The Impact of Online Reviews

We've had many a conversation with clients regarding the critical nature of online reputation management. This often difficult area of managing and measuring the customer experience has some new light shed on it, thanks to the good people at WebsiteBuilder.org.

They recently published a great infographic that effectively summarizes the enormity and effect of online reviews - not only for the hospitality industry, but others as well.

Our co-founder Will Tarrant has spoken to numerous groups and organizations about the impact of Millenials on the travel and hospitality industry. This brings our attention to one area of the infographic: 68% of Millenials trust online reviews, as opposed to 34% that trust TV advertising.

A few other highlights:

• Given equal pricing, guests are 3.9 times more likely to choose hotels with higher ratings
• 59% of consumers say that review sites have the most influence on their travel booking decisions
• 61% of consumers have read online reviews about restaurants - more than any other industry.

Lots more interesting data to check out below.