may show reviews from third-party sources, such as travel sites3. Each platform has its own rules and its own reply space: replying on Google doesn't reply anywhere else.
A signed reply
Google advises adding your name or initials at the end of the reply to make it more authentic4. For a hotel, the manager's or front desk's signature is reassuring.
What ReplyTop does for hotels
ReplyTop replies to every Google review in the traveller's language (French, English, Spanish, German, Italian or Portuguese), picking up what they wrote. If you run several properties, each keeps its own settings: up to 3 locations on the Pro plan, and 10 on Business.