Hotel guests more likely to give feedback with incentives

Hotel guests are significantly more likely and happier to give detailed feedback on their stay when given an incentive to do so, according to research undertaken by hotel guest insight service The Know. The company asked guests staying in luxury hotels about their review habits and found that almost 60% very rarely or never complete surveys at checkout or via email following their stay. The research found that those who do occasionally complete surveys rarely spend more than five minutes on them, or offer much in the way of detailed feedback. According to the findings, only 3% of guests spent more than five minutes completing a guest survey, while the greatest number, 54%, spend between two and five minutes. Some 43% admitted to spending less than two minutes responding to guest surveys. Respondents were also asked how much detail they usually provide in hotel guest surveys and in the majority of cases it is minimal. While 14% said they give ratings and full detailed written feedback, 86% said they provided ratings only or ratings and minimal words. However, the findings also revealed that the chances of guests providing detailed feedback on a hotel stay rose dramatically if they were given an incentive. An astounding 79% of hotel guests said they would spend up to an hour completing an online survey about their stay within seven days of check out if they were offered an incentives and reward programme. Fiona Adams, co-founder of The Know, said: “Guest feedback is so important to ensure exceptional customer experience that the majority of hoteliers now actively try and gather it at checkout or through email. “What is interesting from our findings, however, is that so many guests are giving limited feedback to traditional surveys that they can provide little value.” She added: “In addition, as almost 30% of respondents said that they would prefer not to be asked for feedback directly from hotels after their stay, in some cases we think there is a risk that the quest for direct guest feedback may actually alienate guests.”