If there’s one subject that divides hoteliers, it’s TripAdvisor — don’t worry, though, that’s not what this column is about. Well, not mainly.
Instead, I want to talk a little about the second most divisive subject: OTAs, or rather, Expedia. A while ago, Expedia introduced “Real-time Feedback” — you’ll find it under the “Property Information” tab in your extranet. Click on Real-time Feedback and you’ll see… Live feedback from your guests. What’s so special about this? Expedia’s initiative is an industry-first and makes guest feedback more useful and valuable. It’s also trendsetting and others will follow suit. It’s not new, having first been introduced in 2015, but it rolled out in stages and reached our shores not long ago.
Reviews on Expedia, as compared to TripAdvisor, always had the advantage of coming from guests who actually stayed in your hotel. Expedia, unlike TripAdvisor, actually knows when a guest is in your hotel. Most users don’t only use the OTA’s website, but also the corresponding mobile app — something Expedia actively encourages by giving mobile users extra loyalty points and special discounts.
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The app makes it easy for Expedia to know where you are and send you reminders (by email or push notification) that fit your circumstances. Say a traveller from the UK just arrived in Dubai. Expedia most likely knows what flight he or she arrived on and what hotel he or she is staying in. Data tells the OTA how long it should take the guest from the airport to the hotel and, voila, a friendly reminder just around the time the guests check-in to rate the check-in service.
For hoteliers, this is excellent news, albeit it, only if they keep an eye on the Expedia Real-time Feedback notifications (hint: you can specify as many email addresses as you want in the feature’s settings). Suddenly, you know if you’ve got a problem at hand or if you’re looking at another happy guest. And it doesn’t stop there. The guest’s check-in may have been fine, but what about the room or the location? Expedia asks travellers to rate these too, in real time. Even better, it’s not just about clicking a smiley or a sad face, but guests can actually select from a number of useful attributes like “Clean”, “Great Amenities”, or “Terrible Bed”, and can also enter very specific feedback. All this while they are in your hotel. The guest-focused hotelier will jump on the opportunity to address problems before they get out of hand and because it’s an OTA, you even know the name of every guest giving you feedback.
The first step is to set up the Real-time Feedback email notifications. Needless to say, the notifications should go to team members who are actually able to respond in real time, which means you’re looking at 24/7 coverage. If you’re working with a dedicated duty manager mobile, it’s a good idea to set up an email address specifically for real time feedback and point it at the DM’s mobile device. Alternatively, you can have your switchboard operators monitor the emails.
You can also filter the notifications you want to receive. For example, you can chose to only receive notifications for negative feedback. Personally, I wouldn’t apply any filters, but choose to receive all notifications. Why? Because good feedback is nice and also deserves a reply.
That’s right, you can (and should!) reply to Expedia’s Real-time Feedback. Expedia knows that we’re busy people, so provides you with one-click replies which, conveniently enough, auto-translate for non-English speaking guests.
For each comment, you can contact the guest directly via a private message or use one of Expedia’s one-click reply templates. It only takes a second to click “Say Thank You” button and say thanks for good feedback, while a traveller is still in the hotel, and it only takes a little longer to communicate with an unhappy guest.
Reply speed matters — not just for Expedia’s real-time feedback, but for the regular post-stay comments too. Reply quickly and it’ll slightly boost your rankings. Hit snooze and you’re likely to be penalised.
Lastly, Expedia provides you with some free of charge business intelligence and competitors analysis as part of its feedback handling. Have a look at the right side of the Real-time Feedback screen and you’ll see a “60-Day Insights” box, which shows you your average response rate and response time, but also tells you a little further down, how your competitors are doing. Oh, and you can share all Real-time Feedback with your staff, but only before you actioned it.
Whatever you do: Keep it social!
About the Author: Martin Kubler is the founder of Iconsulthotels and the CEO of sps:affinity. Iconsulthotels is now sps:hotels — a leading hotel management consultancy that provides its clients forward-looking business strategies, keeping them ahead of the market. Email: hello@spsaffinity.com.
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