Quick-Start Guide to Hotel Review Response Templates

In our blog article on How to save time when replying to hotel reviews? we suggested 5 easy to implement strategies for saving time when responding to online guest reviews. In this article we expand on one of the strategies suggested there – Using review templates .

Why should you respond to all star reviews?

Responding to customer reviews is the foundation of hotel review management and online reputation management. Reviews shows the real offers of hotels and businesses over advertisements–and travelers know this.

Through our own behavior, we know that potential customers read reviews before buying. What we know less about, however, is that the percentage of customers who take no action before reading reviews is a staggering 89% (Source: WebTribunal).

In addition, and this cannot be stressed enough, 97% of consumers who read reviews read the business' responses to the reviews . (Source: Brightlocal). Consequently it goes without saying that hotel owners or managers who respond to reviews increase the likelihood of a purchase or booking. However, it is surprising to find out exactly how much that increase is. According to the same study, the likelihood increases twofold: from 43% if companies do not respond to reviews to 89% if they respond to all reviews .

I won't dwell on more statistics, but the message that reviews should be responded to is easily understood by the Harvard Business Review Study that says responding to all hotel review leads to better ratings and SEO rankings for the hotel industry.

Sometimes even marginal improvement in ratings could result in whether the customer sees your hotel, or they don’t. When searching for ‘ Best Hotels in Mannheim ’ for example, Google Reviews shows only those with a rating of above 4:

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How do you respond to a hotel review?

Responding to hotel reviews is crucial for maintaining guest satisfaction and enhancing the hotel's reputation. Begin by expressing gratitude to the reviewer, whether the customer feedback is positive or negative, to show appreciation for their input. Address specific praises or concerns mentioned in the review to demonstrate attentiveness and understanding. This strategic approach not only acknowledges the guest's experience but also showcases a commitment to improving guest satisfaction and fostering positive relationships. Given that 80% of travelers consult reviews before booking, effective review management and response to customer feedback are essential for hotels aiming to attract and retain guests.

What is a hotel review response template?

Contrary to popular belief, hotel review response templates aren't copy-paste replies.

A hotel review response template is a pre-constructed framework designed to help hoteliers efficiently respond to guest reviews. These templates typically address common themes found in guest feedback, both positive and negative. By using these templates, hotel staff can ensure their responses are timely, professional, and consistent.

Review response templates save time by providing a starting point for replies, which can then be customized to reflect the specific details of each review. They often include placeholders for personalizing the response with the guest's name, specific comments from the review, and the hotel's unique selling points. This balance of efficiency and personalization helps maintain a strong connection with guests while upholding the hotel's online reputation and improving its visibility in SEO rankings.

What are the benefits of using hotel review response templates?

Here are some of the advantages enjoyed by hotels using templates for reviews:

Saves time when writing review reply

Customer-centric hoteliers can easily get bogged down in the details of responding to individual reviews. Although we are champions of maintaining the personal connection between the hotelier and the guest, we are aware how time consuming it can be having to start from a blank page for each and every review.

Using some downtime and investing it into building a quality template library for the most frequent review themes can save tons of time when hoteliers need it most. This way, focusing on urgent matters and taking care of your current guests does not have to come at the expense of leaving guest reviews unanswered for days or even weeks. In the next section of the article, we provide some tips on starting out with using templates for responding to guest reviews.

Enhances SEO

Responding to reviewers, regardless whether their review examples are positive or negative, provides a chance to include keywords in the response. To reap the best results of SEO optimization as well as maximize the number of bookings, brainstorm and list out the Unique Selling Points (USPs) for your hotel, or in other terms – what you are most proud of in your hotel.

Think about what differentiates you from the competition and what you would like your potential guests to know about your offering. This could be ‘great reviews’, ‘best location in town’, ‘great guest experience’, ‘superior SPA service’, ‘extended check-out’, etc. Then make sure you include these keywords in the template library you build out. See the example below and note the keywords in bold. Positioning them in the template you use for answering the guest review has the potential to skyrocket your online rankings. Afterall, containing the right keywords is the most influential factor in rankings on Google and other leading review sites such as Yelp, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor.

Example:

Let’s say that you are a boutique hotel in downtown London and a happy guest just posted a glowing review online. You could reply:

“Thanks for the great review ! We are constantly striving to offer the best guest experience there is. I’m grateful you chose our hotel for your stay. I hope you have enjoyed our extended check-out and I am happy that you appreciated the great location of our hotel."

Of course, you should build your templates in a way that allows for personalization . Don’t overuse the list of keywords as guests value connection and actual gratitude as opposed to ‘salesy’ pitches. Hence, if done in a repetitive, unoriginal, and impersonal way, communicating your USPs could very well lead to disengaging and losing potential or existing customers.

