The Days Of Copy-Paste Are Over! Here’s How To Respond Uniquely To the Positive And Negative TripAdvisor Reviews

What’s in it for me?

As much as your hotel guests invest in taking out the time from their busy schedules to post a review online of your services and hospitality, it is equally important for you to reciprocate with replies that make them feel acknowledged and heard. The days of canned, robotic responses with a simple “thank you for reviewing us” and “please visit again” are over. In this post, you will get a broader understanding of how to weave magic by writing unique, handcrafted responses to customer reviews, and how to make those management responses stand out.

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Imagine if all the chocolates in the world were of the same taste and flavor! The preferences for milk, dark and white would have gone for a toss!

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Regarding responding to hotel reviews, the same logic stands true! Hence management responses to online hotel reviews is an art that needs to be nurtured from time to time. Every review is unique, crafted carefully by the reviewer to put their point across both to the organization and the whole wide world aka the prospects contemplating traveling to the same destination.

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Hence there is no denying the fact that responses should be equally, and carefully personalized to meet the reviewers’ expectations. Being a travel behemoth, TripAdvisor comes flooded with a plethora of both positive and negative TripAdvisor reviews which are regulated by a bubble rating. 

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Why Are TripAdvisor Reviews Important

Often acting as a defining factor in the guests’ travel decision-making, TripAdvisor enjoys a lot of popularity due to the reliance of a large number of people on it to plan their travel seamlessly. Based on the online reviews on TripAdvisor, guests can often determine whether or not to stay with you. 

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“72% of consumers frequently or always consult reviews before deciding where to visit, eat or stay.”

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With trust and credibility gaining traction with a platform like TripAdvisor, both your positive and negative TripAdvisor reviews can impact your competitive position. The platform has a popularity ranking algorithm regulated by three factors- quality, quantity, and recency of the reviews. The better the reviews on TripAdvisor, the higher your competitive positioning. In short, this has an impact on your hotel’s online reputation.

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Why You Must Stay Away From The Evil of Canned, Robotic Responses

“Thank you for your feedback. We hope to see you soon!” While there’s nothing erroneous about using this statement in your hotel online reviews, there’s still something that seems to be missing- personalization! Personalizing your responses pay off and help the reviewer understand that you comprehend their sentiments well and are equally making an effort to invest in crafting a legitimate, personalized response instead of copy-pasting a generic answer to their queries and complaints. 

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This stands true for both the positive and negative TripAdvisor reviews. 

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While there’s nothing wrong with curating certain basic, templatized responses that can come in handy and help deal with the review volume effectively, it is equally crucial to gain that know-how in the way you can coat these responses with a unique, creative flavoring. This will seem more personalized, specific, and appealing.

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Let’s take a look at a few of the well-curated and well-personalized responses to some of the common TripAdvisor reviews:

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Positive TripAdvisor Reviews Sample: Copy-Pasted Response Vs A Well-Defined Response

• Positive Reviews Examples Copy And Paste Response:

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1. Ratings: 4 out of 5

           By: Alex

“The concierge was very kind and friendly. The check-in was quick and the concierge gave us some tips on where to go and to eat. The hotel is beautiful and the room is very comfortable, silent and clean. The area is safe and easy to access by car.”

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Dear Guest,

Thank you for taking the time to review us. We’re glad that you had a great stay in our beautiful hotel. It will be our pleasure to host you again!

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• Unique and Personalized TripAdvisor Positive Hotel Review Response:

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“The concierge was very kind and friendly. The check-in was quick and the concierge gave us some tips on where to go and to eat. The hotel is beautiful and the room is very comfortable, silent and clean. The area is safe and easy to access by car.”

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Dear Alex,

Many, many thanks for your glowing review of our hotel. Our staff takes pleasure in making our guests comfortable from the get-go, so we are delighted to hear the beautiful praises of our team and their efficiency. The beauty and peaceful state of our premises, along with the ease of access to nearby locations, make it a desirable experience, and we could not have been happier to provide you with it to the brim. Our mission is to deliver great value to each guest at the (hotel name), and it sounds like you had a fantastic experience with us. We were thrilled to host you this time and would be more than happy to serve you again on your next trip!

