RE: How to make sure your TripAdvisor review will always be accepted
hey @amarshall
i actually found your post interesting. I actually have a hostal in guatemala. so i have had to deal with costumer reviews and responding. in a way i wish the hotel wasnt on tripadvisor. we are always full, but the average guest at my place doesnt use trip advisor. so we have all these guests that love our spot and stay here for months and tell friends....but then those that write reviews are much fewer...and when these hyper critical folks stay at your place...it can honestly hurt. we do our best and most love it...our rating is 4 of 5. i know this isnt exactly to what your article was. but i found it interesting and felt to share my experience with tripadvisor. I wonder if you could tell me why hotels and restaurants cant ask to be removed.
i dont hate tripadvisor or anything....i just never asked for our hotel to be on and it stresses me out dealing with crappy reviews from crappy people that likely are just not happy in there lives.
Hi, first of all, great job on getting that 4 out of 5 rating! Not many business can get there, you know. You should be proud of that! And second, I know what you mean. Out of all the 1 and 2 stars review, majority are constructive criticism and should be quite informative to owners. But there are always people who are just nitpicking, commenting for the sake of giving bad reviews.
Regarding removing your business from TA, I apologize, but I'm afraid it's not possible. There are several reasons, but the main point is, if you operate a business which is open to the public, then the public have the right to post their reviews. Some people may not like it, but people have the right to share their experience, whether it's good or bad. This is the 21st century, after all.
The best thing you can do as the owner of a business that's already listed on TA is to register yourself as the rightful owner and take possession of that listing, so to speak. That way, you can respond directly to those critique. There are major benefits to this. I've seen people flock a place because of owners routinely responds to bad reviews. This shows that you care. Also, you can sometimes counter those harsh reviews and explain things from your point of view.
Finally, to answer your question regarding those people who loves your accommodation but never write a review, there's nothing wrong with encouraging them. Say something like "I'd be really honored if you share your experience on TripAdvisor, whether it's good or bad". Who knows, you might provide one PC, connected to the internet, at the lobby so people can share their experience while waiting to be checked out!
Hope this answer your question. If there's anything you'd like to know, feel free to shoot me a reply!