Get Great Guest Reviews

Stephanie Sparks Smith is CEO and Digital Matriarch at Cogwheel Marketing™️ and partner and consultant at Cayuga Hospitality Consultants. Her agency focuses on helping hotel owners and management companies drive incremental exposure and revenue to their websites and online channels through hotel digital marketing and advertising. I recently had the pleasure of talking with Stephanie about her perspective on the impact of guest reviews on marketing. Please listen, and share your feedback and if you enjoy the program, please share with your friends and your associates. Sharing and talking about podcasts with your team is a simple and affordable way to develop and inspire your team. For lots of great resources including Adele's Top Takeaways from this episode, please visit, https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews. If you would like more personal attention and assistance to support your team in a Reputation Cultivation Program, please feel free to contact Adele at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com and we will be happy to help.  Get the Free Guide: Ten Tips To Take Your Team to the Top on TripAdvisor: https://www.adelegutman.com/getthefreeguide  Follow and connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet    https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet/  Thanks to our Sponsor!  Thank you to our sponsor Guest Chat! Please visit https://www.guestchat.com/adele to enjoy your hotel's 90-day free trial with no contracts or obligations.  Turbo Boost Your Success with Cogwheel Marketing:  The expertise of Cogwheel Marketing is knowing the intricacies of the branded hotel systems and understanding where brand marketing stops and hotel level marketing begins. Cogwheel Analytics™️ , developed by Cogwheel Marketing, is a hotel digital marketing reporting and BI tool that aggregates data from multiple sources to allow companies to identify trends and opportunities in their online presence. https://cogwheelmarketing.com/ 

Happy Housekeeping Week, Hospitality Stars! Please enjoy this episode of Get Great Guest Reviews with our guest, Lonny Wolfe of The Art of Housekeeping. Lonny shared some ideas on what he does this week and every week, the infuse the spirit of Housekeeping week into the way he works to support his teams every day. Lonny and I know that supporting your team to present a sparkling-clean property is absolutely essential to inspiring five-star reviews and the guest loyalty that comes with it. According to Bain and Company, as reported by Harvard Business Review, it costs 25 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing customer. Additionally, Therefore, for hoteliers to optimize revenue and maximize profits, we hoteliers need to think of the heart of the house as an extension of our commercial strategy. Lonny is the authority on creating great guest experiences through housekeeping excellence, so please listen to his thoughts directly on the podcast. For lots of great resources including the complete show notes for this episode and more, please visit, https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews. Please listen, and share your feedback and if you enjoy the program, please share with your friends and your associates. Sharing and talking about podcasts with your team is a simple and affordable way to develop and inspire your team.  If you would like more personal attention and assistance to support your team in a Reputation Cultivation Program, please feel free to contact Adele at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com and we will be happy to help.  Follow and connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet   Thank you to our sponsor Guest Chat! Please visit https://www.guestchat.com/adele to enjoy your hotel's 90 day free trial with no contracts or obligations. 

Did you ever dream that your hotel, restaurant, or attraction could be ranked #1 in the USA? Well, dreams do come true when you commit to a proven plan for success.     Consistency, Culture, Communication, Collaboration, and Celebration are just the start of these Inspiring Tips from Matthew Douzuk, General Manager of the Perry Lane Hotel in Savannah, ranked as the #1 Hotel in the USA on Tripadvisor Best of the Best for 2023 as well as #24 in the world!    If you are looking for the path to astonishing results in loyalty, passion, and enthusiasm among your associates and your guests, I promise you if you put these concepts to work at your hotel, restaurant, or any service industry business, you will see remarkable results!   Please listen in and share this thought-provoking conversation with Matthew Douzuk with your colleagues!   For more resources, including the blog with complete shownotes and more, visit: https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews     

