How to Turn Satisfied Guest Reviews into the Cornerstone of Your Brand
There’s nothing more powerful than word-of-mouth marketing, and your past guests can become your biggest cheerleaders when it comes to sharing your property with new travelers. Getting a testimonial or case study from satisfied customers operates as the core of your social proof reviews, which can turn into months of content for your brand.
Collect your Guest’s Feedback
A solid brand position first depends on collecting valid, important information from your best guests.
Find the right avenue to collect this information and ensure it’s a convenient experience– email, text message, or chat is best for the modern traveler.
Ask the right questions – give your guests the opportunity to share their best feedback by asking questions that may have them think a little deeper about their experience.
Always close by asking permission to share – you want your customers to be okay with you sharing their name and experience on social media, your website, and with future guests.
Frame your questions around experiences that make your property different from any other trip - and ask for honest feedback on areas where you can improve. This gives you the basis to confront future guests’ qualms before they even happen. Encourage them to paint a picture of what their stay looked like from their point of view.
What were you looking for from your vacation?
Why did you end up selecting our destination?
What did you like or dislike about booking with us?
What emotions did you feel throughout this stay?
What features of the rental/property encouraged you to feel that way?
If you could suggest one improvement for your next stay with us what may it be?
Create your Brand Story Around Your Guests, Not Just Your Property
Now comes the fun part - turning that positive feedback into a strong story to increase brand loyalty, garner more bookings, and bring awareness to your incredible travel brand. A single-story can turn into a blog feature, testimonial, social media posts, Instagram Stories, and more.
Highlight specific, short statements about the key features of your brand.
As many of your potential guests are exploring and booking travel on mobile, you want your brand story to be quick and impactful. People don’t want to read a two-page, paragraph-formatted detailed review of your brand, but they absolutely will stop on a bold, one sentence, powerful review.
From your customer feedback, pull 2 to 4 short, impactful sentences that highlight the key features of your brand. Is the 5-star experience something you like to highlight? A powerful statement to share might be, “Everything from the weather text messages to the Turkish cotton bath towels created a stunning, 5-star experience for my partner and me to celebrate our honeymoon in ultimate relaxation.”
Encourage customers to share their experiences and review on their social media.
Access an even wider, broader audience who trusts your travelers; encourage your guests to share their experiences and reviews on their social media. Include your social handles in your welcome emails and ask guests to tag your account or share videos to Instagram throughout their stay. You can also create a “Location” for your property on Facebook and Instagram so that your guests can share your location tag within their posts.
Just like your previous guests are the most trustworthy source of information, these people are trustworthy opinions to their social network. If they are elaborating on how much they loved your unique stay, your travel brand is staying top of mind for luxury future travel experiences
Turn Satisfied Customers into Raving Social Proof
Social proof comes with a hefty dose of brand equity, and 82% of Americans say they seek recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase. Turn your most satisfied customers into a strong brand story and use that authentic content to market your luxury stay across your social network and theirs.
Need help with your STR marketing strategy?
We offer hour strategy sessions for vacation rental owners who need a little help thinking outside the Airbnb app. Strategy sessions start at $250 for an hour-packed pull of ideas, statistics, and tactics to improve your booking. Request a consultation with your area of need and listing links to get started.