One way to maintain the connection with the customer, always address the key points in the review and come up with a response in seconds is to use our AI Review Reply Assistant . Since responding to any review regardless of language and length in seconds sounds like magic (😊) you could try it yourself here without any obligations (no credit card required).

Improves hotelier onboarding for online review management

Building a library of templates addressing the most common complaints or praises can serve as a training content for any new member of the team. For them, a well-maintained and comprehensive library of templates could facilitate their onboarding and help them hit the ground running in responding to guests.

Ensures consistency and high-level of professionalism

A well-built out library of templates could also serve as a standard that your Front Office Managers or Guest Experience Managers should adhere to. The well-thought-out responses will aid the hoteliers in maintaining a consistent tone of voice in responding and attention to the key aspects of the guest review.

How do you write a good review response template?

Writing a good review template begins with understanding the common themes and feedback your hotel frequently receives. Start by categorizing reviews into positive, neutral, and negative, and then identify recurring points within each category. For positive feedback, focus on gratitude and reinforcement of the hotel’s strengths, such as exceptional service, amenities, or location. For negative reviews, prioritize empathy and resolution, ensuring that each response acknowledges the issue and outlines steps taken to address it. Always include placeholders for personal details, such as the guest’s name and specific comments, to maintain a personalized touch.

A well-crafted template should be flexible and adaptable to various scenarios. Avoid overly generic language that can make your responses seem insincere. Instead, incorporate your hotel’s unique selling points (USPs) and keywords relevant to your SEO strategy. Use a consistent tone that reflects your brand’s voice, whether it’s warm and friendly or professional and courteous. Remember, the goal of a review template is not only to streamline the response process but also to enhance the guest’s experience and improve your hotel’s online reputation.

Write the best review review responses with MARA

Responding to online reviews can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be with our AI Review Assistant of MARA. This intuitive tool is designed to ease your Online Reputation Management process, making it more efficient, personalized, and time-saving. It offers the best and most personalized AI for responding to and analyzing your guest reviews.

Review Inbox

One of the key features of this tool is the Review Inbox. Your review inbox makes responding to reviews as simple as hitting "Generate reply" and clicking "Send". The Review Inbox connects to multiple review sites, including Google, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor, giving you a panoramic view of all your reviews. And you can even configure review response automation: Why not allow MARA to automatically respond to simple reviews, like 5-star Google reviews with no text, ensuring you never miss a review? Daily notifications about new reviews keep you updated and in control.

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Review Analytics

To help you understand and analyze the multitude of reviews, the Review Assistant also incorporates Review Analytics. This provides actionable, easy-to-understand insights that are tailored exclusively to your business. With MARA, you can quickly get the gist of all your reviews without needing to read each one. The analysis is so detailed that you can find out about specific issues like "water in the pool is too cold" or "lack of vegan breakfast option”. These insights help optimize guest experience without requiring you to be a data expert.

The most personal response AI

MARA's AI isn't just about efficiency; it's about personalization too. The Brand Voice feature allows the AI to adapt to your tone, making sure your responses sound authentically you. Plus, with Smart Snippets, you can "teach" the AI how to respond to recurring praises or complaints. Your AI then incorporates this information into its responses, but always with different words, providing more personalized, relevant replies.

This review response assistant has quickly become a game-changer for over 2000 customers. Its promising capacity to elevate your overall rating, amplify response rates, glean insights from customer feedback and economize both time and money, is the reason behind its growing popularity.

What are the best tips for using hotel review response templates?

Here's how you can make the most out of your hotel review response templates:

Apply personalization to your templates

Effective use of hotel review response templates involves personalization. Ensure that each template allows for customization to address specific concerns raised in reviews. Personal touches, such as addressing the guest by name and referencing their feedback, demonstrate attentiveness and enhance the guest experience.

To learn more about personalization on review responses, read our article No Contradiction: Personalization and AI-generated review replies

Make sure it's consistent with your brand

Consistency in tone and messaging is crucial when using review response templates. Align your responses with your hotel’s brand voice, whether it’s friendly and casual or formal and professional. Consistency reinforces your brand’s identity and strengthens guest relationships.

Write positive review response templates

Craft positive review response templates that highlight your hotel’s strengths and unique selling points (USPs). Express gratitude for the positive feedback and encourage future bookings by emphasizing what makes your hotel special. Attention to detail is really important even for happy customers.

Write negative review response templates

Construct negative review response templates with empathy and a commitment to addressing concerns. Apologize sincerely, offer solutions or assurances for improvement, and invite further communication offline to resolve issues.

Write templates for rating-only reviews

Tailor templates to correspond with different star review ratings, even for rating-only reviewers. Ensure that you appreciate the star rating that they left to your listing, and open an avenue of dialogue so they can further discuss their star review. This way, you can turn indifferent reviewers to happy customers!