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• TripAdvisor Bad Review Response: Copy-Paste Version

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2. Ratings: 1 out of 5 

By: Socorro

“Horrible place, not safe”

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Dear Guest,

Thank you for your review. We’re sorry if you didn’t have a quality experience. We will improve upon these aspects to ensure that you have a better future experience. We request you to visit again!

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• TripAdvisor Review Response Examples: Personalized Version

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“Horrible place, not safe”

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Dear Guest,

Thank you so much for your honest feedback. While we’re happy you stayed with us, we’re extremely sorry to learn that your time at the property evoked a lot of safety concerns. Although the area has a bit of a homeless population, it is generally safe and harmless as is ascertained from the point of view of a vast majority of our guests who feel safe even at night in the neighborhood. Security cameras have been installed at vital touchpoints and we have also enhanced safety measures at our disposal to ensure that we are ready to intervene if necessary. We assure you that there’s nothing to be worried about. That being said, we will still look into this matter highlighted by you to provide you with the best experience possible. We hope this will not dissuade you from visiting us further!

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While the approaches (copy-paste vs unique) may differ for both the positive and negative TripAdvisor reviews, let us explore a few TripAdvisor positive hotel response examples for a better understanding of how to curate unique, creative, and extremely personalized responses to customer feedback:

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Positive Hotel Review Response Examples

1. Ratings: 5 out of 5

By: Melissa

“People are very friendly and helpful”

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Dear Melissa,

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback! We’re delighted to learn that you had a friendly interaction with our staff and they could assist you in having a wonderful stay. We always believe in going above and beyond to serve our guests to the best of our abilities and hence it feels great to be acknowledged for the hard work that we put in every day. Your kind words will be a great source of motivation for all of us and have already brought a smile to our faces. We hope that your next trip is not too far away!

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2. Ratings: 5 out of 5 

By: Anonymous

“This is a typical motel, family run, well maintained, very clean and comfortable. We have been there four days and are very satisfied. The beds are comfortable with a size adequate for two people, and space in the room was enough for three people without stepping on each other’s toes. There is no noise from the street, but if you are on the ground floor you may hear noise from the room above yours. The room has a microwave, a larger fridge than average for hotels, ironing board and iron. There is ample parking in the motel lot, we never had a problem finding a spot, even if the venue was full. The location is perfect, very close to freeway 134 and 2, 5 minutes from Pasadena and twenty minutes from downtown LA. There is always somebody available at the reception and the location is video surveilled, we had a feeling of being safe. The owner is very friendly and helpful. We will certainly go back and I definitely recommend it.”

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Dear Guest, 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed account of your stay with us at (hotel name). We are genuinely grateful to you for giving us a high rating and highlighting matters of appreciation in your feedback. Our team is delighted that our room's clean and spacious conditions, as well as our location's tranquillity and security, worked in favor of your expectations. We take it upon ourselves to provide you with an exceptional guest experience created by comfortable conditions and exclusive amenities reserved for you. Helpful staff services and convenient parking facilities are available for you at all hours, so thank you so much for emphasizing this point in your review. It is a matter of pride for our team that we are able to provide such an exquisite experience to you at highly affordable rates. As you noticed, our hotel's location is unique in its own way and works well for all of our guests. Reviews like these in which our guests mention that they will happily recommend our place without second thoughts and be back here on their next trip make us feel over the moon. It is lovely to hear our guests acknowledge the delight of choosing to stay with us again, so we'll be looking forward to hosting you and delivering another magnificent guest experience

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3. Ratings: 5 out of 5

By: Megan

“My husband and I stayed for our anniversary and his golf tournament. The hotel was very clean and in a beautiful setting. Our room had a fireplace separate living area with a fridge and a patio that led out to the pool and Jacuzzi. It felt very private and beachy. The pool and spa were also very clean and surrounded by beautiful trees. Joy at the reception desk was so nice and made sure that we had a wonderful stay. I love this hotel and we will definitely be back the next time we come to Monterey.”

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Dear Megan,

We are happy that you were comfortable during your stay with our accommodation facilities and satisfied with our staff's efforts. Our calm and tranquil location is a safe choice for travelers passing through Monterey, and it was our pleasure to host you on your visit. We are glad that the layout of our hotel and the beauty of the premises worked well for you. Our top-end facilities are one of the most attractive aspects of (hotel name) so we ensure that they are well-maintained for the comfort of our guests. We love to listen to your appreciation for our hotel and feel proud to hear your promise to let us host you again on your next trip, so thank you for sharing your honest feedback about our humble hotel. Do not hesitate to let us know about any improvements we could bring to our establishment. We hope you enjoyed your anniversary, we know you relished the stay, and we guarantee you a supreme guest experience if you swing by next time!

