Consumer Research Reveals How Reviews and Responses Impact Travelers in Their Booking Decision

by October 26, 2022 9:25 am Press Releases

The Impact of Reviews on Booking Behavior and Reputation reveals what matters most to travelers who read reviews, what prompts guests to write reviews and their expectations around the hotels' responses to their feedback.

TrustYou has announced the release of their latest research paper today, highlighting the impact of guest review content on booking behavior. The exclusive white paper offers insights into how hoteliers can cater their guest experience management strategy to the needs of their guests. The new report is available for download here.

The featured data is based on a consumer research study conducted in September 2022. The US-based participants included 800 travelers who are booking hotels yearly and monitoring the available online reviews. The target group was split into two categories - 400 respondents who only read reviews and 400 respondents who are authors of reviews.

A tablet featuring the cover of TrustYou's Exclusive Research "The Impact of Reviews on Booking Behavior and Reputation"

2 out of 3 authors of negative reviews are more inclined to return after the hotel addressed the issues in their response

The key findings offer insights for hoteliers on how to improve their pre-stay, on-site and post-stay experience to get more feedback, increase satisfaction and guest return rates:

  • 51% of respondents frequently read reviews from the hotel’s website. The second preferred platform for consulting feedback is Google, according to 48% of respondents.
  • Every reviewer reads, on average, 9.8 reviews before making a booking decision. Those who only read reviews scan an average of 7.5 reviews before making a booking decision.
  • Surveys sent out by the hotel are the most commonly used platform for review contributors. Small incentives such as discounts for the next stay encourage pure readers to write reviews while also increasing customer loyalty.
  • 77% of authors who expect a response to a negative review would like to receive it within 4 days. For positive reviews, 67% of authors have the same expectation.

The key results capture three distinct stages in travelers’ interaction with reviews, highlighting what is most important when reading guest reviews, when providing feedback, and when looking at the hotel's responses.

About TrustYou

TrustYou is on a mission to make communication and feedback simpler and more productive. All communication channels, together in one place, is the new way of doing business. Today, customers expect instant responses on their preferred communication channels. As a subset of communication, feedback is the foundation to build better products, services and companies.

TrustYou helps companies win through the power of listening and provides a Guest Experience (GX) Platform that makes listening to customers easy, powerful, and actionable. The platform unlocks the potential of guest feedback and helps to:

  • Create unlimited opportunities to listen and respond to guests’ needs.
  • Understand all reviews across the web and make better business decisions.
  • Publish hotel reviews on the website and on Google and allow positive feedback to influence bookings.

TrustYou empowers companies to earn trust, make better decisions, and ultimately, win.

Find more information on TrustYou and our GX platform on www.trustyou.com.