Discover the most efficient way to respond to rating-only review examples in our article How to Respond to a Google Review With No Comment

Incorporate SEO keywords

Optimize your review response templates with SEO keywords relevant to your hotel’s offerings and location. Strategic use of keywords can enhance your hotel’s visibility in search engine results, attracting more potential guests.

Learn how to optimize your review responses for better SEO in our article How to SEO Optimize Your Review Responses. With SEO-optimized reviews, you can increase your traffic and boost your business' visibility online.

Regularly update your templates based on sentiment analysis

Review and update your templates regularly based on recurring feedback themes and sentiments expressed in reviews across all review sites. This ensures your responses remain relevant and reflective of current guest experiences at your hotel.

Learn how analyzing Google Reviews can unlock actionable customer insights for business success. Read our article Google Review Analysis: Strategies for Extracting Customer Insights

Use a review response generator for your online reviews

Consider utilizing a review response generator or AI-powered tool to streamline the process of crafting and personalizingresponses. These tools can help save time while ensuring consistency and effectiveness in managing online reviews.

How do you respond to a 5 star rating review with templates?

When responding to a 5 star review with a template, it’s best to modify the template based on crucial industry metrics mentioned in the review. For example, it’s best to highlight a reviewer’s comment about your location, facilities, amenities, and customer service for hotels. On the other hand, if you run a restaurant, it’s best to modify your response template based on feedback on your menu, food taste, and price range.

Responding to positive reviews: Examples and templates

When responding to positive feedback, it's essential to convey genuine appreciation and reinforce the strengths highlighted by the reviewer.

A sample response could be:

"Thank you for your glowing review! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our exceptional service and prime location. It was a pleasure hosting you, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon!"

[Company Name]

Personalizing such responses with specific details from the review enhances their authenticity and strengthens the connection with your guests, fostering customer loyalty and encouraging repeat visits.

Examples of responding to positive reviews

Here's a great response review example that incorporates personalization to templated review response. These review examples are lifted from Google Reviews:

How do you respond to a 1 star rating review with templates?

When responding to a 1 star review, you should be extra careful using a template. Showing customers that you’re using a pre-made reply to address complaints can harm your online reputation. It’s best to address each point included in the review while maintaining an apologetic tone.

Responding to negative review: Examples and templates

When dealing with 1 star review, you will quickly recognize some common complaint themes in negative reviews. Even if you are able to improve your services (e.g., adding more vegan breakfast options) some complaint themes are probably not that easy to fix (bathroom concept, noise of outside construction) and will therefore be present in negative reviews from time to time.

Here's a quick template you can use for bad reviews:

Dear [Reviewer's Name],

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We're sorry to hear about your experience and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Your comments are valuable to us as we strive to improve our services. Please rest assured that we are taking your concerns seriously and will address them with our team.

If you would like to discuss your experience further, please feel free to contact us directly at [Your Contact Information]. We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back and provide you with a better experience.

[Company Name]

Examples of responding to negative reviews

Here's a notable response to a 1 star review, lifted from Booking.com review examples. Read how this response explains the context to the reviewer.

Example of how do you respond to a 3 star review?

When responding to a 3 star review using a template, it’s best to include your business email. This is especially important for reviews without comments. This way, you can ask your reviewer to expound more on their star review.

How do I professionally respond to a Google Review?

Responding professionally to Google Reviews is crucial for maintaining a positive online reputation and fostering customer trust. Google's strict guidelines aim to ensure authenticity and credibility in reviews, making it essential to craft responses that are respectful, genuine, and in compliance with these standards. By addressing both positive and negative feedback promptly and professionally, businesses can not only acknowledge customer experiences but also demonstrate their commitment to customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, leveraging Google Reviews effectively can significantly impact search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Google indexes review content, making it searchable and influential in local search rankings. Therefore, businesses should capitalize on the opportunity to engage with reviewers, address concerns transparently, and highlight positive feedback to enhance their online visibility and reputation. By consistently monitoring and responding to Google Reviews thoughtfully, businesses can foster a positive online presence and strengthen relationships with both current and potential customers.

Check out this article, our step-by-step guide on how to reply to Google reviews, be it a 5 star review or a 1 star review. You can also read review examples you should be aware of when monitoring your Google listing.

Final Thought

While templates can offer efficiency in managing online reviews, it's crucial to balance their use with personalizedresponses tailored to individual guest concerns. Guests value thoughtful and individualized responses, reflecting the personalized experience they seek from hospitality establishments. Utilizing templates sparingly and supplementing them with original replies can enhance guest satisfaction and maintain the authenticity of interactions. Moreover, with advanced software like our AI Review Assistant, MARA, managing online reviews becomes more manageable and insightful. MARA offers not only streamlined processes but also personalized responses and valuable insights derived from reviews. Don't hesitate to give it a try—it's free for testing , requires no credit card, and can be operational in less than five minutes.

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