BANGKOK, 9 March 2019: More guests are posting hotel reviews than ever before with the global review volume up 27% in 2017.
The findings are part of a study on hotel reviews by Revinate a software company that helps hoteliers to transform guest data into revenue.
Released Wednesday, its 2018 Global Hotel Reputation Benchmark Report, now in its third year, analysed 132 million online guest reviews from 138,000 properties across 200 countries.
Among its key findings, Revinate confirmed a significant increase in global review volume. In 2017, guests wrote 27% more reviews, driving an increase in the average review pace per property from 28 reviews per month in 2016 to 37 in 2017.
Hoteliers responded to 29.7% of their reviews, most often to five-star reviews (32.8%), followed by two-star (31.2%) then one-star (28.8% reviews).
By region, Asia-Pacific and Latin America outperformed the global review response average, while North America and EMEA were slightly behind.
“With this increase in review volume, hoteliers are mostly keeping pace with their responses,” said Revinate co-founder and CEO, Marc Heyneker. “Hoteliers and review sites are getting better at driving guests to write online reviews, an effort that ultimately results in more bookings.”
Review ratings in 2017 were mostly positive. On average, global travellers rated their hotel stays with a 4.23 score, a slight increase over 2016.
In terms of annual increase, Latin American properties experienced the strongest improvement (+1.18%).
When examining review distribution, the report found that 74% of all reviews came from the top four review sites: Booking.com, Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook.
Booking.com maintained its lead as the top review aggregator, Facebook entered the top four for the first time, while Google experienced a spectacular increase in reviews, doubling its share compared to last year.
According to Heyneker, “We recommend that hoteliers use this report to benchmark their own review management practices. This report showcases how important it is to pay close attention to both emerging and established channels to maintain a strong and positive online presence.”
(Source: Revinate)
