The Review Response Standard
Five steps for answering online reviews within 48 hours. Your reply is read by far more future guests than by the guest who wrote the review.
- Who
- Guest relations manager; general manager for low scores
- When
- Every review on the main review sites, answered within 48 hours
- You need
- Review alerts, the stay in the PMS, the complaint log
- Measured by
- Every review answered within 48 hours
- Each reply names one detail of the stay
- Each issue logged with its department
5 steps
01
Read the stay
Before writing, find the stay in the PMS: dates, room, who served them, any complaint logged. Compare the review with what happened, so the reply answers this guest and not guests in general.
Say this
“Review 3★, 12 Oct, Mr Lindqvist, 3 nights. Logged: AC noise night 1, room not moved. Owner: Guest Relations.”
Common mistake Replying from the review alone. You apologise again for a delay the guest was already looked after for, and reopen it.
02
Thank specifically
Open with thanks and one detail from the review in your own words. Use the first name only if the review is signed that way. Never paste the same sentence into more than one reply in a week.
Say this
“Thank you, Anna, for writing about the breakfast terrace and your mornings with Luca at the pastry station.”
Common mistake “Thank you for your valuable feedback.” Readers recognise a pasted line, and stop reading.
03
Answer the point
For each criticism, say in one sentence what you changed or checked. No excuses about staffing or the weather. Never confirm private details: room number, price, health, or who the guest travelled with.
Say this
“You were right about the noise from the air conditioning. We have replaced the unit on that floor.”
Common mistake Defending the hotel line by line. Future guests side with the reviewer, and your reply becomes the story.
04
Take it private
If the issue is serious or the guest is angry, keep the public reply to four lines, sign it with your name and role, and send the guest a private message the same day. The conversation continues there.
Say this
“I would like to hear more, and I have sent you a private message today. Sara Conti, Guest Relations Manager.”
Common mistake Arguing in public over three replies. Each one is read by more people than the original review.
05
Fix the cause
Log every criticism with its department. Each Monday, send the heads of department a summary: the issue, how many reviews named it, the fix and its date. Repeats go on the next managers’ meeting agenda.
Say this
“Week 41: 4 reviews mention slow breakfast eggs. Second egg station from 20 Oct. Owner: Chef Rossi.”
Common mistake Answering every review well and fixing nothing. The same sentence turns up in next month’s reviews.
Reply Lines to Retire
Each of these appears in hotel replies every day, and each tells the next reader nobody is listening. Replace them this month.
Brief one row a week to everyone who drafts replies. Before anything is posted, the guest relations manager reads the draft against the table. Once a month, read five replies aloud at the managers’ meeting.
The Standards Library.
No. 44 · Guest Relations
The Family Stay Standard
Five steps for welcoming families with children. Greet the child by name at eye level and the parents relax; the rest of the stay follows from that.
No. 45 · Guest Relations
The Accessible Stay Standard
Five steps for guests with access needs. Ask what will help, not what the condition is: most guests tell you exactly what they need in one sentence.