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Understanding Trends in Guest Feedback

by | Jun 29, 2018 | Hotel management

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As Howard Schultz once quoted, “When you acknowledge your weakness and ask for advice, you’ll be surprised to see how much others will help.” This quote can be closely related to hospitality industry where hoteliers strive hard to create great experiences and rely heavily on feedback from guests. All credits to the advancement in technology, hoteliers today have access to lots of guest feedback which includes one-to-one communication during the stay, online reviews, and exclusive guest surveys. When collected and analyzed, guest feedback can significantly help hoteliers in understanding their guests better. You can also join some of the best hotel management colleges in Kolkata to learn about the guest trends and various aspects of guest data collection.
While it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the stars, reviews and comments, at the same time it is important for hoteliers to sit back and understand how they are doping against their competitors in the same area or field.

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The growth of the guest feedback market

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It may look strange but despite the fact that online reviews are no new thing for guests, they don’t appear to be tired of providing more and more feedbacks. In 2017, the total growth of online reviews was close to 27% which was largely driven by Google which registered an increase of 207% in reviews in the year 2016 and now contributes almost 20% of online reviews.
Similarly, guests are showing more interest in post-stay surveys than ever before. The average number of guests completing the surveys went from 16% in 2016 to 18% in 2017. Going by the numbers, it is clear that guests are happy providing the hotels with valuable feedback.

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Guests seem to be more honest in public reviews than private surveys

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In 2017, except the segment of luxury hotels which received higher ratings on surveys than online reviews, all of the other categories showed inclination towards online reviews. This is a slight shift from 2016, when luxury hotels were rated a bit higher on online review websites than in individual surveys.

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Luxury hotels 2016 2017
Online Reputation Average 4.48 4.52
Surveys Average 4.57 4.56

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If we take a close look at the performance of mid range hotels, guests rated this hotel higher in both 2016 and 2017 on online reviews as compared to the solicited surveys.

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Midscale hotels 2016 2017
Online Reputation Average 3.91 3.95
Surveys Average 3.55 3.59

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In the economy hotels category, guests again rated online reviews better in both 2016 as well as 2017; however, the margin was not that significant.

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Economy hotels 2016 2017
Online Reputation Average 3.67 3.66
Surveys Average 3.54 3.40

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These tables clearly outline the importance of both online reviews and private surveys. While online reviews help hotels to improve their overall reputation, private surveys are good to get more detailed feedback about specific services and amenities.

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Regional Variations

[/fusion_text][fusion_text]The average online review score for all the countries in 2017 was 4.23 which is slightly higher from 4.21 in 2016. The European countries with large share in travel market have shown lower than average scores which include the likes of France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Among Asian countries, Singapore was the leading scorer with a jump to 4.23 in 2017 as compared to 4.15 in 2016. Similarly, China had grown from 4.43 to 4.53, making it one of the best scoring countries in the world.
As for the surveys, the average rating across a select list of global regions was 4.18 remaining unaltered from the previous year. Among the select cities in review, Amsterdam had shown the biggest jump in an average rating which is now up by 12%. In the APAC region, it’s again Singapore with ratings at par with the global average at 4.16.[/fusion_text][fusion_text]

Summary

[/fusion_text][fusion_text]From our discussion, it is clear that hoteliers are making use of both online reviews and private surveys to understand guest sentiments and plan further improvements.
Hotels are advised to keep a close eye on the source of feedback, differentiate between the positive and negative trends and convert their feedback into action. In any case, guests’ feedback is always of great value for the hoteliers to run their business smoothly. This is the best time for students to go for hotel management courses in Kolkata to untap the wide range of career opportunities in the hotel industry.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]