If you want to learn the inside scoop from a General Manager of a highly rated hotel as to what it actually takes to help a hotel's team inspire consistent Five Star Reviews from guests, this is the podcast for you! The Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, managed by Remington Hospitality, boasts a stellar 5 out of 5 Stars on Tripadvisor and Google, 9.1 out of 10 on Booking.com and 9.6 out of 10 on Expedia, not to mention some stunning ratings from travel guides and international publications. I had the pleasure of chatting with Alain Negueloua, the Vice President and General Manager of the Bardessono, to find out what kind of magic he and his team are doing to inspire such consistently enthusiastic reviews. If you care about revenue optimization, culture, and attracting and retaining great guests and great employees, increasing profit and customer lifetime value, please listen and share this episode of Get Great Guest Reviews with your associates. As a hotelier who led my previous hotel collection to the highest guest review scores in the world, a 96.1% GRI, Global Review Index from Review Pro, I am passionate about learning about the daily habits of high-rated hotels and what habits they have in common. SPOILER ALERT! While each General Manager and Hospitality Leader has a different way of describing what they do, there are core habits that highly rated hoteliers all share! Even better, you can apply these habits and philosophies to your daily work life, and you, too, will enjoy similar rewards. These proven principles will work in any category of hotel, restaurant, or attraction and in any service industry business where it is beneficial and vital to have returning customers and enthusiastic referrals, recommendations, and online reviews. Here's a quick overview of our discussion topics. For the Full Show Notes visit adelegutman.com/getgreatguestreviews  The elevating impact of an entrepreneurial spirit How experiencing excellence inspires more excellence in a community How to Stand Out from the Competition How to Build Trust Stories of the Power of Taking Action on Feedback The importance of collaborating with your team to solve problems Making Innovative Problem Solving a Daily Habit The Importance of Sharing the WHY. Hiring the right people and implementing standards. Clearly communicating standards and expectations The importance of listening to feedback. Relentless, constant, gentle pressure delivers a great guest experience. The importance of paying attention to the little things. The value of cross-training teams. How a stellar online reputation can help you stand apart. How stellar online reviews can give a competitive advantage. How stellar reviews help attract and retain employees. Books we discussed: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer Built to Last by Jim Collins Good to Great by Jim Collins Become a Hospitality Star Maker! If you want to learn more about making every guest and valued team member feel cared for, appreciated, and respected? Keep tuned into this conversation and subscribe to Get Great Guest Reviews! I hope you enjoy and benefit from this episode! Thank you so much to my guest Alain Negueloua Vice President and General Manager of The Bardessono Hotel and Spa in Yountville, California, managed by Remington Hospitality: https://www.bardessono.com/  If you would like some help implementing these ideas, it would be my pleasure to make the process easy for you. Please set up a time for us to chat on Calendly: https://calendly.com/adele-gutman/15min Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker Sheet: https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet/ Twitter: @AdeleGutman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GetGreatGuestReviewswithAdeleGutman Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-great-guest-reviews/id1607713697 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzM3NzIxMy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYyoi9gqH4AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AAgxomCdTCWue20ru3QWs Thank you for listening! Have a great week, and keep reaching for the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Adele

Dr. Peter Ricci has been honored as a Hospitality Hero and a Top 25 Minds by HSMAI and a Global Top 100 Most Power Leaders and Thirty Most Influential Educators in Hospitality by International Hospitality Institute. Undoubtedly, Peter is one of the most influential leaders in our industry. He deserves all these honors and more for applying his unrelenting yet loving, gentle pressure on the industry to move the culture forward in a more positive and richly rewarding direction. As Clinical Professor and Director of Hospitality and Tourism for Florida Atlantic University, Dr. Peter Ricci has his finger on the pulse of the dreams, frustrations, challenges, and opportunities of today's goal-oriented and aspiring hospitality professionals. In today's episode, Dr. Ricci shares his insights on why reputation and guest feedback management are more important than ever and how hospitality leaders can best empower and inspire our associates to deliver excellence in hospitality to every guest. As a former vice president of sales, marketing, and revenue for a boutique hotel collection for 20 years, getting great guest reviews, referrals, and recommendations was one of my key responsibilities. I believe that an energized team of cross-trained associates who take pride in creative problem-solving and continuous improvement is as fundamental to revenue optimization as a great website, booking engine, and pricing strategy. Therefore, I am excited to share my conversation with you, both operations and commercial leaders, with the extraordinary Dr. Peter Ricci. Please take a few minutes to listen and learn more from Peter's insights during our conversation on Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast! For full access to the show notes and more, please visit:  https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews Please subscribe and listen to the podcast so you won't miss a single concept that you might like to try to progress and elevate your employee and guest experience. Why being in a state of flux is an exciting opportunity for growth How to infuse technology without “tipping over the Apple cart” One hotel's big tip for offering flexibility in scheduling What the Country Club industry envisions for the future of work-life quality We also chatted about great books to read now: Show up, by Anthony Melchiori  Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara  The One Minute Manager How to Make Friends and Influence People Adele's Favorite Peter Ricci Quote from the show: “…the better the service, the more the finance on the top and the bottom. And so in the reduction in turnover, it's less costly, so it just makes financial sense as well. But that's always the missing piece. ‘Oh, you want to add headcount, we can't afford it.' Well, how about what we're spending on turnover? Spending on retraining. Let's try it at least. All I say is try it, then you can see where it goes." If you want to learn more about making every guest and valued team member feel cared for, appreciated, and respected, keep tuned into this conversation and subscribe to Get Great Guest Reviews! General Managers, would like a free strategy session for your hotel? Feel free to connect with me and send a request. I love to help hospitality professionals elevate their productivity and profitability. Contact: getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com Until next time, keep reaching for the stars! Adele Gutman

I am so excited to share with you my recent discussion with Raul Moronta, Chief Commercial Officer of Remington Hotels as we talk about Brand Performance: Mission, Action with Intent, and Guest Satisfaction. Ask most travelers, and you are likely to hear about the lowering of hospitality and service excellence since the devastating impact of COVID. In fact, most consumers would say that customer service in all industries has taken a severe tumble. But counter to the trend, in the past year or so, Remington Hotels has been dramatically elevating its brand performance and loyalty across its diverse portfolio of 120 hotels by investing in its people and the guest experience they deliver. You'll definitely want to hear what Raul Moronta has to say about this initiative and its impact. As someone who has led multiple hotels to successfully achieve Guest Review Scores that dominated their city, country, and, yes…the world, I was fascinated to learn more about what Remington Hotels is doing to drive revenue and loyalty at both branded and independent properties. Please take a few minutes to learn more from Raul's insights during our conversation on Get Great Guest Reviews the Podcast! For full access to the show notes and more, please visit:  https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews What Actions Will You Take to Elevate Loyalty? A great guest experience worthy of a five-star review is no accident. It takes “action with intent” to continually support teams, diminish friction and make guests happy. Please take the time to comment, subscribe and share this podcast with business leaders who are passionate about elevating loyalty by creating a culture of hospitality and continuous improvement. And don't forget to check out our previous articles for tips you can start to apply immediately to your own business. Want a free strategy session for your hotel? Feel free to connect with me and send a request. I love to help hospitality professionals elevate their productivity and profitability. getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com Until next time, keep reaching for the stars! Adele Gutman

