How to get more TripAdvisor reviews

Improving your TripAdvisor rating is all about providing your guests with an exceptional experience, but as we’ve seen, high review scores aren’t all you need to worry about.

We’re assuming that you’re already doing everything you can to provide that aforementioned exceptional experience.

But you might not be attending to the other two pillars of the TripAdvisor algorithm: recency and quantity of reviews.

Ask

In many cases it’s as simple as politely asking guests if they’ll leave you a review on TripAdvisor. This approach can be particularly successful for small businesses that have plenty of regulars who might not otherwise think to leave reviews.

When asking for reviews, getting your timing right is crucial. After their meal or when they’re checking out, ask your guests if they enjoyed their meal or stay. This query gives guests another opportunity to raise any issues they’ve had, instead of doing so in a negative TripAdvisor review!

Whenever guests reply positively to this question, you can then follow up by asking if they’d write a TripAdvisor review of their experience.

Cards, brochures, and other prompts

Visual prompts can also help you gain more reviews. Place the TripAdvisor logo along with a review prompt in places such as:

• On business cards in guest information packs
• On leaflets presented alongside the bill or a receipt
• On a blackboard within your restaurant or cafe
• At the point of sale

There’s one main rule here: don’t go overboard, or you’ll look desperate for reviews!

Follow-up emails

Sending out follow-up emails to guests is standard for chain hotels, and where stays are booked through OTAs. Smaller businesses with plenty of direct bookings should also send out follow-up emails (assuming you collect guest email addresses).

You can send these emails through marketing software like MailChimp (or TripAdvisor’s own tools), or your usual email client (Gmail, Outlook etc.). If there’s a huge volume of emails you need to send, you can use a spreadsheet of guest information and merge this data with your email client, so that you don’t need to enter every address manually.

If you only want to send a few emails out each day, we recommend starting with a template and personalising much more than just your greeting. Mention something you discussed during their stay, or ask them about their journey back. End by politely requesting a review on TripAdvisor.

This tip mainly applies to hotels, but if you collect email addresses through your restaurant’s booking software, you could also use this approach.

Provide an exceptional experience

The best way to get more reviews is to provide an experience that’s worth talking about. By offering exceptional customer service and surprising and delighting your guests, they’ll be far more likely to leave reviews.