March 19, 2024

Google Reviews in Travel and Hospitality Industry – The Final Guide

4 min read
Google Reviews in Travel and Hospitality Industry - The Final Guide

Travel and Hospitality is an industry that has touched everyone’s lives at some moment. If you are an established hotel, and you are not paying attention to what people talk about you and your services online, it is high time you should wake up.

The fact is your competitors have already opted to embed Google reviews on the website.  And this has added some stars to their illustriousness.

Can’t believe it? Listen to the statistics!

Site Minder has revealed that 96% of travelers consider reviews important during the research phase of planning a holiday. And 83% say that reviews play an essential role in their final booking decision.

But, If you are still hung up on the authentic ways of marketing, then you have come to the right place. This blog discusses the core benefits of Google reviews for your travel and hospitality business.

Advantages of Google Reviews For Travel Agencies And Hotels

There is no denying that COVID has changed the hospitality industry. People are now much more aware of where they stay and stop by. Besides they want to know the improvement in the services after the lift of lockdown restrictions. The bottom line is while trusting review recency also becomes a deciding factor. We have lined up some of the benefits of reviews for your travel and hospitality business. Have a look.

1. Reviews Impact Bookings

A recent study has shown that when customers are exposed to online reviews of a hotel, it paints a picture of the hotel brand in consumers’ minds.

Condor Ferries has revealed that 72% of new customers won’t book until they have spent time reading other traveler reviews. And over half of them will not choose a hotel if they have no reviews at all. It is worth noting that your target customer is reading these Google reviews to reduce the risk and uncertainty. And these reviews help them to determine the level of trust.

2. Gives You Hotel Marketing Opportunities

Hotel marketing in the hospitality industry helps bring awareness and consideration of their products and services to consumers. Within the travel and hospitality industry competition is one of the biggest challenges.

Google reviews can act as a hotel marketing strategy for you without having to spend much money. You can embed Google reviews on websites to build instant trust in your target customers. You can also create social media posts of these reviews or ad campaigns using these Google reviews.

3. Builds Trust In Your Services

People love to know what others think of your business. Besides, before they spend a penny they like to get a glimpse of the services from real buyers. They like to peep inside the hotel room through pictures and words of people they like.

This is what a Google review widget does to your business. They get a quick look into your services. Besides, it shows your customers that you’re transparent and honest with them. You can also target the pain points of your customers and showcase the reviews that resonate with them. For example, you know that your ideal customers are worried about hygiene. In such a scenario, you can choose a few positive Google reviews that talk about how prompt your cleaning services are. You can also showcase some 3 and 4 stars reviews and talk about how you have improved over time.

4. Boost In SEO

When it comes to getting ranked on sites like Google, it’s important to make sure how often your business gets mentioned online. The interesting thing here is Google trusts the word of mouth marketing. Just as your target market uses online reviews to validate their purchasing decisions, Google also works on the same stance. In fact, according to a study by Moz, the fifth most significant parameter that determines the rank of a business is online reviews.

So the more Google reviews you have, the better your ranking will be.

Besides, it is important to note that Google reviews and Google maps go hand in hand. A well-optimized Google listing can also help you fetch more reviews, and increase the visibility of your business.

5. Deal With Negative Reviews

While it feels good to see positive reviews on your online portal, it is also important to realize that negative reviews are an inevitable part of a business. If you are worried about the same, here are some of the ways to tackle it.

Positive and negative co-exists. And hence it is obvious for your business to get negative reviews as well. It takes immense courage to accept the shortcomings of your business and talk about it to your audience. But trust us, once you are there, you have won the trust of your customers. They will now be seen as a responsible business owner with problem-solving attitudes. Eventually creating a better business relationship.

We also recommend you use a polite tone while responding to your customers.

In A Nutshell

The arrival of web 2.0 has changed the marketing scenario for service-based businesses like travel and hospitality. Customers now read seven reviews before they make a purchase. Google reviews give your customers a voice and increase the confidence of target customers in your services. Hence, contributing to the conversion rates. 

To speed up the entire process, you have to show the Google reviews while they are on your webpage. You can embed Google reviews on websites for this. Adding a Google review widget to the website will help you secure social proof for your business right when your target customer is considering choosing your services.

So what is stopping you now? Take a step forward, realize the importance of Google reviews for your travel and hospitality business and leverage its advantages.

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