Welcome Back to Get Great Guest Reviews, Season 2!    Recently, on LinkedIn, there was a poll asking what hotel general managers and hospitality professionals care most about and want to see content on. As I recall, Trends in the Industry, Technology, and Revenue Management were all popular. However, Reputation and Social Media were combined and still came out at the bottom of the list, with only 2% of hospitality professionals showing any interest. Say it isn't so!  I took this surprising information as an opportunity to start our new season of podcasts with why everyone needs to care about guest reviews.  It is a fundamental concept of business success that highly satisfied customers are more likely to return, purchase more frequently, and spread good word-of-mouth advertising to help a business attract and keep more loyal guests. In the world of hotels and global online distribution, this basic principle is exponentially elevated and more important than ever before.  In this episode, Adele Gutman breaks down 9 Top Reasons Why Hoteliers Need to Make Reputation and Guest Feedback a Super Power for Revenue Results.   Listen in now to hear about the impact on customer loyalty, employee retention, Average Daily Rate, Sales & Marketing conversions, display algorithms, and more!  THANK YOU!  I want to thank everyone who supported this podcast and patiently waited for the next season while I tended to matters at home. I am deeply grateful to everyone who helped Get Great Guest Reviews to be recognized as one of the top 35 podcasts in the hospitality industry for 2023 by the International Hospitality Institute! Check out a copy of Global Hospitality Magazine and discover all the honorees in the industry that you may want to follow.  If you have a question about reputation and how to inspire consistent five-star reviews from your guests, contact us at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com  Subscribe, Follow, and Connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/  Podcast Page: Get Great Guest Reviews Podcast Page LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Invite Adele to speak at your next conference: https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet  If you have a question about reputation and how to inspire consistent five-star reviews from your guests, contact us at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com 

Did you know that there are over 130 000 hotels in the USA? I consider myself fortunate that three of the four hotels I worked with at Library Hotel Collection were rated among the top 25 hotels in the USA on the Best of the Best, Tripadvisor's Travelers Choice Awards, and the fourth one was followed very closely behind. The people whose hotels rank among the top guest-reviewed hotels in the country are all part of a very fortunate group of hoteliers who have discovered and implemented the secrets to what it takes to make guests happy. The guests are so happy they can't help themselves from writing 5-star reviews for the kind people who treated them like VIPs. The secret these General Managers have is a process, a daily discipline, and a philosophical commitment to continuously improve the guest experience. This episode is an edited revisit to a conversation with one of the top General Managers in the United States, the serial award-winning Carlo Carroccia of Charlestowne Hotels. Carlo is the Dual General Manager of both the French Quarter Inn and the Spectator hotel in Charleston, and time and time again, those two hotels keep showing up among the top 25 Hotels in the US on Tripadvisor. He's not trying to be the #1 Hotel in the country on Tripadvisor. Instead, he is focused on creating a culture where every day, every employee is on a mission to make every guest experience a happy one. Please enjoy this episode and learn from a master! The process works. It works for Carlo, it worked for me, and they will work for anyone who wants to learn how to make guest happiness a growth strategy for their hospitality or service business.   If you would like to learn how to implement these principles at your hotels or portfolio, please get in touch with Adele at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com or subscribe at adelegutman.com

  Albert Einstein famously said, "Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them." I love the wisdom in that quote! My hospitality spin on this quote would be:    Good hotels deal with problems. Great hotels fix problems. The most loved hotels see a problem as an opportunity for creativity and innovation, so they avoid having to see that problem recur.   To illustrate this point, I have selected a few true-to-life review responses I have just seen online.   I will show some typical hotel review responses, where the hotel hopes to get the customer back, fingers crossed. They are dealing with the problem. not fixing or preventing it from recurring. The reputation management box has been checked, but has anything been accomplished?   I will then show an alternative approach for the response so you can see the difference.  You can decide which sound good versus which effectively elevate consumer confidence by showcasing responsible and compassionate leadership in action. That response has a good chance of winning a return visit and attracting new customers.    The excellent review response came from a young manager, Frangelica Siy, at the Embassy Suites in Downtown San Diego. They are a 3-Star hotel that consistently inspires 5-Star reviews from its guests, thanks to leadership in action from great hoteliers like Frangelica. No wonder the Embassy Suites in San Diago is currently one of the top 10 hotels in the city, out of hundreds of other hotels, many far more opulent than the Embassy Suites. Way to go- Frangelica and team!     I hope you will find these examples illuminating and begin to consider these Dos and Don'ts whenever you or your team respond to reviews with the goals of elevating consumer confidence, living your values, and demonstrating leadership in action.    For more information and inspiration on Reputation Cultivation, Leadership and Culture, please visit adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews.         

