Why Didn’t My Guest Leave a Review? 4 Ways to Get More Feedback From Your Guests

Are your guests leaving fewer reviews than you expect? Here are 4 ways for hoteliers to get more feedback from guests.

Before making a buying decision, most of us are looking for opinions and recommendations from other consumers. Marketers refer to this type of communication as social proof or word-of-mouth communication. Social proof is among the most powerful ways to carry on traditions, tell the world's stories, and share the things we love with friends and family. For a hotelier, word-of-mouth can bring a lot of advantages such as getting even more feedback from guests. Take advantage of free advertising that helps generate additional revenue in the process - sounds like a dream for every hotelier.

Why Is It So Important To Stop Dreaming And Actually Start Getting More Reviews?

Now you are probably wondering why getting more feedback from your guests has such great importance for your hotel. The importance of online reviews stems from a very simple idea: people trust the words of others more than the company itself. It’s not us telling you this, it’s the data. And data speaks for itself.

Did you know that one of the major steps in the booking process for 95% of travelers, according to a TrustYou study, is reading reviews?

Yes, you read that right: 95%, and frankly, that's the majority of people.

A picture featuring two girls looking at a laptop

Still not convinced why you should start to look more closely at ways to improve your online reputation and get more feedback from your guests? No worries, we have more data for you. After all, we have hospitality in our blood and we believe in the power of data.

People behave differently when it comes to researching online reviews about a certain accommodation. Even if a potential customer gets a recommendation for your business from a friend, they are still very likely to go online and look at reviews.

8.7

is the average number of reviews read by travelers before making a booking decision. Every author who leaves feedback typically reads 9.8 reviews. Those who only read reviews scan 7.5 reviews before booking a stay.

Today, more than ever, people research any service or future purchase online before making a decision because they can easily access information through many devices and channels.

51.4 % of travelers prefer to scan feedback going directly to the source - the website of the hotel.

The second preferred platform for consulting feedback is Google - used always or often by 47.5% of respondents.

Why Didn’t My Guest Leave a Review?

As you can see, in the age of the Internet, (the act of) leaving a review is literally at the tip of our fingertips. Knowing all this, you are probably wondering why your hotel guests don’t always give feedback after their stay. 

Here are some of the possible reasons why they are not writings reviews:

It takes too much time and they don’t see the point in leaving a review.

Time is precious and it is no different when it comes to giving feedback. People value their time. That is why almost half of the review readers consider the efforts of leaving feedback too high. Not seeing any value in their evaluation is another reason why 16% of travelers are not giving their feedback after their stay.

A hand holding a yellow clockMorgan Housel X Fbh4utwk4 Unsplash
46.3% of the readers of reviews consider that the efforts of leaving a review are too high.

You didn’t send them a survey/form and they don’t know where to leave a review.

Woman looking further in the desert

35.1 % of review readers are not leaving reviews because they are not aware that there’s a survey or don’t know where to leave a review.

To receive reviews from your guests, you need to clearly ask them for feedback. The good news is that you can choose to send them either a Live Survey or a Post-Stay Survey. With a Live Survey you can encourage your guests to share their feedback by distributing the URL and QR code on printed material or once the guests connect to your WiFi. Whether you place the promotion in the lobby, restaurant, or guest room, it is a great way to encourage live communication with your guests. To keep the communication open after they leave you could simply ask for guest feedback by sending them a Post-Stay Survey. Your guests receive many emails every day, so it is better if you tell guests why they are receiving a survey. This way, they are more likely to provide feedback. For example, you could let them know to expect your survey and tell them this: “After your stay, we will email you a short survey so that you can give us feedback about your visit. It should not take more than five minutes to fill out”.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group Doubles Its Survey Response Rate

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has leveraged TrustYou's Reputation Management Platform to optimize their unique and global guest experience since 2016. The partnership began with the Analytics Platform allowing Mandarin Oriental to understand guest feedback and take action to improve the guest experience.

Mandarin Oriental Cover

They don’t want to think about travel when it’s over

We’re sure you’ve experienced that sacred time between ending vacation and getting back to your daily routine. Catching up with friends or simply putting your mind to that new project at work. As mentioned above, time is precious and people have things to do after their vacation comes to an end. That’s why guests are not leaving a review right away, and it’s likely they will forget about it.  

