How to Respond to Online Hotel Reviews

1) TLDR & Quick Start

Reply to every review. Classify the review, use one simple framework, and hit clear speed targets.

Classify first
Positive, Mixed, or Negative. Let the text override the number if it flags a serious issue.

Use this 7-step framework
Thank by name → Empathize or apologize → Reflect one or two specifics → Explain the action → Invite a private channel if needed → Re-promise the standard → Human sign off.

Targets
Critical issues same day. Others within 24 to 48 hours. Aim for a 100 percent response rate. Track mean TTFR, median TTFR, and p90 TTFR weekly.

Guardrails
No booking details, rates, or health information in public. Keep any compensation in a private channel. Avoid raw machine translation. Reply in the guest’s language with human QA where possible. Do not argue.

Two-pass for high stakes
Post an immediate acknowledgement, then edit or add an update after the investigation is complete.

2) Why Replies Matter (Even to 5-Stars)

Responding to online reviews compounds value across loyalty, growth, reputation, and visibility. Prospective guests do not only scan star ratings. They read recent replies to judge how your hotel listens, solves problems, and treats people. A consistent, thoughtful cadence signals operational discipline.

Here’s what great replies do for hotels:

• Build relationships and loyalty. Personalized replies make guests feel seen and increase return intent. Some studies report that guests are more likely to upgrade a review when businesses respond quickly.
• Drive business growth. When hotels start responding, they often receive more reviews and see average ratings rise. This is social proof that nudges future bookings.
• Manage and improve reputation. Professional, constructive replies defuse negative feedback in public and humanize your brand for everyone reading along.
• Boost local visibility. Google encourages responding to reviews and notes that review volume and positive ratings contribute to local ranking. An active review program helps your Business Profile stand out.
• Reinforce brand voice. Consistent tone across Google, TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, and Agoda strengthens identity and standards.
• Guestasy insight. In Guestasy’s analysis of more than 1,000,000 hotel reviews and responses, guests frequently updated the rating or removed a negative review after an empathetic, action oriented manager response.
• Motivate teams. Publicly recognizing staff by name boosts morale and encourages the whole team to invest in the hotel’s online reputation.
• Turn feedback into fixes. Reviews surface patterns such as noise, Wi-Fi, or breakfast variety. Your reply can acknowledge the issue and reflect the concrete action you have taken, closing the loop publicly.

Bottom line: reply to every review from 5-star praise to tough comments with empathy, specifics, and a clear next step. You’ll reinforce loyalty with happy guests, win back uncertain ones, and earn the steady stream of recent, positive reviews that future guests (and algorithms) look for.

3) Classify Before You Reply: Positive, Mixed, Negative

Positive. Clear praise with no material issues.

• 5-star sites: 4–5 stars
• 10-point sites: 8–10 out of 10

Reply play: thank by name, mirror the highlight, recognize staff, invite a next step (return, direct contact).

Neutral/Mixed. A good stay with one or two friction points (e.g., Wi-Fi, AC, late check-in). Also includes some 4-star / 8–10 reviews when the text flags a real issue.

• 5-star sites: 3 stars
• 10-point sites: 6–7 out of 10

Reply play: acknowledge the win, own the issue, state the fix/prevention, offer a direct line, invite them back to see the improvement.

Negative. Defects that meaningfully harmed the stay; text may include photo/video proof.

• 5-star sites: 1-2 stars
• 10-point sites: 1-5 out of 10

Reply play: take ownership, apologize where warranted, outline immediate steps, provide a named contact and direct channel, follow up offline. Escalate if the review mentions safety, discrimination, pests, data/privacy, relocation, or major overcharge.

For deeper tactics on how to reply to negative reviews, see our Negative Reviews Playbook.

4) A Simple 7-Step Response Framework

Use this for any review type. Keep replies 70–120 words, specific, and human.