Have you ever been offered a complimentary night after reporting an issue to a hotel?   It happened to me a couple of times when I was totally shocked by the offer. I wasn't expecting to be offered a comp night; I wasn't asking for it, and it had never even crossed my mind.   To my surprise, when the free night was offered,  it somehow didn't feel like a gift of apology and customer appreciation. It felt like it was offered as a quick “go-to” way of ending a conversation.   This was a revelation to me. It struck me that seemingly, at hotels around the nation, managers have been trained to pacify guests in this very expensive way to quickly end an uncomfortable conversation and hopefully avoid a negative review.   I'm Adele Gutman. I am known for helping my hotels have the highest guest review scores in their cities, and their countries, even earning the highest company-wide online review scores worldwide!   Now, I help hoteliers learn methods that really work to inspire guest loyalty by creating a culture of caring, collaboration, and continuous improvement. In my experience, I can assure you that there's a better way to empower teams, create loyalty and earn a stellar reputation, and that's what we will discuss today.   Welcome to Get Great Guest Reviews!   Follow and connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/  Podcast Page: Get Great Guest Reviews Podcast Page LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker and Consulting Sheet: https://www.adelegutman.com/AdelesSpeakersSheet     

What's the one thing everyone in hospitality needs to know to inspire 5-Star Reviews? Adele Gutman is known for having exceptional results in leading her hotels to the top guest review success in their market, city, state, country, and, yes, even the world. There is a multitude of concepts that comprise the signature five-star review system that she formulated to achieve a company-wide 96.1% Global Review Index Score.  But in this episode, Adele focuses on one essential concept at the core of five-star hospitality. And you don't even have to be a five-star business to deliver five-star hospitality and inspire five-star reviews.  Adele Gutman shares a few stories highlighting the one thing every hospitality business owner, manager, or front-line employee must fully embrace as a philosophical commitment if you want your business to excel. We hope you will listen and be inspired to break away from the pack and help your team embrace a different way of thinking. It will definitely help you to inspire a sunshower of enthusiastic, five-star reviews for your hotel or restaurant.  https://www.adelegutman.com/  

There was a recent article in the Harvard Business Review - Future-Proofing Businesses with Modern Customer Engagement, written by Karen Peacock, the Chief Executive Officer of Intercom. 44% of respondents, hundreds of Harvard Business Review readers, indicated that a lack of collaboration and the constrictions of information silos at work are the top impediments to successful customer engagement at their company. The second obstacle at 32% of responses was the failure to share customer insight data throughout the company. This insight hits close to home for me. I feel that a lack of collaboration and lack of sharing guest feedback are two of the top impediments to solving customer problems. That's how we limit our customer satisfaction success. If we coupled collaboration with leadership,  fostering shared personal and company-wide intentions to embrace positive change, we would easily create more five-star guest experiences. Please listen to the podcast. I want to share what I think is a terrific little story of something that just happened to me at a hotel this week that demonstrates how easy it can be to break through these obstacles and start delivering better experiences at a hotel or any business. I will also share several tips on how you can begin today to initiate simple yet effective communications to transform the guest experience.  If you would like some help implementing these ideas, please reach out to me.  Follow and connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet Facebook: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Instagram: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdeleGutman  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GetGreatGuestReviewswithAdeleGutman  Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-great-guest-reviews/id1607713697 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzM3NzIxMy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYyoi9gqH4AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AAgxomCdTCWue20ru3QWs Thank you for listening! If you found value in this discussion, it would mean the world to us to have you as a subscriber and share this with anyone you know who might benefit from Get Great Guest Reviews the Podcast! Have a great week, and keep reaching for the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Adele Link to the Article in HBR: https://hbr.org/sponsored/2022/07/future-proofing-businesses-with-modern-customer-engagement

Welcome to Get Great Guest Reviews! In this week's episode, Christoph Hütter, the non-traditional revenue manager, joins me to discuss the Revenue generating impact of excellence in Reputation, Reviews, and the Guest Experience. Revenue Managers, General Managers, and Hotel Owners, you will want to pay attention to this because there is no revenue optimization without reputation optimization! That means creating a culture of caring, collaboration, and continuous improvement. In addition to the video, please be sure to read the accompanying blog posts on my website www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews Follow and connect with Christoph Hütter: Website: https://christophhutter.com/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophhutter/ Follow and connect with Adele Gutman: Website: https://www.adelegutman.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet Facebook: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Instagram: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdeleGutman  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/GetGreatGuestReviewswithAdeleGutman  Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-great-guest-reviews/id1607713697 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5saWJzeW4uY29tLzM3NzIxMy9yc3M?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiYyoi9gqH4AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AAgxomCdTCWue20ru3QWs Thank you for listening! If you found value in this discussion, it would mean the world to us to have you as a subscriber and share this with anyone you know who might benefit from Get Great Guest Reviews the Podcast! Have a great week, and keep reaching for the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Adele

"Would You Treat Your Mama Like That?"  Are your mission statement and guiding principles filled with words like honesty, integrity, trust, relationships, caring, and transparency?   Of course, they are! We are hospitality!   Our quest for excellence requires reflection and self-examination to ensure we truly live in those values.   For the most part, there's tremendous heart and honor in the hospitality industry, but sometimes the grind of life can lead us astray from our best intentions, especially in times of stress, like these last few years. By reading reviews from across the country and reviewing websites and booking engines, I have observed a few common blind spots that need attention.  