Around 1 out of 4 readers don’t want to think about leaving a review when the travel is over.

Woman with a suitcase on a highway

You do not keep your promises


“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.”

Stephen Covey


 It takes time to gain the trust of others, especially when it comes to gaining the trust of your guests. Imagine this: someone is making a complaint that the sheets are not clean and they need to be changed immediately. This request gets to your staff, they say they will change them as soon as possible, but they forget about it. This is the perfect recipe to get your guests angry and confused because you are not aware of the reason behind their attitude. As mentioned before, emotion is something that can not be neglected. It is the strongest driver of customer retention. An easy way to help you in the journey of keeping your promises is to implement the latest technologies for the hospitality industry. With a Live Experience Solution, you can respond to your guests' needs in real-time and solve the issues on the spot which enables you to make guest satisfaction a priority.

How Do You Get More Feedback from Your Guests?

Consider offering incentives

Creativity plays a crucial role in every business, so if you are not prioritizing this already, well, this is your sign to do it. Hospitality is a deeply personal industry and showing an interest in delivering the best experience is always seen as a sign of quality and respect. Paying attention to the small details could get you to sensibilize your guests and touch them on an emotional level. If your budget allows for it, you can get creative and offer exciting incentives to guests that end up submitting feedback. You do not have to go out of your way to implement this. Think of a perk that will not break the bank, something like a free dinner, cocktail, or a one-day spa pass. Other motivating incentives are found in one of TrustYou’s recent studies. It is a nice and fun way to remind them how important feedback is to your business.

A picture with red and white gift bags on a black bakground

More than 6 out of 10 guests that don’t leave a review are more likely to give feedback if they receive a room upgrade or if the hotel is offering them a discount on their next stay.

Use more advertising to promote your hotel

It is 2022 and we are all on social media, from our friends and family members to our favorite hotels, shops, or tech companies. Whether you already have a marketing strategy implemented or not, advertising is something that you cannot ignore. Making good use of these channels along with a strong marketing campaign can increase your visibility, allow you to shine, and most important: you can get more feedback from your guests. Therefore, the marketing and advertising methods you choose can determine the performance of your hotel. In order to have a success story that writes itself, we suggest identifying your target audience and reaching out to them with a catchy and influential message. 

Another great way to advertise your hotel is to reach out to popular travel influencers and invite them to stay at your hotel in exchange for some social media posts and mentions. To avoid sounding unnatural or controlled, it is best to allow the influencers the freedom to use their own words instead of having a script prepared for them in advance.

Give a clear path to where your guest can leave a review

One efficient way to get more feedback from your guests is to guide them to where and how you would like to receive the review. Make sure that you have your homework done and know about which are their preferred channels of communication. Although there are many options to share your surveys with your guests, the good old email is still a thing, and it’s seen by 63.7% of guests that complete surveys as the best way to receive a survey.

Key Takeaway. Send Surveys Via Email More than 6 out of 10 authors who prefer to complete a survey (90.2% of all authors) chose email as the preferred receiving method.
Data from TrustYou's Whitepaper "The Impact of Reviews on Booking Behavior and Reputation" shows that Email is the most popular communication channel for sending surveys.

Make it valuable

If it’s valuable for you, it’s valuable for them! Whether you tell them verbally or through the power of technology make sure that you show your guests that their opinion matters to you.

43% of guests that don’t leave reviews are more inclined to give feedback if a hotel takes every review seriously, not only by reading it but actually responding to it.  

Smart Young Woman Appreciating New Online Course

In a nutshell, to get more feedback from your guests - use advertising to your advantage, incentivize your guests, implement the latest technologies for the hospitality industry and encourage your guests to share their impressions and feedback. Keeping the lines of communication open throughout the guest journey lets your guests know that their feedback matters, they can reach out at any time and have their issues solved on the spot. After all, listening to your guests' needs is one of the smartest decisions you could make for your business. 

Feel free to get in touch with our team of experts for a free consultation or if you have any questions! 

Alexandra Pop

Alexandra has a degree in Cultural Tourism. Her passion for travel & photography has brought her to the hospitality tech industry. At TrustYou, she embarked on a journey to discover hotel tech marketing from various perspectives, from interacting with our prospects to crafting content for hoteliers.

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