Negative diner reviews more damaging than critics

According to research from Livebookings, over half of diners will avoid a restaurant after seeing a bad review, with a third trusting the view of their peers over the professional critics.

David Norris, chief operating officer for Livebookings, says, “Restaurateurs can no longer dismiss the importance of the internet in shaping how their business is perceived by the general public. They must take note of the feedback they are receiving and where necessary, act on it.”
Livebookings suggests restaurants follow these steps to manage their online reviews:

• Identify which websites your customers are posting reviews to
• Regularly monitor the websites to see what’s being posted
• Engage with negative reviews to show you value a customer’s comment and explain how you will address the problem
• If you are unable to post a reply, contact the website

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HelpHound too has a variety of tools to help businesses market themselves and manage their reputation online.

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.