1. Thank by name
   Open warm and personal.
   Example: “Dear [Name], thank you for sharing your experience.”
2. Empathize and, if warranted, apologize
   Show you understand how it felt. Apologize for service gaps without legal admissions.
   Example: “I’m sorry for the disruption during your stay. I understand how that affects rest.”
3. Reflect the specifics
   Prove you read it. Mirror 1–2 concrete details.
   Example: “You mentioned late check-in and Wi-Fi speed in Building B.”
4. Explain the action
   State one clear fix taken or scheduled. Add a prevention step where relevant.
   Example: “Our team has serviced the access points on your floor and added nightly speed checks.”
5. Invite a private channel, if required
   Move sensitive details off-thread with a named contact and direct line.
   Example: “Please email [manager@hotel.com] or call [number] so I can assist you directly.”
6. Re-promise the standard and set a next step
   Restate what guests should expect and, if appropriate, suggest a future experience.
   Example: “You can expect quiet rooms and fast Wi-Fi throughout your stay. We’d love to host you again so you can experience the improvement.”
7. Human sign-off
   Use a real name, role, and property.
   Example: “Kind regards, [Name], Duty Manager, [Hotel].”
   
   

How to adapt by review type

• Positive: Emphasize Steps 1, 3, 6, 7. Add a light “next time” suggestion (no salesy tone).
• Neutral/Mixed: Use all steps. Balance thanks with one specific fix, then invite them back to see the change.
• Negative: Highlight Steps 2, 4, 5. Take clear ownership, give a direct line, and follow through offline. For safety, discrimination, pests, data/privacy, relocation, or major overcharge, escalate via your incident process and see the Negative Reviews Playbook.

Guardrails
No personal data or booking details in public, no rate discussions, no blame. Keep language plain and sincere.

Complete the framework on easy mode

If you want this 7-step approach to run smoothly across Google and every OTA, Guestasy can draft, route to human QA, and post in your brand voice, in multiple languages.

5) Platform nuances

Google (Business Profile). Replies appear on your Profile and can be edited or deleted later. Google encourages responding to show you value feedback, and notes that review volume and rating contribute to local ranking (“prominence”). Keep replies concise and specific. Google Business Profile Help

TripAdvisor. You get one management response per review, make it count. TripAdvisor’s guidance emphasizes family-friendly, professional language; coordinate internally so the single response is accurate and complete. TripAdvisor Insights

Booking.com. Respond through the Extranet under Guest reviews; Booking.com advises fair, objective replies across positive and negative feedback. Keep sensitive details off-thread and invite a direct channel for follow-up. Booking Partner Hub

Agoda. Properties can reply to guest reviews in the partner portal/YCS, with support for 31 languages. Agoda’s help content highlights thanking the guest, reinforcing genuine compliments, and encouraging a return visit. Agoda Partner Hub

Expedia Group. Reply in Partner Central for Expedia and Hotels.com reviews. Keep messaging consistent across syndicated listings, avoid personal or booking details, and invite a direct contact for follow up. Expedia Group

Trip.com. Respond in the partner portal. Many reviews appear in multiple languages. Keep sentences simple, and consider a brief bilingual line when helpful. Avoid discussing rates or identity details in public.

All platforms (quick rules of thumb)

• Don’t post personal or booking details; move compensation and verification to a private channel.
• Mirror one or two specifics from the review; avoid links or promos unless clearly allowed.
• Keep tone warm, concise, and solution-oriented; sign with a real name and role.

6) Tone and brand voice

Your responses should read like a conversation at the front desk; polite, concise, and personal. Thank the guest by name, mirror one or two details they mentioned, and speak plainly about what you did (or will do) next. Avoid corporate filler; short sentences travel better on Google and OTAs.

Aim for accountability without legalese. If something went wrong, say so and explain the fix in one line: “I’m sorry about the AC noise in Building B—we’ve serviced the unit and added nightly checks.” When things go right, recognize people: “Your shout-out for Khun Mai made our day—I’ll share this with the team.”

Keep private matters private. Don’t post booking details, rates, or compensation publicly; offer a named contact and direct channel instead. If you can, reply in the guest’s language—simple sentences help clarity and translation.

Do thank by name, reflect specifics, state one concrete action, invite a private channel, and sign with a real name and role.
Don’t paste generic scripts, argue in public, promise what you can’t deliver, or stuff keywords.

7) Critical issues & escalation (when stakes are high)

When a review mentions safety, discrimination/harassment, pests/illness, data/privacy, major overcharge, or widespread outages (no AC/water), treat it as an incident, not just a comment.

Two-pass response policy

Pass 1 — Immediate acknowledgement (public, within hours).
Post a short, empathetic reply that (a) recognizes the issue, (b) names a responsible contact, and (c) moves details offline. Keep it fact-light and safe to stand, even if facts evolve.