Throughout the world, there are many hoteliers who are hard at work doing their best to "do Reputation Management". These hoteliers are reading articles and getting tips from friends, suppliers, or consultants on how to do it right. But are the industry standards really working?  Many of the commonly accepted practices are not actually helping hoteliers significantly move the needle when it comes to reputation. And in many cases, behaviors like cutting and pasting templates are inadvertently frustrating travelers, making them feel that we care more about the show and about showing we genuinely care.  As someone who has led the hotel collection with the highest level of guest satisfaction, and interviewed many of the most successful hoteliers in the world, I am excited to share with you today five of the most common mistakes when it comes to responding like a superstar to negative reviews.  In addition to the video, please be sure to read the accompanying blog posts on my website www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews.com   

American Industrialist and Innovator Henry Ford famously said, "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." I find this quote so practical and useful when thinking about hospitality reputation cultivation and responding to negative reviews. That's because it's important to know that reputation isn't based on what you say, but rather on what you do. What powerful management responses have in common is that they are based on actions already taken.  Today, most negative reviews go unresponded to according to a study done by ReviewPro. In my own observations, negative review responses rarely show true authority, personal responsibility, and progress in action. That means that for those willing to put in a bit of effort up front, you can set your business up for success and stand out from the competition with ease.  If you are ready to outshine the competition, Adele Gutman presents 5 things to do before you begin to write your management response to a negative review.  For lots of free resources including the complete show notes to this episode and more, visit https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews https://www.adelegutman.com/post/master-the-management-response-five-things-before-you-write

Welcome to Get Great Guest Reviews! I hope you enjoy the podcast and the accompanying article. Each episode is designed to help everyone move forward on their journey towards progressively heightened levels of guest loyalty and delight as well as employee engagement and growth. Please be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode or an opportunity to inspire five-star reviews.   The hospitality industry, like most service industries, is filled with people who love to make a positive difference in people's lives. But, when you have a dream of how things at work should be, it can be disheartening when the “realities” of work-life seem to conspire to keep you or your business from fulfilling your potential.   But not all barriers to success are actual “realities”. Often it is our own unexamined mindset that inhibits us from taking the very actions that move us closer to our goals. In this episode, I am joined by hospitality expert Cheryl C. Jones, owner of Simply the Best Results and the author of the book, Emotional Self Mastery. We discuss some of our suggestions and insights on how to take charge of your destiny and gently step around any self-talk that isn't empowering your happiness and success.   As Cheryl says, mindsets are neither inherently positive or negative. We as humans simply have patterns of thinking and beliefs that we gleaned from life. These could have come from our parents, our schooling, our self-talk about personal experiences, and even from “experts” on webinars and podcasts. So sometimes we need to reflect and ask ourselves, “Why do I think that?” and, “Is that really true?” For example, I have heard and read, dozens of times hoteliers and experts saying that most people who write reviews are motivated to do so because they want to complain. That seems like it makes sense, right? But the reality is that according to Tripadvisor the average review is 4.1 -4.4 depending on the year. The new study released by ReviewPro in collaboration with Cornell University says that in a sample of 7,500 hotels around the world, the average review score was 84.6%. Clearly, what is considered a common belief doesn't act stand up to statistical data.   So let's take some time to reflect on some common beliefs that may be holding us back from taking positive action and fulfilling our goals.   To access lots of free resources including the complete show notes and more visit https://www.adelegutman.com/.    To find out more about Cheryl Jones, visit:  https://simplythebestresults.com/   Adele mentioned some statistics you can find at the source on ReviewPro:  https://reviewpro.shijigroup.com/essentials/global-review-index#see  

Reputation Cultivation isn't essential only for hotels, restaurants, and supporting industries; it is mission-critical for all service professionals. Our businesses grow as we build relationships that are based on integrity, authenticity, trust,  and of course, as we create those wow moments that inspire beautiful experiences, memories, and stories to be shared.  No one is a finer expert in designing wow moments and building trusted relationships than my gust this week, Nick Faitos, Senior Partner of Starbright Floral Design, the premier florist for the hospitality industry in New York City and beyond.  Welcome to Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast.  For lots of free resources, including the show notes to this episode and more, please visit https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews        

Nearly everyone in the business today understands that a company's reputation and customer reviews have a direct impact on revenue results. That's especially true in the hotel business where we are selling experiences and there's a lot of competition. Delivering five-star review-worthy stays is a great way to stand out from the crowd and elevate the perceived value of a visit to your hotel, resort, restaurant, or attraction. But here's the rub. While many hotels around the world have some level of Reputation Management program in place, many are wondering why it isn't having more of an impact on its revenue or even its review scores. Is all this work for nothing except to “check the box” on a to-do list? This week, I address this question and explain the life-changing difference between Reputation Management which can be time-consuming but show minimal results, vs Reputation Cultivation, a simple yet powerful way to elevate your competitive advantage, your employee engagement, guest satisfaction, and loyalty, along with your ADR, RevPar, and Profitability. Please listen to the podcast to hear my answers to these questions. You may also like to check out the extended blogpost, which is a companion to the podcast and covers some additional aspects of the following questions that I have received recently regarding hospitality reputation management.  What's the difference between Reputation Management and Reputation Cultivation?

