Everyone’s got an image to protect. As the hotel industry becomes increasingly subjected to the world of customer reviews, hoteliers have developed a term for protecting that image – it’s called “managing your online reputation.”

A 2011 TripAdvisor survey revealed 99% of hotels plan to respond to customer reviews on the various review channels available today. But Daniel Edward Craig, former GM of the Opus Hotel Vancouver and now an independent hotel consultant, doesn’t buy it.

“Last year, only 7% of hotels responded to negative reviews,” he said. Craig encourages hoteliers to ramp up their monitoring and responses—especially to negative reviews—and has developed a strategy to help them do so.

Craig said responding to reviews shows travelers hoteliers are listening to what they have to say and that hoteliers are willing to make improvements based on guest feedback.

“It’s time-consuming, especially if you get a lot of reviews,” Craig said Thursday during a webinar titled “Improving your Hotel’s Online Reputation—Best Practices in Responding to Online Reviews.”

“It’s also intimidating. Now you have the added pressure of your response going to the entire online community,” he said.

Craig outlined four basics areas hoteliers should focus on:
-Monitoring and measuring
-Discussing and resolving
-Responding in order to minimize negative feedback
-Encouraging reviews

Discussing and resolving is the most important, he said. “This is the hugely critical part. I recommend treating online reputation management similar to revenue management. Appoint a team and hold a meeting regularly.”

Craig said many hoteliers feel they have no control of what is said about their hotel. What hoteliers can control, though, is how they respond.

Fixing issues and then responding to customer reviews and noting those fixes makes good business sense. Travelers will notice the improvements, which will lead to more positive reviews, which will lead to more guests and in-turn will encourage more positive reviews, Craig said.

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