“Dear [Name], I’m sorry for the experience you described regarding [issue]. I’ve escalated this to our management team, and we’re reviewing it urgently. Please contact [Manager Name] at [channel] so we can assist you directly. — [Name], [Role]”

Investigate & fix (internal, same day start).
Assign an owner (GM/FOM/RDM), review if an incident report has already been created on the guest and if not open an incident ticket, gather notes/CCTV/work orders, implement corrective + preventive actions.

Pass 2 — Public update (once facts are verified).
Where the platform allows editing or replacing your reply (e.g., Google, Agoda, Booking.com, etc.), update the original response with a brief resolution note. Otherwise, you may have to delete the Pass 1 response and repost a new one (TripAdvisor). If editing isn’t possible, ensure Pass 1 is evergreen, then close the loop via the guest directly and reflect the learning in SOPs.

“Update (Sept 1): We serviced the [area/equipment], retrained the team on [procedure], and added [prevention step]. Please reach [Manager] at [channel] if we can assist further.”

Do / Don’t for critical replies

• Do reply fast, be human, give a named contact, and log everything.
• Do keep compensation, identities, booking details, and health info off-thread.
• Don’t speculate, argue, or admit legal liability in public.
• Don’t leave the first reply sitting forever, close the loop with an edit/update where allowed.

For wording and crisis scenarios (safety, discrimination, pests, data/privacy), see our Negative Reviews Playbook.

8) Multilingual & cultural tips

Reply in the guest’s language whenever you can as it reduces friction and feels respectful. If you must use English, keep sentences short and idiom-free so they machine-translate cleanly.

Practical guidelines

• Address forms matter. Use neutral, respectful titles (e.g., Khun [Name] in Thai; [Name]-san in Japanese) and avoid first-name familiarity unless the guest used it.
• Keep it simple. 10–15-word sentences, concrete nouns/verbs, no slang or humour.
• Mirror specifics in their language. If they praised the rooftop pool, echo it as สระว่ายน้ำดาดฟ้า for Thai readers.
• Names & diacritics. Spell the guest’s name exactly as written; add staff names in Latin characters if your local script could confuse.
• Numbers, dates, currency. Avoid ambiguity (e.g., 24:00 vs 12:00 AM; 1,000.00 vs 1.000,00). State currency codes (THB, EUR) instead of symbols when clarity matters.
• Sensitive topics. Stay factual and courteous around food preferences, religion, and family roles; skip jokes.
• Bilingual when helpful. On platforms that allow one reply only, a compact EN + local version can serve both audiences (keep it under ~120 words total).
  

9) Targets: TTFR and response rate

Fast, consistent replies signal that you listen and act. Track two basics across every channel: Time To First Response (TTFR) and response rate.

Definitions

• TTFR: minutes or hours from review timestamp to your first public reply.
• Median TTFR (p50 TTFR): the typical guest experience. Less sensitive to outliers than the mean.
• p90 TTFR: the slowest 10 percent. Useful to spot weekend or backlog gaps.
• Mean TTFR: the arithmetic average across all replies in a period. Good for showing overall workload and trend, but sensitive to a few very slow cases.
• Response rate: replied reviews divided by total reviews in the period.

Recommended targets

• Critical issues: same day. Aim for p50 under 12 hours and p90 under 24 hours.
• Negative or mixed: within 24 hours. p50 under 12 hours, p90 under 24 hours.
• Positive: within 24 to 48 hours. p50 under 24 hours, p90 under 48 hours.
• Coverage: include weekends and holidays. Create a rota so p90 does not spike.

How to calculate

• Mean TTFR: sum of all TTFR values divided by count.
• Median TTFR: sort TTFR values and take the middle.
• p90 TTFR: the value below which 90 percent of TTFR values fall.

10) Workflow and QA: roles, guardrails, approval

A simple, repeatable process keeps replies fast and consistent across Review Platforms and OTAs.

Who does what

• Intake owner: pulls new reviews into a single inbox, tags by theme, assigns priority based on score and keywords.
• Drafter: writes the first version using the 7 steps, adds staff names and specifics from the review.
• QA Reviewer/Approver: checks tone, facts, policy, and privacy. Verifies platform rules and greenlights replies
• Poster: publishes, logs the link, and closes the ticket.