Last year, in 2021, I cherished a few conversations of my podcast conversations so much, that I have to revisit them. I feel this conversation is a timeless gift, whether you are an experienced hospitality leader, a brand new general manager or if you aspire to be a great general manager someday. If you are looking for a truly extraordinary leader to follow, listen to Craig Poole, President of Reading Hospitality and a recent recipient of Global Hospitality's Julian Star Award, presented by the International Hospitality Institute. My fellow podcaster friends, Kyle Allison and Greg Fregoso of Hospitality MD made a documentary about how Craig Poole transformed a community in the second poorest city in the country by launching the DoubleTree by Hilton in Reading Pennsylvania. Craig's hospitality leadership philosophy is called, Follow me and I will be Behind You. The film of the same name was a contest winner at the Reading Film Festival, and I encourage everyone to watch it and be inspired. I dare you not to shed a tear or two! Not only did the hotel change the trajectory of the lives of the people who worked there, but the hotel is also very profitable and one of the top-rated hotels on Tripadvisor in all of Pennsylvania. I hope you will listen and have a new view of the beauty and power of what Craig calls, "authentic hospitality". For lots of free resources, including the complete show notes to this episode and more, please visit www.adelegutman.com  Follow Craig Poole: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crpoole/ Follow Adele Gutman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/ Watch the film, Follow me and I will be behind you. https://www.reelhouse.org/hospitalitymd/followme/  Do you have any questions about how to inspire 5-Star reviews? Please send them to getgreatguestreviews@adelegutman.com and we will answer them directly with you or in a future episode of Get Great Guest Reviews, the podcast!  Thank you for listening!            Watch the Documentary, Follow Me and I Will Be Behind You: https://www.reelhouse.org/hospitalitymd/followme/

One of the best ways to cultivate enthusiastic 5-Star reviews is to create a culture of enthusiasm for hospitality and collaborative, creative problem-solving at your hotel. I'm excited to speak today with Hotel General Manager, James Ferguson, who is the author of the new book, The Confetti Culture Playbook: How to Boost Your Team's Contribution and Impact. With the level of stress and frustration at hotels today, I truly believe that there is nothing more important right now for the future success of our industry than shifting to this people-centric mindset. So do yourself a favor and check out The Confetti Culture Playbook for yourself and gift it to your team members. For additional resources including highlights and complete show notes from this interview, please visit adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews/ Links: Let's Connect!   Follow and connect with James Ferguson: Website: https://theconfetticultureplaybook.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-ferguson-08361384/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Confetti-Culture-Playbook-101771741967490/    Other Authors and Books Mentioned: Christine Trippi: Yes is the Answer Horst Schultze: Excellence Wins! Dan Cockerell: How's the Culture in Your Kingdom Charles Ryan Minton Thanks for Coming in Today!   Follow and connect with Adele Gutman:   Website: Adele Gutman LinkedIn: Adele Gutman Adele's Speaker & Consulting Sheet Facebook: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Instagram: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Twitter: Adele Gutman Youtube: Get Great Guest Reviews with Adele Gutman   Thank you for listening!   Have a great week and reach for the stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Adele

As the hospitality industry is still dealing with supply issues, staffing issues, as well as heightened inflation, inflated guest expectations, and emotional stress. In this episode, Adele Gutman speaks with the Hotel Guru, Robert Rauch talk about how hotel owners and general managers can use culture and experiences to lead their teams through recovery and continued change. Everyone wants a great culture and great guest reviews, but sometimes it's challenging to know where to begin. From my perspective as a former VP of Sales, Marketing, and Revenue, I suggest starting by asking your team for their insights and looking at your guest reviews to know what your guests love and where you can do better. I wanted to hear from a hotel owner to see how he uses culture to drive success. I hope you enjoy listening to the conversation to see how the Hotel Guru, Robert Rauch applies guest-centric culture to his operations. Connect with Robert Rauch:  linkedin.com/in/robertrauch/ hotelguru.com/ Follow and connect with Adele Gutman:  Website: Adele Gutman  LinkedIn: Adele Gutman Facebook: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Instagram: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Twitter: Adele Gutman Youtube: Get Great Guest Reviews with Adele Gutman For lots of free resources including the complete show notes for this episode and so much more, visit AdeleGutman.com/GetGreatReviews/ If your hotel or business could benefit from more five-star reviews (and honestly, couldn't we all?), please contact us at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com, and let's see how we can put you on a reputation optimization plan to meet your needs and support your goals.    