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4. Ratings: 4 out of 5

By: Sam Smith

“Best motel ever. Very large recently renovated room, great tub, (rare these days), huge TV, Fridge, microwave, Keurig coffee maker with excellent Costco pods. Eating table for 2, secure enough free parking. Breakfast minimal but hey, it's a bargain motel at a great price for the area.”

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Dear Mr. Smith,

We're glad to know that your stay at (hotel name) and our services worked out so well for you. We are a hotel that takes pride in our well-maintained rooms and extensive range of facilities and amenities for our guests, so it is exciting to hear you compliment us on our super comfortable room conditions. Your kind words about the high quality of our services humble us and gift us the joy of knowing that we were able to satisfy you entirely during your stay. It is indeed a pleasure knowing that our parking facility and breakfast options were also suitable to your taste. We intend for our guests to experience bliss and peace and have their expectations met successfully at our hotel, and it seems we have done that for you. It was a joyous opportunity to host you during this recent stay, and we would be more than happy if you choose us for your next vacation! 

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5. Ratings: 5 out of 5

By: Choco113

“The staff is very helpful and awesome the rooms are clean the property is quiet and safe to stay there I’m always at that hotel very respectful employees I would recommend anyone to stay at that hotel, quiet area…I love them my favorite place”

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Dear Guest, 

We are delighted to know that you had an excellent stay with us. We take it upon ourselves to provide you with an exceptional guest experience created by excellent hygiene conditions, exclusive amenities, and enthusiastic staff behavior at affordable prices. It is lovely to know that our staff was able to handle your needs and manage your stay in a friendly yet highly professional manner. We, too, definitely want you to stay here again on your next journey, so let us know the next time you're coming to the city so that we can set up things bigger and better!

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While these are some of the best replies to TripAdvisor reviews, specifically the positive ones, the negative comments examples, and their respective responses are not far behind in the game. In fact, it is responding to the negative hotel reviews examples which deserve immediate attention given the utmost need to pacify a disgruntled customer. 

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Here are a few hotel negative reviews with their template responses:

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Negative Hotel Review Response Examples

1. Ratings: 1 out of 5

By: Anahi

“nothing

It was dirty, and they took forever to give me room.”

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Dear Anahi,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns regarding the recent stay. We’re sorry that we failed to knock it out of the park for you this time. We take cleanliness and hygiene issues very seriously, and a housekeeping manager will be soon following up on this matter to ensure that there is no issue of compromised cleanliness the next time. We had been operating on lower staff strength which led to suffering a setback in the subsequent functioning for the day. It was just an odd day that caught us unaware, and the delay was for the housekeeping to turn in rooms by preparing them adequately post a check out from the previous guest. We will ensure that the internal procedures are hereby strengthened to keep such delays at bay. We hope to welcome you as happy, contented guests in the future!

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2. Ratings: 2 out of 5

By: Kim Mundy

‍“Building layout. Room size. Decoration. Clean & tidy. Views from front. Pool and Spa.

Unfortunately, the room type, town house, had booked in Oct 2021 had been allocated to other guests. Staff were reticent to assist or apologize. Only on insistence from me did they give a small discount and provide the room I had booked for two of the three nights of our stay. Very poor service with no one taking responsibility. Did not feel welcome. The buildings are on a corner and have two-lane traffic to the side and front. As a light sleeper this affected my sleep, particularly the first night in our non-chosen suite at the rear. Breakfast unimaginative grab bags. Other hotels, on road trip and this was our ninth stop, were now providing full hot food options. This should be reflected in the price. Pool closed sharply at 8pm, too early if sightseeing or eating out. Other hotels we had visited were 9 and 10 pm.”

