What are hotel review sites?

Hotel review sites are any websites or online platforms that offer users the chance to share their experiences with your hotel.

Hotel review sites come in many shapes and forms: OTAs like Booking.com, business directories like Google, travel platforms like TripAdvisor, and social media platforms like Facebook.

Hotel review sites are important for hotels of all sizes, but they are even more so for small accommodation providers.

This blog will feature the top hotel review sites you need to know about, why you need to know about them, and tips on making the most of them.

Manage your OTA review sites via one simple portal

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Top hotel review sites

From the biggest hotel review sites to small and independent hotel review sites, here are the platforms that every hotelier needs to know about.

Biggest hotel review sites

If you want to have the greatest possible impact on your online reputation, it’s wise to focus your energies on the biggest and best hotel review sites, which include:

  • TripAdvisor
  • Yelp
  • Google Reviews
  • Booking.com
  • Expedia

Luxury hotel review sites

If you tend to target a more affluent type of guest, it’s wise to focus on these luxury hotel review sites:

  • Forbes Travel Guide
  • Conde Nast Traveler
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Jetsetter

Budget hotel review sites

At the other end of the spectrum, budget-friendly accommodation providers should work to manage and enhance their reputation using the following hotel review sites:

  • Hostelworld
  • HostelBookers
  • Nomadic Matt
  • The Broke Backpacker

Business hotel travel review sites

Corporate travellers can form a consistent and rather lucrative revenue stream for independent hoteliers, and you can attract this type of guest by curating your online presence via these business travel sites:

  • Business Travel News
  • Corporate Traveller
  • The Company Dime

Benefits of hotel review sites

As a small, independent hotelier, you only have so many hours in the day (and usually far from enough). So why should you prioritise spending time on hotel review sites, managing and monitoring your reputation?

There are a wealth of reasons, but let’s look at just four of the most compelling.

1. Online reviews allow your small hotel to compete with big brand names

Without any locals to contact in their destination, travellers rely on other travellers to leave authentic reviews of their stay at your hotel. Think of it as a virtual word of mouth recommendation.

Small hotels need a solid online reputation backed by good reviews to give the image of legitimacy and credibility. Otherwise, you will not be able to compete with big hotel chains.

To travellers, a big brand name makes them feel like they will get a consistent, high quality experience. The only problem is they are much more expensive.

If you are within their budget, you already have the upper hand. You just need to back it with online reviews.

2. Hotel review sites are trusted sources of information

Hotel review sites like TripAdvisor house authentic reviews because of the social aspect of it (it’s linked to your Facebook profile, you can see which friends have stayed there before, etc).

As a result, TripAdvisor has evolved to become the biggest travel site, with hundreds of reviews and photos uploaded every minute.

Another popular review aggregator is Facebook.

You simply cannot compete with this wealth of information with testimonials and photos on your own website. You have to ‘jump on the bandwagon’ to be seen by today’s travellers.

3. Online reviews get guests excited about your hotel

Some reviewers go into a lot of detail when describing their stay. This is good marketing for you. They may include details about the personal touch a staff member displayed, for example.

When travellers see that all of your latest reviews are positive, they will feel confident that when they get to your small hotel, they will be taken care of.

4. Hotel review sites showcase your tact when handling difficult situations

Transparency is key. It’s the whole reason travellers refer to hotel review sites in the first place! It’s normal to have some unhappy customers post negative reviews once in a while, but it’s all about how you handle the situation.

With tact, you can turn a negative review into a positive experience.

Make sure that…

  • No more than a few people at your property are responsible for responding to online reviews.
  • You respond to reviews quickly and regularly.
  • You are appreciative of all guest feedback, both positive and negative.
  • You ask your guests for feedback and support.
  • You do not offer compensation in online responses (take it offline).

Your commitment to the age-old saying ‘the customer is always right’, and striving for improvement for future customers is what counts.

Manage online bookings all in one place and gain more good feedback in hotel review sites

With so many websites offering users the opportunity to review your hotel, monitoring and managing your online reputation can be a complex and time-consuming task. But by using a smart booking and hotel management solution like Little Hotelier, the job becomes so much easier.

Little Hotelier brings all your booking channels together in a single portal. This allows you to control your OTA listings, including guest reviews, through the one screen, which can dramatically reduce the time spent on each booking – you could save up to an incredible 30 minutes on every reservation!

  • Connect every channel: Little Hotelier integrates with 450+ OTAs, so you can trust the platform to seamlessly connect with wherever your bookings and reviews are coming from.
  • A single, simple portal: No more navigating from dashboard to dashboard – Little Hotelier offers a complete view of your booking channels from the one screen.
  • Encourage feedback: Little Hotelier’s software allows you to schedule post-stay communications, asking guests to leave feedback on your preferred review sites.

“Although we are not very tech-savvy, we found Little Hotelier to be an easy-to-learn solution. There are many things that match what we are looking for, such as emailing customers automatically, issuing invoices, which is quite convenient, and we can complete everything in one place.” – The Sayla Hotel.

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By Dean Elphick

Dean is the Senior Content Marketing Specialist of Little Hotelier, the all-in-one software solution purpose-built to make the lives of small accommodation providers easier. Dean has made writing and creating content his passion for the entirety of his professional life, which includes more than six years at Little Hotelier. Through content, Dean aims to provide education, inspiration, assistance, and, ultimately, value for small accommodation businesses looking to improve the way they run their operations (and live their life).