How Hotels Can Stay Competitive in 2016
Mobile bookings are the name of the game this year. As is making the travel research and purchase process as simple and visually appealing as possible. When it comes to the valuable real estate of a mobile screen, travelers need their hotel research to be relevant and lightening fast, take as few clicks as possible, and be more visual than ever. And a hotel’s job this year is to ensure that across all platforms—especially the search engines, where a majority of travelers start their travel planning—they are contributing to making the experience better. Those that do will outpace their competitors.
TrustYou Stars is an important tool in the hotel storehouse for 2016 when it comes to creating a competitive edge. It empowers hotels to enhance their review content and drive more reviews directly to Google, giving travelers the extra details that they need to feel confident in their travel booking decisions. The reviews are also included in the hotel’s Meta-Review, a detailed summary of all verified reviews across all sources across the web.
The way it works is that hotels use TrustYou Stars to distribute post-stay guest satisfaction surveys. Hotels may opt to push these survey reviews directly into Google. The Google reviews submitted via TrustYou Stars appear on Google and are also rolled into TrustYou’s Meta-Review summaries, which are displayed on hundreds of sites worldwide, including Google, Trivago, KAYAK, Skyscanner, Wego, Sabre GDS and more.
TrustYou Meta-Review above Google reviews on Google
Content drives success and a greater volume of unique and quality content also instills greater confidence in travelers. With TrustYou Stars, hotels may expect to see dramatic Google review volume increases right away. Meininger Hotels saw 200% more Google reviews than in all of 2014 after just a few months using TrustYou Stars.
In addition to a greater volume of Google reviews, most hotels using TrustYou Stars also find their TrustScore (TrustYou’s overall review score) increase. Ayres Hotels has seen a 4% increase in its TrustScore alongside a 3000% increase in the volume of their Google reviews, while B&B HOTELS saw a 2.5% increase in its TrustScore in just two months.
B&B HOTELS attributes its increased conversion rates to these improved scores. Anna-Karin Daute, eCommerce Consultant at B&B HOTELS, says, “Using TrustYou Stars, we have seen a 740% increase in Google reviews, which has helped our properties to grow their presence on Google and significantly increase click through rates.”
TrustYou Stars plays well with other important tools, too. Review data from TrustYou Stars can easily be included in a hotel’s Rich Snippets, which allow hotels to promote their review content to encourage travelers to book. And, TrustYou Stars reviews can be incorporated onto a hotel’s own site alongside its booking engine for a better user experience and to encourage guests to book direct.
Rich Snippets Containing Data from TrustYou Stars
As OTA’s continue to consolidate, and it becomes increasingly difficult for hotels to gain search engine exposure, hotels must implement an arsenal of strategies to increase online presence and drive bookings. Google, as it continues to enhance its hotel search offerings, is an increasingly important platform for hotels. Now, with the ability to generate more travel reviews on Google, hotels can add TrustYou Stars to their strategy storehouse.
Hotels looking to test TrustYou Stars can register for a free, 90-day trial account here. For more details about the product, visit https://www.trustyou.com/products/trustyou-stars.
