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| Hospitality Today | June/July 2016
In response, 73% of businesses plan to
make changes over the next five years.
More than a quarter (27%) will be investing
in specialist staff training to manage
customer feedback, close to a quarter
(22%) expect to appoint a dedicated staff
member or team and 13% anticipate
working with an external consultancy or
specialist feedback management agency.
TripAdvisor is the most relevant
Barclays’ survey of those working within
the hospitality and leisure industry
revealed that overall, TripAdvisor was seen
to be the most relevant online feedback
site, with 60% of respondents citing the
website as being relevant to their business.
The traditional route of professional
reviews in guidebooks is in decline, seen
as relevant by less than one quarter of
the sector (23%). Professional reviews by
newspapers and magazines fare better,
rated as relevant by a third (33%) of the
sector, rising to nearly half of bars
and pubs (46%).
Intermediary sites such as Booking.com
and OpenTable are also already seen as
increasingly important in driving trade,
with a majority (67%) of all hotels and B&Bs
and 28% of restaurants rating these sites
as relevant to their business. By contrast
health and beauty spas are more likely to
cite reviews placed directly on their own
website (57%) or on Google (43%) rather
Review accolades “have a very positive impact on our business”
says Red Carnation boss . . .
In January, the Red Carnation Hotel
Collection clocked up 29 awards in the 2016
TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice™ awards.
Wins included the five-star Hotel 41 in
London which was ranked number one
amongst the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the UK
and number four in the Top 25 Luxury Hotels
in Europe. Meanwhile The Oyster Box in
Durban was awarded the top spot for the Top
25 Hotels in South Africa and number four in
Africa. The Milestone Hotel in London ranked
number two amongst the Top 25 Hotels in the
UK and number four for Luxury. The recently
renovated Ashford Castle took out the
second spot for the Top 25 Hotels in Ireland.
Red Carnation’s service was recognised
with some eight hotels ranked in the
‘Best Service’ category and nine hotels
in the Luxury category.
Jonathan Raggett, (above) Managing
Director of the Red Carnation Hotel
Collection said:
“Winning year after year, together with
the high rankings our hotels enjoy, has
had a very positive impact on our business,
helping us stand out from the competition
in each of the locations we operate in.
“We are firm believers in the transparency
of online guest reviews, which challenges
us every day to deliver exceptional service
and incredible guest experiences.”