Best Practices for Responding to Online Hotel Reviews

As a hotel manager, when a guest comes to the front desk to register a complaint, do you: 
1) look busy;
2) skulk out the back door; or
3) handle the matter personally?
Not that difficult a question, is it? 
Then why do only 4% of negative reviews on TripAdvisor get a response? 
Daniel Edward Craig, a former hotel general manager turned consultant gives his views on how to respond to online hotel reviews

This is a summary

• Respond to any feedback that is damaging to your hotel’s reputation, even if simply to acknowledge the issue and apologize.

• Respond to positive reviews occasionally to show you’re listening, but don’t feel obliged to reply to each one.

• Responses should come from the highest level - but not necessarily from the owners themselves. “As a rule I discourage hotel owners from responding. They have too much at stake and aren’t always as diplomatic as managers.”

• Respond as soon as possible - the longer a complaint is left to fester, the more business it will drive away. Just make sure you have all the facts and the response is thorough.