There’s No Place Like Home: Now For the Reviews

There’s no place like home: Now for the reviews.

The trip is over. You’ve been in four planes, three hotels, two theme parks, a ship, and countless restaurants. It’s a wealth of guest experiences and memories you’ll carry for a lifetime. 

Do you need a week to recover? Probably so. But if the trip was rife with positive experiences, it’s a good recovery.

Now For the Reviews

There’s no place like home to reflect on your journey. Reviewing each experience is an excellent way to document your travels. It also lets your hosts know what you think of them. 

You will also influence someone else’s decision to make or not make the same journey. A concise, emotionally-sound review with photos takes time. It is, however, a wise investment in the future for all guests and hosts.

It Does Matter What People Say About You

Regardless of the establishment, it is now proper decorum to read and respond to reviews. If they do not, they seem indifferent, which is the worst response.

According to ReviewTrackers’ Online Reviews Statistics and Trends: A 2022 Report, consumer expectations are higher than ever, especially since the onset of the pandemic.

Based on data from the report:

• 94% of consumers say a bad review has convinced them to avoid a business
• 53% expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within a week. One in three have a shorter time frame of three days or less
• 63% say that at least one company they reviewed never responded

The report also states that 45 percent of consumers are still likely to give the business a try if they respond to negative reviews.

Google Is the Shoulder To Cry On

Where do most consumers go for reviews? Google. According to the report, Google receives 73 percent of reviews. Yelp is next with 45 percent. Tripadvisor claims approximately 30 percent and Facebook slightly less. 

No surprise to anyone reading reviews is that those four sites are responsible for distributing 88 percent of all reviews. Google benefits from search volume and snippets of sites in search results, saving searchers from additional clicks.

Any News Is Good News

Reviews also improve a business’s SEO and SEM. They give potential customers an in-depth look at how an organization treats its customers. Even bad reviews serve as marketing testimonials.

Emotion Inspires Action

Word of mouth works. Customer reviews will also expose a business as being lazy or inattentive. If menu prices have increased or hours of operation are different than those posted online, consumers are irritated and eager to write about it. 

If the business neglects those details, what else do they neglect?

The ReviewTrackers report points to one more fact about consumers and how their reviews have adapted to social media culture. Reviews are 65 percent (200 characters) shorter than in 2010 when the average was 600.

Now for the reviews and how to decipher them. The comments you read may not be positive. They may not even be true. But add enough detail to a picture, and you will eventually see the real thing.