italiano
english
Reviews and Revenue Management: The True Hidden Power of Your Hotel
“Do reviews matter?”
Every revenue manager would answer without hesitation: “Absolutely yes!”
But behind this answer, there is much more.
Reviews are not just customer opinions. They are the true “credit score” of your hotel. And like any score, they directly influence your ability to generate profit.
📌 Product = Revenue
📌 Reviews = Reliability
A hotel with a great product and excellent reviews has incredible power: it can set the price. Just like a person with a perfect credit score gets the best conditions on loans.
On the contrary, a weak product and negative reviews put you in a fragile position. Like having maxed-out credit cards and a disastrous credit reliability: customers do not trust.
Do you agree?
So who calls the shots? You.
This is why a good Revenue Management strategy has among its main objectives to improve your hotel’s Brand Reputation, to put it simply, to apply where necessary more “commercial” rates, which many mistakenly define as “low”, (low based on what?) to work on occupancy in the low season to have a greater flow of customers accumulating high-scoring reviews that will then be used to sell better in the high season.
Also because then there is the fateful “No Month”, that is the peak month where you are selling at very high prices, I wrote selling, not that you are just exposed to high prices, the customer arrives with high expectations and you may find yourself with various operational problems, staff shortages, the weather (no no, this is not controllable by the hotelier, but you know, when a customer is angry, it’s always your fault if it rains and they can’t go to the beach!) and therefore some complaints more than usual.
Result? Your review score plummets.
If you have thousands of reviews, it’s just a drop in the ocean.
But if you are a smaller establishment? That “bad episode” can have a devastating impact on your ability to convert visitors into customers.
❓Reviews: Do They Penalize Demand or Conversion?
This is where many revenue managers and managers need to change their mindset.
💡 The Real Job of the Revenue Manager? Improve Reviews… for Real
You cannot “rig” the system. You cannot buy real reviews (and if you do… it’s obvious and counterproductive).
Improving reviews is not a marketing job.
It’s a cross-functional job, led by the revenue manager in collaboration with all departments.
The revenue manager must become a connector between departments to act on perceived quality:
🎯 Why Reviews Really Matter in Pricing.
At the end of the day, it’s the reviews that determine how much flexibility you have in pricing.
A hotel with a high score can push rates up (greater pricing power)
One with a weak reputation? Trapped in a vicious circle of discounts and markdowns to stay competitive.
🔑 Do not consider reviews as “just online reputation” by saying “I don’t care about reviews” because it means you don’t care about growing your establishment.
Because reviews are closely linked to conversions, pricing, and revenues.
And, just like with a credit score, they can only be improved with consistency, authenticity, and real actions.
❓ Everything clearer?
Only with great teamwork do we win, and you cannot be left out!
Until next time,
Massimo Diodato
But behind this answer, there is much more.
Reviews are not just customer opinions. They are the true “credit score” of your hotel. And like any score, they directly influence your ability to generate profit.
📌 Product = Revenue
📌 Reviews = Reliability
A hotel with a great product and excellent reviews has incredible power: it can set the price. Just like a person with a perfect credit score gets the best conditions on loans.
On the contrary, a weak product and negative reviews put you in a fragile position. Like having maxed-out credit cards and a disastrous credit reliability: customers do not trust.
Do you agree?
So who calls the shots? You.
This is why a good Revenue Management strategy has among its main objectives to improve your hotel’s Brand Reputation, to put it simply, to apply where necessary more “commercial” rates, which many mistakenly define as “low”, (low based on what?) to work on occupancy in the low season to have a greater flow of customers accumulating high-scoring reviews that will then be used to sell better in the high season.
Also because then there is the fateful “No Month”, that is the peak month where you are selling at very high prices, I wrote selling, not that you are just exposed to high prices, the customer arrives with high expectations and you may find yourself with various operational problems, staff shortages, the weather (no no, this is not controllable by the hotelier, but you know, when a customer is angry, it’s always your fault if it rains and they can’t go to the beach!) and therefore some complaints more than usual.
Result? Your review score plummets.
If you have thousands of reviews, it’s just a drop in the ocean.
But if you are a smaller establishment? That “bad episode” can have a devastating impact on your ability to convert visitors into customers.
❓Reviews: Do They Penalize Demand or Conversion?
This is where many revenue managers and managers need to change their mindset.
- Negative reviews do not eliminate demand: people still look for hotels in your area.
- But they destroy conversion: they see a low score, doubt the quality, and book elsewhere.
- ❌ Negative reviews do NOT block searches.
- ✅ Negative reviews BLOCK bookings.
💡 The Real Job of the Revenue Manager? Improve Reviews… for Real
You cannot “rig” the system. You cannot buy real reviews (and if you do… it’s obvious and counterproductive).
Improving reviews is not a marketing job.
It’s a cross-functional job, led by the revenue manager in collaboration with all departments.
The revenue manager must become a connector between departments to act on perceived quality:
- 🧼 Front Office & Housekeeping: What operational improvements can transform the experience?
- ☎️ Booking & Sales: How can we better manage pre-arrival expectations?
- 💬 Marketing: How do we respond to criticism transparently and constructively?
🎯 Why Reviews Really Matter in Pricing.
At the end of the day, it’s the reviews that determine how much flexibility you have in pricing.
A hotel with a high score can push rates up (greater pricing power)
One with a weak reputation? Trapped in a vicious circle of discounts and markdowns to stay competitive.
🔑 Do not consider reviews as “just online reputation” by saying “I don’t care about reviews” because it means you don’t care about growing your establishment.
Because reviews are closely linked to conversions, pricing, and revenues.
And, just like with a credit score, they can only be improved with consistency, authenticity, and real actions.
❓ Everything clearer?
Only with great teamwork do we win, and you cannot be left out!
Until next time,
Massimo Diodato