In today’s digital age, the influence of online reviews on consumer decisions is undeniable. In hospitality, boosting a hotel's review score can substantially enhance its Total Revenue per Available Room (TRevPar). This article explores how hotels are meaningfully improving their Google ratings through responding to the last shift in guest expectations and priorities.
A staggering 44% of travelers rely on reviews when selecting their accommodation. So, it’s no surprise that hotels which successfully boost their online ratings, see a corresponding uptick in financial performance.
Research indicates that a 10% increase in a hotel’s review score can lead to a 15%+ increase in Total Revenue per Available Room (TRevPar). That is, moving from a 4.5 to 5.0 star rating can boost TRevPar from $150 to over $175.
Despite their best efforts, many hotels find themselves plateauing and struggling to make meaningful differences to their average Google rating. The reason for this is a fundamental shift in guest expectations and how travel is planned, organized, and experienced. In recent research from Skift, quality in hotels is no longer judged by just the physical aspects of the property - it’s about the connection provided to local culture.
The key to a meaningful increase in score is connecting guests to meaningful, and memorable experiences. Data from Turneo reveals that guests booking experiences via the platform gave a 5.0 rating for their hotel on Google. By contrast, guests at the same hotels who did not book experiences gave an average rating of 4.6 - an increase of over 8%. That could mean as much as a 13% increase in TRevPar.
The growing preference for experiences over physical possessions is a trend that hotels cannot afford to ignore: half of all travelers now cite experiences as the driving force behind their trip planning. While in the past, travelers booked via Online Travel Agencies and hotels were forced to compete on rate vs their closest neighbors, the next generation are more tech-savvy. With that comes more online research, and starting the process on Google as opposed Booking.com or Expedia. Hotels need a top notch Google rating to maintain traveler interest and get them booking direct.
At Turneo, we love empowering hotels to promote, sell and manage in-house experiences. We know that hotels often hold back from setting up their own activities because of the operational headache: finding ways to take bookings, manage cancellations, track capacity, and so on. That’s why we offer simple, intuitive software that's easy to set up, and automates all the heavy-lifting. From a centralized hub hotels see and manage bookings in real-time, benefit from live pricing and availability, and can even monitor guest feedback and reviews.
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In less than a week you could be selling and managing all your experiences online.
