Why "Bad" Reviews Can Be Good

A large part of building good brand equity is all about creating and meeting a customer's expectations.

For example, one of the biggest challenges for an individually owned property is in managing their customer's expectations of them. For example, I once stayed at an awesome little place called The Andrion in Mendocino. Quirky, peaceful, and relatively inexpensive -- with owners who clearly care about the place and their customers.

However, The Andrion has one big problem. For whatever reason, their listing on Expedia is wrong, in spite of the fact that they have contacted Expedia several times to try to fix it. It says things like they have a "full service spa", a kitchenette, and shops on the property.

So, in spite of the fact that their website is perfect and tells you exactly what the property is like, they were getting customers who were upset that the property didn't have what Expedia said it would have.

The good news is that customers who went to Trip Advisor (for example) and checked out the reviews have a completely accurate view of the property and know what to expect, as well as how to get the best experience possible. "Do not miss happy hour or breakfast" "Pet the goats" "This room does not have a Kitchenette, but has coffee service and a mini-fridge" "Quirky and fun" The list of why this place is NOT the Sheraton goes on and on. 

I do this all the time. It's important to read the text of the reviews and not just the bullets.

I also recently stayed at the Housekeeping Camp at Yosemite. (Yes, those cabins. The ones with the hantavirus mice. Which by the way, I didn't see any). In among the reviews talking about the fantastic views and in-park setting were "negative" statements like "bring a broom, the rooms can be dirty", "bring your sleeping bag, the rooms can get very cold even with the blankets you can rent", and "put your food in sealed containers, not just Ziploc bags, because while the Bear Boxes keep bears out, the mice can still get to your food otherwise"

So, when I went, I got exactly what I expected and I was prepared for the "negatives", with broom, plastic-containered food, and sleeping bag in hand (the broom I didn't need, the sleeping bag I most decidedly did!).

Hotels also have a chance to respond to bad reviews, in case some of them were time-specific "the pool was closed". (I encourage all hoteliers to do this by the way. We're all human and have our "bad days".) 

If hotels completely deleted their "bad" reviews, though, then the issues propagate themselves. For example, for some people, a noisy room can completely ruin an otherwise wonderful experience. I don't care; I can generally sleep through a train rumbling through the room, and I've been known to sleep through earthquakes. So when I read a review and it talks disparagingly about noise, I'm ok with it, as long as the room is also clean and well-located, on the other hand, I generally couldn't give two figs about the on-site restaurant that I will never use. So a negative review about the on-site restaurant doesn't matter to me.

In short, by encouraging visitors to write reviews, and by prospective visitors reading reviews -- good and bad -- guests can self-select, get what they expected, and everyone's happy. 

And, by improving guest self-selection, you also end up improving your average ratings -- because customers that would be unhappy with your establishment won't go there.

So go ahead - be proud of your "bad" reviews! They just might get you the customers you want, and avoid the customers you don't.