More and more people are basing their accommodation decisions on Internet review sites such as TripAdvisor or Yelp. Everybody likes hearing from someone who’s “been there,” which makes peer reviews invaluable. The more positive ones you get, obviously the better it is for your business.

Tips to Gain Positive Reviews

Here are a few ways you can increase the number of positive peer reviews for your property:

Track your property on social media. As outlined in one of our previous articles, it’s helpful to have a Facebook page and keep it current, and have a Twitter account and monitor it regularly, as in several times a day. When you notice guests complimenting something about your hotel, you can thank them and ask if they wouldn’t mind posting that on a peer review site. Normally they’re happy to do so.

Send your guests follow-up emails, asking how their stay was, if anything specific stood out to them. When they respond positively, that’s a great opportunity to thank them and include links to a few review sites.

Read what guests write in the guest book. If it’s something that would encourage someone else to stay at your property it would be a good idea to contact the guest, thank them and mention that you would really appreciate them sharing that on a review site.

Comment cards may be old-fashioned but “they are really effective,” writes hospitality consultant Rupesh Patel. The trick is to display them in places where guests are likely to see them, such as the lobby, reception area or dining rooms, and make card collection boxes attractive and obvious. Then you can mine them for positive comments and encourage satisfied guests to post on review sites.