Hotel staff asking you to leave a review

[Mattg]

I must have been asked to leave a review by either reception or club lounge staff at various different hotels at least 5 times during the last month. This has generally been at higher-end hotels and the staff always ask for you to mention them by name.

Today, within 5 minutes of me entering the club lounge, the attendant even came over with a printed card that had a QR code to take you to Tripadvisor and the staff member's name hand-written onto the card. The card is an official hotel business card with branding, so it seems the hotel is encouraging staff to hand these out. (FWIW the service was otherwise very good.)

What are people's thoughts on this - do you leave a review when asked to do so?

I can only assume the staff will get some kind of bonus or reward for each review that mentions them by name, hence them specifically requesting this - would be interested to know what they actually get.

 

[drron]

Happened to me only twice since covid and neither of them asked for their name to be included. And both times it was after we had expressed positive feedback on the service?hotel so really in a way to be expected.
I have though invariable been asked by email to post a review. Rarely do.

 

[Daver6]

Being pestered like that is one way to ensure that I don't leave a review.

 

[RooFlyer]

What are people's thoughts on this - do you leave a review when asked to do so?

I stopped doing TripAdvisor reviews when the site morphed into a commercial booking site.

But if I was still doing them, I wouldn't do it via any card offered. In fact, I may well call this out in my review.

 

[Lynda2475]

Not hotel but did a wine tour on Saturday and as the guide/driver was dropping us back to the ferry handed around a QR code card requesting we leave a review, I didn't have my data turned on do didn't bother to scan, I'm sure there will be an email follow-up.

I generally only leave a review if it is exceptional or really bad, fit for purpose doesn't warrant the effort.

 

[blackcat20]

Our hotel in Thailand asked, and I was happy to leave a good review. My kids daycare has also handed out a QR code but I've ignored that so far

 

[RealtimeY]

I've been seeing it it everywhere recently, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. More good reviews online is useful, and I would assume people wouldn't be taking the time to leave a good review if they didn't actually have a good experience.

Usually you're under no obligation to review them at all, but there are a few business that basically force you to.

 

[p--and--t]

The fourth and fifth email saying you haven’t yet responded to our request for a review gets steam coming from my ears. By that point they are playing with fire.

 

[mel-world]

I used to find review sites useful if I was visiting a new location but with so many reviews now being 'written' by AI or professional reviewers, they are no longer much use. Getting several emails from every hotel or other facility you visit is just a waste of time for me - they just go to the spam box.

On the one occasion, I felt that I needed to offer a property constructive criticism, I was bombarded with emails for a month that got more threatening until I was able to block the communications from the establishment. They would have been better trying to follow up on my comments rather than chasing the person they had invited to leave a review.

 

[UP4014]

Be careful what you wish for........I do a review every now and again, when it's really good or really bad.

 

[Gold Member]

Matt, I think you’ve just lucked out on the hotels without too much rhyme or reason. But could it be that the hotel and parent company are aware of your Blogger/AFF Editor status and are seeking a much larger audience for your review? I know for certain that at least one of the large chains actively maintains a database of Bloggers and social contributors with influence. Sorta like a Do Not Fly list for the airlines but for very different reasons.

 

[oz_mark]

I don't think I have ever been asked in person at a hotel.

Certainly had quite a few emails asking for a review a few days after the stay - usually from corporate.

 

[tdimdad]

The emailed requests post-stay seem to have become standard. Usually I ignore them (and GMail neatly groups them into the Promotions box, anyway).

I'm OK with a simple "We'd appreciate if you can spare a minute and leave a review" comment (with a gesture toward a sign with their TripAdvisor / Booking / Google / whatever QR code or details) when checking out. But a staff member coming over to solicit a review would ensure either zero review or much less praise.

Back in time, I did a few TripAdvisor reviews and also read them a lot to select e.g. hotels. Now I leave the occasional, unsolicited Google review. For now, you can still try to smell the more genuine reviews from the bots / paid reviewers: bots & paid tend to be short and often quite irrelevant. If someone makes a number of comments which seem to be in context, they may actually be a real human.

 

[Pushka]

Everyone asks for a review these days. It's tiresome. We stayed at a HI at Heathrow. The checkin staff wanted one. The room servicing people wanted one. The breakfast people were going round table to table asking for one. The evening drinks people did the same. Then there's Australia Post. Wanting a review on a delivery. Yep. You did what we paid for. End of story.

 

[Quickstatus]

I dont give a review if the review is just a bunch of carefully curated questions.

 

[lovestotravel]

I rarely leave a TripAdvisor review since the photos can't be viewed full screen and the making a hotel more popular is only going to raise demand and prices.

I leave the odd Google review when Goole prompts me but rarely for hotels

I have noticed on TripAdvsior hotel staff names popping up at Hilton hotels and Conrad's

I agree they must get a bonus/points/something for being mentioned by name

 

[Ade]

Got asked to leave a review (can't remember if staff wanted me to include their name) at the 080 Lounge at BLR. This is the lounge QF sends it's WP, SG (may be?) and J pax when flying out of BLR.

Got asked to leave a review at one of the coffee shops at CBR.

 

[elanshin]

Back in time, I did a few TripAdvisor reviews and also read them a lot to select e.g. hotels. Now I leave the occasional, unsolicited Google review. For now, you can still try to smell the more genuine reviews from the bots / paid reviewers: bots & paid tend to be short and often quite irrelevant. If someone makes a number of comments which seem to be in context, they may actually be a real human.

There's services to buy "human reviews" too.

 

[tdimdad]

There's services to buy "human reviews" too.

Amazon and eBay are good examples of those. These purchased reviews are usually one, max two, sentences long and generic. Volume trumps quality in those.

I recall a little article a year or two ago interviewing a few people who do online reviews for money. They had miscellaneous accounts and at their best did a few hundred reviews a day. You can't go into detail and focus on company or product specific comments when your production is at full speed...

 

[PERLHR]

Being pestered like that is one way to ensure that I don't leave a review.

Yep I just smile and never leave a review. Why do they always even say give me a 5 out of 5 review...tired of it..