How to increase Google reviews and improve your hotel’s visibility

A blog in collaboration with SabeeApp

Google hotel reviews are user-generated ratings and comments specifically about hotels, displayed on a hotel’s Google Business Profile. They help potential guests evaluate a hotel's quality, service and amenities, and impact its ranking in local search results.

Reviews are one of the most effective ways of getting people talking about your property and making it stand out to potential guests.

Monitoring and curating reviews gives you the ability to continuously improve your hotel’s offering and reinforce your reputation through the feedback provided by guests.

Why do you need a Google Business Profile?

Establishing a Google Business Profile is the fundamental first step towards receiving guest reviews on the platform, and the registration process is straightforward so you can make a start in no time at all.

Why wouldn’t you want to increase your exposure in a well-formatted, universally accepted way?

Google is the world’s most popular search engine with a market share of around 85% and over 13.7 billion searches conducted daily. Being present on this platform is the most effective way to make your hotel discoverable online.

A Google Business Profile doesn’t just help people find your hotel, the absence of one may send a negative message to would-be bookers, implying a lack of credibility. Moreover, people look for social proof and trust the experiences of past guests, so reviews that express favourable opinions of your hotel, via a trusted source, are extremely valuable.

Positiver reviews not only build trust but also improve your hotel’s ranking on Google, creating a multiplier effect.The more favourable reviews you collect, the higher you appear in search results, which increases your likelihood of securing more bookings than the competition.

6 strategies for increasing hotel reviews

Collecting guest reviews is an ongoing process, but very well worth the effort.

Don’t simply hope for guest reviews based on goodwill alone – a proactive approach, including directly asking and offering a gentle nudge, is often necessary to encourage reviews. Here are some strategies that will help you collect more reviews for your hotel business:

1. Ask at the right moment: The idea of the guest journey should always be top of mind for hoteliers, looking at every touch point with the guest to help form their opinion of the hotel. Kindly ask guests for a review during their stay or after check-out. This way they can share their experience when the memory is fresh.

2. Make leaving a review effortless: Share a direct link to your Google review page where guests can leave a review in a few minutes. Add it to your emails, thank you messages, and even on a small card with a QR code in the room or at the front desk.

3. Consider your international guests: If you have international visitors, offering review requests in multiple languages can significantly increase participation. It shows that you value and respect your guests, and it creates a more personalized experience that they will definitely appreciate.

4. Involve your team: Encourage your hotel staff to mention reviews casually during friendly interactions, during check-out and any time your guests express anything positive about their stay. A simple “We’d love to hear your feedback on Google!” can go a long way.

5. Respond to every review: Whether it’s positive or negative, replying to Google reviews in a timely manner shows guests that you care about improving your services. This builds trust and encourages more people to leave feedback.

6. Offer a reminder and incentives: With a software tool like the SabeeApp Property Management System, you can send guests a follow-up email a few days after check-out, thanking them for their stay and inviting them to leave a review. Consider offering a nice incentive, for example a 10% discount on their next stay. This can also encourage rebooking.

How to manage hotel reviews successfully

Monitoring and managing reviews across all channels – not just Google, but on your listed OTAs as well – is a vital activity to improve your online presence.

The way you respond matters. If a guest leaves a positive review, respond by thanking them for choosing your hotel and expressing the hope that they will return for another visit. If there is an occasional ‘negative’ review, always respond with respect, understanding and the promise to resolve the issue. A genuine apology goes a long way in calming tense situations. It also benefits your reputation in terms of other potential guests reading the exchange. Addressing any legitimate feedback will also avoid repeat negative feedback.

Curating and responding to Google hotel reviews is a continuous process which will yield significant rewards over time.

A great feature of Google reviews is that you can opt for the Alerts function in the search query, which will ping you whenever anyone talks about your hotel in blogs, reviews or videos. Checking in to Google Maps will also reveal any new postings. In other words, be proactive!

Take the guesswork out of guestwork

It goes without saying that great hoteliers in every segment of the hospitality market are driven by the desire to deliver unforgettable guest experiences.

Understanding what makes those experiences wonderful no longer requires guesswork, because the tools exist to uncover exactly what delights guests. The information provided by Google hotel reviews empowers hoteliers to boost their hotel’s visibility, improve guest experience, increase bookings and influence future guest decisions.

The guest journey is always a dialogue, and Google hotel reviews help make the conversation flow.

A post by SabeeApp

Author: Virág Dajka, Content Manager at SabeeApp

SabeeApp is a cloud-based property management system (PMS) designed to simplify and optimize the daily operations of hotels, guesthouses and hostels.

The platform offers a comprehensive set of tools that allow hoteliers to manage reservations, bookings, payments and more, all from one central system. As a fast-growing SaaS company, SabeeApp is committed to helping hospitality businesses improve their efficiency, enhance guest experiences, increase revenue and minimize administrative tasks.