Flow

1. Intake and tag e.g. noise, Wi Fi, AC, billing, staff, cleanliness, facilities.
2. Draft within TTFR targets.
3. QA for empathy, specificity, action, private channel, clean sign off.
4. Approve if critical or sensitive.
5. Post and log with tags and owner.
6. Follow up if you promised an action.
7. Weekly review of patterns and fixes with ops.

Guardrails

• No booking IDs, rates, health details, or compensation in public.
• Use a named contact and a direct channel for follow up.
• Keep replies 70 to 120 words and in plain language.
• For safety, discrimination, pests, privacy, or relocation, use the two pass policy from Section 8.

Ready to turn reviews into revenue

Guestasy pairs AI speed with human QA to deliver fast, on brand, multilingual responses that build visibility, trust, and bookings. From real time feedback to upsell prompts inside replies, the workflow is designed to help your hotel grow.

11) Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Copy-paste replies: Readers spot generic scripts.
Fix: Mirror one or two specifics and keep it 70 to 120 words.
Slow responses: Silence suggests you do not care.
Fix: Track mean, median, and p90 TTFR. Cover weekends and holidays.
Arguing in public: Defensive replies scare future guests.
Fix: Stay calm, acknowledge feelings, move details to a private channel.
Sharing private details: Booking IDs, rates, health info do not belong in public.
Fix: Offer a named contact and an email or phone number.
Overpromising: Big promises create risk if ops cannot deliver.
Fix: State one concrete action or prevention step you control.
Public compensation debates: Looks transactional and invites copycat claims.
Fix: Discuss any goodwill offers privately.
Machine translation without checks: Literal errors can offend.
Fix: Use assisted translation with human QA. Post a short English acknowledgement if you need time.
Ignoring staff shout-outs: You miss a chance to humanize your brand.
Fix: Thank the guest and name the team member.
Keyword stuffing: Hurts readability and trust.
Fix: Write for people. Let keywords appear naturally.
No follow-through: Promised fixes that never happen damage credibility.
Fix: Log actions, assign owners, and update replies where editing is allowed.

12) FAQs

• Do we need to reply to every review?
  Yes. Reply to positive, mixed, and negative reviews. Prioritize critical issues the same day and handle others within 24 to 48 hours.
• How long should a hotel reply be?
  Aim for 70 to 120 words. Thank by name, reflect one or two specifics, state one clear action, and offer a private channel.
• What if the review is unfair or factually wrong?
  Stay calm and factual. Share your perspective without arguing. Invite the guest to contact a named manager. If a platform offers a dispute process, use it separately from your public reply.
• Should we include discounts or compensation in public?
  No. Keep goodwill offers private. Provide a direct line to discuss details.
• How do we handle different rating systems like stars and scores out of 10?
  Use a simple triage. Positive equals 4 to 5 stars or 8 to 10 out of 10. Mixed equals 3 stars or 6 to 7 out of 10. Negative equals 1 to 2 stars or 1 to 5 out of 10. Let the review text override the number if it flags a serious issue.
• Can we edit a response after we post it?
  Many platforms allow editing. If a case is sensitive, post a quick acknowledgement first and update once facts are verified.
• Should we translate replies?
  Yes when possible. Avoid raw machine translation. Use assisted translation with human QA. If you need time, post a short English acknowledgement and follow up in the guest’s language.
• What metrics should we track?
  Response rate, mean TTFR, median TTFR, and p90 TTFR. Review them weekly by platform and property.
• How should staff shout outs be handled?
  Thank the guest and name the team member. Recognition motivates staff and signals real hospitality to readers.
• Where can I find wording for difficult situations?
  Use the templates in this guide and see our Negative Reviews Playbook for safety, discrimination, pests, privacy, relocation, and major billing disputes

About the author

I’m Martin Miller, COO at Guestasy. My focus: helping businesses manage their online reputation with a focus on responding to reviews quickly, clearly, and in the right voice. I've personally managed over 30,000 review responses since starting with Guestasy and have seen every complaint you could imagine, from snake attacks to haunted rooms. You name it, I've had to help a client respond.

Connect on LinkedIn → www.linkedin.com/in/martin-c-miller