Sarah Dandashy is the hospitality industry's Golden Girl, so smart, funny, exceptionally hard-working, elegant, relentlessly kind and helpful, and full of love for our industry. It is no wonder that her new book is titled, Hospitality From Within, and is filled with heartfelt and unpretentious wit and wisdom that our industry really needs to hear right now. I had the great honor of interviewing Sarah as one of my earliest guests in January of 2021 for last year's season of the show, which was formerly called Hospitality Reputation Marketing, the podcast. Sarah recently released Hospitality from Within in early 2022. Needless to say, I loved it, so I thought it would be the perfect time to repost our previous conversation.   For lots of free resources including the complete show notes for this episode and so much more, visit AdeleGutman.com/GetGreatReviews/ If your hotel or business could benefit from more five-star reviews (and honestly, couldn't we all?), please contact us at getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com, and let's see how we can put you on a reputation optimization plan to meet your needs and support your goals.    

The success of Hotel Directors of Sales and Sales Managers is highly impacted by reputation, including word of mouth, online reviews, and other social media user-generated content. In episode 8 of Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast, Hospitality Sales expert, Amy Infante, Founder, and CEO of GitGo talks with Adele Gutman about the role reputation plays in maximizing sales, and the role sales professionals play as advocates and leaders in creating a stellar reputation that enhances profitability. Your Reputation Proceeds You:  Amy shared a statistic from Gartner that only 17% of the sales journey involves a salesperson. According to Gartner, 45% of their buying journey is spent on research, 27% online, and 18% offline. That means that a business with mixed reviews can be eliminated from consideration long before a salesperson has a chance to speak with them. It also means that a business that was not already on the radar of a planner, can rise to the forefront based on consistently enthusiastic five-star reviews and personal recommendations. https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/insights/b2b-buying-journey   For the complete blog post, with highlights and pro tips inspired by our conversation, please visit our website  https://www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews       I hope that you will take the time to listen and enjoy the full conversation.

Do Happy Employees = Happy Guests or is it Vice Versa? EX2CX Excpert Jill Raff and Adele Gutman talk it out! Outside of location and price, the Guest Experience is the most important differentiator in choosing a hotel. In fact, it is so important that many travel decision-makers are willing to pay more they planned to and select a less convenient location in order to have an exceptional elevated experience that enriches their lifestyle.   But an excellent guest experience isn't created in a lab. It is delivered by human beings. And right now, the hospitality industry is grappling with how to attract and keep great employees, perhaps with as much concern as they have for attracting new guests. So which comes first? Does focusing on happy employees create a loyal fanbase of guests? Or does focusing on happy guests create a loyal base of highly engaged and enthusiastic employees?   Listen in as Jill Raff, the EX2CX expert, and Adele Gutman, the creator of the Five-Star Review System talk it out on this episode of, Get Great Guest Reviews, the Podcast. Although their approaches seem opposite, they agree on many of the same principles. Read the highlights of the conversation as well as past episodes on adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews Follow and connect with Jill Raff:  Website: jillraff.com LinkedIn: JILL RAFF, EX2CX™ Expert Facebook: Jill Raff: EX2CX Expert Instagram: ex2cx_expert Twitter: Jill Raff Youtube: Jill Raff   Follow and connect with Adele Gutman:  Website: Adele Gutman  LinkedIn: Adele Gutman Facebook: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Instagram: InspireFiveStars with Adele Gutman Twitter: Adele Gutman Youtube: Get Great Guest Reviews with Adele Gutman

What happens when a Customer Experience professional and his partner decide to open a business together with a great love for entertaining but no professional hospitality background?  A whole lot of hard work, and steep learning curve, and a world of on-the-job training, leads, in the end, to phenomenal success. Learn how these owners applied their passion for making guests feel welcome combined with a disciplined daily devotion to continuous improvement that made them two of the foremost leaders in the alternative accommodations field.  If you are a hospitality professional, or someone with a dream of making a success of your own hotel, Bed & Breakfast, or even a vacation rental, don't miss this success story from Andy Banner- Price, one of the co-owners of the 25 Boutique B&B in the UK.  They knew they needed to have fantastic reviews to be noticed in a sea of Bed and Breakfasts in the area as well as hotels. Their marketing strategy was to be on the first page, or even better, on top of the list in their area.  They won the title Best B&B in the world twice, in 2019 and in 2020.  For additional resources including highlights and complete show notes from this interview, please visit adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews/ Links: Website: https://www.the25.uk/ and adelegutman.com LinkedIn: Andy (Price) Banner-Price and https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelegutman/  Twitter: Andy Banner-Price  and https://twitter.com/AdeleGutman If you have any questions about how to inspire five-star reviews, please send your message or comment to getgreatreviews@adelegutman.com and we will be sure to answer them on an upcoming episode and/or directly with you.  Do you know a business leader who has extraordinary success in inspiring 5-Star Guest Reviews?  Please let me know or invite them to reach out to me to discuss the possibility of being a future guest.   Thank you, in advance for subscribing, and sharing your heartfelt reviews. It means the world to us when we hear that you find the content helpful, and what's more, it helps others find our content too.  See you next week!  Adele         

