Online reviews greatly influence people’s buying decisions, whether they’re spending money on merchandise, a service, or a short-term rental stay. It feels less risky for buyers when there are good reviews involved.
According to Sprout Social, “More than half (51%) of consumers read reviews on forums or social media to evaluate a product or service before purchasing.” While this statistic refers to products and services, it’s something to keep in mind when considering how reviews can impact the success of your short-term rental. Simply put, people are looking to reviews to help them make a good decision before spending their money.
There’s a lot of competition out there and guests look at more than one property when they’re considering where to stay. There will be multiple deciding factors, but reviews will undoubtedly play a role in the final decision. How many reviews does your property have? Are they positive? How did you handle the negative reviews? These are all things guests look at before determining where to stay.
Let’s talk briefly about how to handle those negative reviews. Of course, the goal is to get the most positive feedback you can, but there may be times you’ll get a negative review. It happens. You can use this to your advantage if you handle it correctly. When you respond to negative feedback with a helpful and calm demeanor, you can often diffuse the situation. It shows that you care about the guests. You also build a trustworthy reputation among those reading the reviews. It shows that guest satisfaction is important to you.
Beyond this, reviews can help you know how you’re doing. You can use reviews to find out what you’re doing right and to highlight areas for improvement. It’s a great way to gain insight and further build your short-term rental success by knowing what your audience wants.
As you can see, reviews can help your short-term rental in several ways. People are more likely to stay somewhere that has great reviews. They feel more confident spending their money on your property when they know that other guests have been satisfied with it.
To get good reviews, make sure that you’re making guest satisfaction a priority. You can also encourage those who stay to review your property. We’d love to help you manage your property and keep guests happy. Please reach out to us at PMI: https://www.breckenridgevacationrentalmanagement.net/.