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Dear Kim,

Thank you for reaching out to us and writing a detailed review of your stay. We sincerely apologize to you for the unfortunate episode involving our staff where the pre-booked room was allocated to other guests. This is not a common problem, so we are still looking at how that decision was made. While we are renowned for our services, we understand how this is a grievous occurrence for which action must be taken. It could be the confusing status of the room bookings that caused us to redirect you on the first night to the corner building. Once again, we extend our apologies. Since a portion of our guests is a set of travelers passing by, they often prefer takeout grab bags containing a minimal breakfast before a long day on the road. If you could have let us know your preferences for a morning meal, we would have been happy to oblige your interests within our limits. The pool timings are a part of our policy, so we cannot be too flexible on that front. Ultimately, we feel disappointed that we could not make our guests feel welcome at our hotel. We shall be going over each matter and see what we can change for the comfort of our customers. I hope that this experience does not become your lasting impression of the hotel, so we would like to host you again when you arrive at (hotel name) with a concise check-in, peaceful rooms, and hot breakfast options.

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3. Ratings: 1 out of 5

By: Skaterboy631

“Ive stayed in cheap motels before. But even though they didn't always have the nicest stuff, they were still clean. This was atrocious. The 1st room, the AC wasnt working. And the room was just filthy. The person changed our rooms, 2nd room was just as gross. I told them i just wanted to cancel my booking. He asked me to try a 3rd room. It was some cleaner. We stayed the night just because I had a migraine and couldn't travel any farther. This morning we are packing up and not coming back. Also it says there is a continental breakfast. When I asked the nighttime attendant, he said there was no breakfast. Which is fine, because given the conditions of the rooms, I wouldn’t eat anything from there!”

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Dear Guest,

We are very sorry for the condition of the rooms you were allocated. As an established motel, we take the proper steps to ensure that our guests feel satisfied with our resources and services, so it is truly disheartening to hear that we could not do the same for you. Thank you for voicing your concerns, as we have strictly passed them on to the administration to look over the room conditions and straighten them out immediately. We apologize for everything that made your stay an uncomfortable experience, and we assure you that we will take all necessary measures to ensure that our rooms are clean, comfortable, and well maintained. We are also sorry about breakfast as we have temporarily suspended meal services for a short while. We understand that all these circumstances have caused you a terrible experience at our motel, but we request that you kindly not let that be your lasting impression of us.

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4. Ratings: 1 out of 5

By: Michael Frazee

“Black mold on the walls in the bathroom in room 240, open junction boxes, bugs and spiders that we spent time killing all over the room. This place is disgusting”

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Dear Michael,

Thank you for sharing your honest feedback with us. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to you and for not meeting most of your expectations during the recent visit. We sincerely apologize for the state of the bathroom. This does call for strengthening our housekeeping policies and cleaning procedures although our staff checks and cleans every room/bathroom thoroughly. This will be highlighted to the staff to avoid such instances hereafter. We also apologize for the presence of bugs and spiders. Although this is uncommon given that we keep servicing our rooms every now and then for bugs and insects, we will surely contact our licensed pest control partners to service the room and the surrounding rooms for the unwanted inmates. We understand that your experience was not on par with your expectations but we request you view this incident in isolation and allow us another opportunity to redeem ourselves by offering you the most convenient and highly enjoyable stay. 

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5. Ratings: 2 out of 5

By: Verified Traveler

“Road traffic noise was so terrible. One of the worst I had experienced in all my travels. The plumbing for the bathtub was messed up too. When you go to turn on the shower, the whole faucet comes out of the wall.”

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Dear Guest,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us about your recent stay at our property. We do appreciate your business very much. However, we apologize for the gripes you encountered during your stay. Our sincere apologies for the issue with the noise level on the street. We are working on some solutions that might help block out the noise to the maximum possible extent. We will also look into the plumbing issues you have mentioned and will fix the broken amenities in no time. We request you give us another chance to make amends and re-establish credibility with you by hosting you with our true/signature hospitality. 

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Final Takeaway

When curating responses to hotel reviews, the management is still given a certain level of power to redeem themselves and the hospitality rendered by pacifying the displeased and aggrieved guests, explaining their side of the story, and making transparent the resolution to implement the changes that have been so chronically asked for. 

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Hence it is important to personalize responses as per the reviewer’s comments to be in sync with what the reviewer is saying, instead of glossing over the customer feedback real quick and dumping all the responses under the broader positive and negative generic categories, without personalizing even a bit. 

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These positive and negative Tripadvisor reviews and their responses elucidated above will help you head in the right direction to ensure that you are able to gather and improve more reviews on the platform and appease your customers with an inch-perfect reply- another aspect of your establishment’s hospitality standards.

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