How to Write the Best Replies to booking.com Reviews

According to Statista, booking.com is the most visited travel and tourism website, with approximately 678 million unique page visits in August 2022 alone. With this number, it's safe to say your page on the website can make or break your business.

Apart from an updated page, engaging copies, and enticing photos of your hotel, your response to booking.com reviews can help boost your presence on the website.

This is how the top hotels do it.

How can I reply to a review on booking.com?

Booking.com offers a wide array of accommodation choices which affects the hotel industry. Most of these alternative options offer flexible check-in time, self-check-in methods, and other features that attract DIY travelers.

Hotels, on the other hand, offer convenience, luxury, and great customer service. Leveraging these benefits is essential for hotels competing with other accommodations modes.

Hotel managers can make potential guests experience these advantages firsthand by responding to online reviews diligently. This way, they will know that booking your hotel will ensure that they will be attended to, even after their stay.

Luckily, booking.com has made it easy for hotel staff to respond to guest reviews with their user-friendly partner dashboard. Here's how to do it:

1. Sign in to your account

Enter your credentials on the login page. If you have multiple properties listed, you'll be headed to "Group Home," where you can easily filter your desired property. Click the property where you wish to respond to reviews.

2. Go to the Reviews tab

After choosing the property on "Group Home," go to the "Reviews" section. You'll be redirected to this page if you only have one property listed after logging in.

The "Reviews" tab will show you the Property Name, Date of Booking, Booking IDs, Review Score, and Comments. If you have a pre-noted review you wish to respond to; you can use the search box. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.

3. Go to Guest Reviews and filter content

Hover your cursor over "Guest Reviews" A dropdown menu with the options "Guest Reviews" and "Guest Experience" will appear. Proceed to the "Guest Reviews."

A dashboard with your property overview will appear. Ensure that the overview's dropdown menu on the rightmost part is tagged on “All Reviews”.

4. Write your reply, send, and review

Scroll down to see the reviews. Click the "Reply" button and begin typing your reply. Hit send.

After sending your reply, you can check your approved response by clicking "View Your Approved Response." You can easily redo your approved response with the "Edit, Remove, and Cancel" below your approved answer.

Scroll on to reply to more reviews.

How to respond to a negative review on booking.com?

Negative reviews scare people away–that's a fact. Responding to each negative review proves that you're running a legit business and shows potential guests that you're on top of every situation.

But it's easier said than done. To help you with this, here are some tips on how you can reply gracefully to bad reviews with the help of an AI Review Reply Generator.

1. Refrain from being too passive

Being too apologetic or passive affirms that the guests are correct in posting public booking.com complaints. It will also make your hotel look less professional, affecting your brand gravely. Instead tell future guests that this is not your standard and that show them dedication to your business.

2. Never be aggressive

Frustrated guests can be aggressive in reviewing your hotel. The best way to respond to a 1 star review is by appearing cool and collected, as it will make you appear on top of everything.

3. Avoid making promises

Psychology researchers say that using the word "promise" only makes you appear insecure. It will also make it seem like you're just responding to the review without improving your services.

Instead of "promise," the best booking.com replies use more active words like ensure, strive, and working.

4. Take it offline and do not offer compensation

Publicly offering compensation for a complaint can set a precedent among your guests, creating a domino effect of bad reviews. It’s best to request the reviewer to message your team to resolve the issue. This will let the readers know that you don’t easily dismiss criticisms of your services. You can find more tips and tricks in our detailed guide on how to reply to every review.

Here’s an example response from MARA AI Review Reply Generator:

How to respond to a positive review on booking.com?

Positive reviews can be excellent marketing materials. Aside from boosting your presence on booking.com and other search engines, they can also be a great opportunity to increase customer retention and brand loyalty.

Here's how you can make the most out of your positive reviews:

1. Respond quickly

When you disregard positive reviews or respond to a 5 star review a couple of months after, it will make it seem like you can't equate your guest's enthusiasm for your services. That could even make you lose a loyal guest.

2. Highlight areas of the review

Highlight your hotel's edge against competitors. It's the best way to emphasize your strengths, as you already have a testimonial to affirm them.

This review has perfectly enumerated the features of the hotel. Our AI Assistant for Hotel Reviews picks up the specific points mentioned in the review and addresses them with gratitude.

3. Include a Call to Action

Guests who leave positive reviews are the best assets for organic marketing. Invite them to share their experience with their friends or on their social media accounts.

4. Refrain from using a common template

A common “thank you” template is the easiest way to reply to positive reviews. However, it will make your readers feel like bots surround them. This will have a significant impact on your image, because the hotel industry is primarily about personal and lasting experiences - and your guests should feel this with every touchpoint.

The guest in the following review has concisely highlighted the features of a hotel. Below you can find a great answer proposed by the our AI Response Writer that is casual and humble.

How do you respond to a 3 star review without comments?

Responding to a 3 star review without comments can be really tricky. This might signify a guest's indifference towards their stay–they are either pleased or dismayed by their stay that they no longer bother to review your services. Or, they can simply just be busy.

Regardless of the reasons, replying to a 3 star review without comments is essential. It can revive your engagement with the particular guest and show potential customers that you provide excellent customer service to everyone. The best way to respond to a 3 star review is to ask for additional feedback by initiating a private correspondence with the guest.

Luckily, there is an AI Review Reply Generator that automatically generates optimized replies for 3 star reviews without comments:

Sounds tricky? It doesn’t have to be.

We know that writing individual replies to all reviews could be challenging and we want to help you save time so you can use it for other activities to boost your business and cerate lasting experiences for your guests.

Our AI Review Reply Generator is specifically designed to help hotel staff and property managers like you write authentic and engaging replies to guest reviews. Now, you don’t have to write your replies from scratch or use generic templates that can cause more harm than good to your hotel.

Aside from booking.com, it can also boost your visibility on other top booking websites like Google, Tripadvisor, Agoda, and Trivago–all with a simple copy-paste process.

Make your guests feel more valued within seconds — register for free to try it out.

This post is a part of our hero content series on “Booking.com Optimization: The Ultimate Guide for Hotel Managers".