LETTER OF THE WEEK: ROOM TO IMPROVE THESE VITAL FEEDBACK SYSTEMS
Customer feedback should be an important aspect of any service or hospitality business and there should definitely be a place for all forms of it within the hotel industry, whether online or otherwise. It is useful for customers, hoteliers and their business partners. Many consultants now refer to it within development feasibility studies.
In terms of online reviews, I think the key is understanding how much reliance can be placed against this feedback. The main focus appears to be placed on the integrity of reviewers' opinions, whether they are objective or, indeed, if they ever actually stayed at the hotel. Feedback will always be subjective, even if numerical scoring ranges are used.
However, one obvious solution to improve the situation would be to restrict reviews to customers who had booked via the site they were leaving feedback on. TripAdvisor, for example, would send an e‑mail - with a unique booking code - after the date of stay and only this could be used to post feedback. At present, anyone can register on a site and leave "feedback" for any hotel they wish.
One fundamental aspect that appears to be completely overlooked is the context that online reviews should be taken in. As one example, a well-known branded London four-star hotel currently appears in the top 20 hotels in London. However, that is based on fewer than 400 reviews on a system that has operated for years. This particular hotel has capacity for 89,500 room nights each year, so at best the online feedback only represents a sample of less than 0.5% in one year, or potentially below 0.1% over the full period reviews relate to. That is hardly a representative sample.
So, what does that tell us? The hotel may well be among the best in London - my own experience was favourable - but the main conclusion I draw is that the vast majority of guests either didn't book or don't use TripAdvisor, possibly provided feedback elsewhere, or had a stay that was average and didn't leave them feeling strong enough to leave any direct feedback. No feedback is, in itself, feedback of course.
So, I think there are obvious improvements that could be made. I do think all interested parties need to put things in perspective, as in all walks of life. In the meantime, TripAdvisor - which I do like as a useful site - continues to benefit from any publicity and we continue our obsession with Top 10 lists.
Alan Gordon, Senior analyst, Royal Bank of Scotland
Alan wins a bottle of Champagne, courtesy of Bakehouse
TRIPADVISOR HAS TO TAKE CONTROL
I am becoming increasingly concerned about TripAdvisor and its benefit to the hospitality industry.
Reviews on TripAdvisor are effectively anonymous and not verified. These customers often do not express dissatisfaction at the time of their visit or write to the business direct, giving the business a chance to rectify the situation.
I have owned a business in Hampshire for nearly five years now. We achieve 97% customer satisfaction which is generated from our feedback form, yet poor reviews are written by people on the TripAdvisor website by customers, mostly, who have only visited us on very low-priced special offers. More often than not they don't read the terms and conditions of the offer, and then blame the business and destroy its reputation by writing poor, one-sided and unedited reviews on such websites.
Of course, in some cases, negative reviews may well be true - any hospitality business, hotel or restaurant can make mistakes - but these reviews stay on TripAdvisor for many months, or even a lifetime of business.
TripAdvisor operators are always quick to edit the business owners' response and yet give no benefit to the business owners. I really wonder if something could be done to eliminate the reviews from TripAdvisor, or at least have some element of control brought into the website, so that poor reviews are removed after a certain period of time.
Most hospitality business operators spend a substantial amount of money and effort on marketing and to improve their reputation, and this can be destroyed by TripAdvisor reviewers voicing an incorrect opinion for their own personal reasons.
Name withheld by request
DON'T LET UTILITY BILLS RUN UP
As an old-school hotelier I have always been very sales driven with a firm hand on controllable costs, with a degree of exception when it comes to utilities - until now.
We agreed a direct debit with our current electricity provider just over six years ago and after three years were almost £10,000 in credit, leading to a reduction in the direct debit. However, two years later, after a further level of expansion, the £10,000 credit became a £20,000 debit.
Just over three months ago I raised the alarm with the electricity provider to pay off an amount owed and effectively pay as we go. But even with a renewed focus by all and a one-off payment and new payment plan, we still owed a considerable amount.
In closing, after a 10-minute conversation this week, our standard rate was reduced from 15p to 9p - fixed over three years - saving us in the region of £30,000.
There are some major savings to be made now, but it goes without saying they won't tell you unless you cry poverty!
Neil Bullows, Owner, the Whitehall hotel
BE PART OF BRITISH TOURISM WEEK
With social networking all the rage, British tourism is not to be left out. Make your contribution on the Caterersearch.com website or the British Tourism Week site. Give your thoughts on the "Everyone, Everywhere, Every day" campaign, or register a question to ask the tourism politicians at the special "Question Time" on 17 March. Whatever you do - get involved in this very important industry week.
For more details and to join the growing number of events, visit www.britishtourismweek.com
David Curtis-Brignell, co-chair, British Tourism Week
Please send letters to: The Editor, Caterer ad Hotelkeeper, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS. They may be faxed on 020 8652 8973 or e-mailed to catererletters@rbi.co.uk. The editor rserves the right to edit letters.