Hotels that actively engage with social media reviews grow occupancy faster than properties that do not respond, according to a new study from Medallia. The study examined customer and business data from more than 4,400 hotels worldwide from April 2013 to September 2014.
Hotels that responded to more than 50% of social reviews grew occupancy rates by 6.4%, more than twice the rate of properties that largely ignored social media reviews. Socially engaged properties also outperformed the hospitality industry as a whole, which achieved a 4.3% occupancy growth rate during the same period.
“The hospitality industry has experienced the impact social media can have on their business, both positive and negative, but these findings allow properties to quantify the impact of taking action on reviews — and make it easier to justify additional investments in social media engagement,” said Aurelia Setton, Medallia’s general manager for hospitality.
“Companies often use social media primarily to raise awareness about their brand, but these findings show that social engagement can also drive organizational learning and increase accountability about meeting customer needs,” added Dorian Stone, Medallia’s vice president of customer experience strategy.