Relatively few online reviews of hotels are actually negative - somewhere between 10 and 20 percent, according to one recent study. Usually people just want to forget about bad hotel experiences.

It’s actually to your advantage to read as many negative reviews of your property as you can. That’s invaluable free business improvement consulting you’re getting. If somebody took the time to actually write and post a negative review, there was something about your property that really ticked them off, and chances are good they’re not the only ones.

The others just weren’t kind enough to let you know you had a problem.

So, read the negative reviews in a spirit of “How could we have done better, and what do we need to improve?” Then write an appropriate response that saves as much business and minimises as much damage as possible.

You do that by apologising, not arguing, and mentioning concrete steps you’re taking to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Nobody expects perfection unless you’re the Ritz-Carlton, so apologising for the inevitable mistake is fine.

Above all, when writing your response, thank the guest. Always. This tells everybody that you’re nice people who take guest satisfaction seriously.

Then apologise without being defensive or explaining how all the housekeeping staff just happened to call in sick that day. Your problems aren’t your guests’ problems. Say you’re sorry their trip wasn’t fully satisfactory.

Mention what you’re doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again, thank the guest again for pointing out the problem, and to a great extent you’ve neutralised the negative fallout from the criticism. If you can pull off charming and witty, invite the guest for a return visit, promising the problem’s been solved.

And if you can’t be civil and apologetic, no matter how unfair or stupid the negative review, take a couple days to cool off. Impulsively lashing back at negative reviewers does nothing but harm your business reputation.