Hardly a day goes by that I don't hear someone say that the hospitality industry is famously slow on embracing technology or innovation. But not every innovation has to be done on a grand scale. When it comes to Customer Experience, it's the little things that can make the biggest impact. Yes, we should review our tech stack at least every year to see if what we have is still the best fit for our goals. Yes, we need to be open to updating our product in new ways to stay ahead of the curve. But for most hotels, allowing critical feedback to trigger daily micro-innovation is the secret to a culture of continuous improvement and transforming the guest experience.  In today's episode, Adele discusses different ways to determine how to implement innovations at your Hotel or Restaurant. Tune in to this podcast discussion and embrace the micro-innovation mindset!  For the complete notes for the show, visit adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews/ Highlights:   Itamar Gilad's ICE method for evaluating major projects.  Why Semantic Analysis Reports are not as effective as individual real-time feedback, in context for improving hospitality industry operations.  How to best collaborate with employees to investigate root causes for guest and employee distress, without causing more distress in the process.  Breaking down opportunities for change into three or four primary categories: People (Communication or Mindset), Process, or  Product.  Links:   Website: adelegutman.com LinkedIn: ADELE Gutman Milne Itamar Gilad: ICE and the Confidence Calculator Tool 2. No Vacancy Live Episode with Kathy Van Ness and Jeff Kulek  Hosts: Glenn Houseman & Anthony Melchiorri

What happens when you put two Guest Experience Evangelists together? A lot of passion and laughter, and some great advice that anyone can put to work to elevate their business guest loyalty and online reputation to attract new customers like a magnet. Josh Liebman's 16-year background in attractions and venues such as Walt Disney and Universal gave him a rich background in hospitality experiences which lead him to become the Guest Experience Evangelist for the guest experience platform, Roller, and the Host of the Guest Experience Show. Josh calls the Guest Experience the ultimate differentiator. Adele calls Reputation the foundation of all Sales, Marketing, and Revenue success. Together, they agree that embracing feedback in an earnest and responsible way is mission-critical to long-term financial success, especially in travel and hospitality. Links: Website: The Guest Experience Show  AdeleGutman.com LinkedIn: Josh Liebman, ICAE Follow Adele on LinkedIn Twitter: @Joshua_Liebman @AdeleGutman Roller Software For lots of free resources including the complete show notes for this episode and so much more, visit: AdeleGutman.com/GetGreatReviews And subscribe! 

  The Greek philosopher Heraclitus was known to say, “change is the only constant in life.” Organizations that embrace change as the natural state of being will have the best chance to successfully stay ahead of the curve as the needs and desires of our customers continue to shift. Yet, while people as children are instinctively open to learning and creativity, many organizations are naturally resistant to change and set up cultures that can discourage creative problem-solving, innovation, and transformation.  In this episode, Howard Tiersky and Adele Gutman discuss four common misconceptions about digital transformation that have the potential to derail even the most well-funded efforts. Howard Tiersky is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Winning Digital Customers. IDG named him one of the “10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today”, and Enterprise Management 360 named Howard “One of the Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers That Will Change Your World.” Links Full show notes for this episode and more can be found on www.adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews  Website: howardtiersky.com LinkedIn: Howard Tiersky Twitter: howard tiersky Book Links: 4 Common Misconceptions About Digital Transformation https://winningdigitalcustomers.com/freechapter Or  https://winningdigitalcustomers.com/preorder For free resources including the complete blog post and show notes on this episode and more, please visit adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews

Is your service recovery goal to earn one customer for life or is it to earn 1,000+ customers for life?  As long as we are humans serving humans, it's inevitable that things will sometimes go wrong in business. Even in the hospitality industry when we focused on our hotel and restaurant guests and deliver great service, there are many hands “touching that customer journey” and anything can happen. Hospitality professionals understand that providing excellence in service recovery is critical for guest satisfaction, guest reviews, and creating brand loyalty.  However, I  believe that the model of service recovery that most companies aspire to often fails to actually hit the mark when it comes to creating and maintaining a five-star reputation, enthusiastic fans, and reviews and recommendations galore. Most hospitality stars are trained to try to use their skills to solve the problem, offer empathy and solution options and turn the guest into a fan for life.  This view stops just short of where the true magic lies. Taking actions to stop the pain points from happening in the first place for future guests is one of the elements of the gold standard of service recovery.  In 40 years in hospitality, and as a traveler and a consumer, I have observed that there are various levels of service recovery today.  Check out the full show notes to learn more about the gold standard of service recovery, along with many other free resources on reputation cultivation when you visit:  adelegutman.com/getgreatreviews   

Every business must already have satisfied customers to keep the doors open, but not every business enjoys the benefits of loyalty, new customer referrals, and increased perceived value that a stellar reputation provides.    In this episode, Adele Gutman, the authority on hospitality reputation marketing,  shares a more effective strategy to not only get a few more reviews that you might have had before but to have your business bask in the sunshower of fabulous, enthusiastic, five-star reviews- focus on adding more warmth and energy to the guest experience.    These insights come from Adele's personal experiences and astonishingly consistent results:    The #1, #2, #3, and #4 ranked hotels on Tripadvisor out of hundreds of hotels in NYC.  The #1 hotels in Czech Republic and Hungary on Tripadvisor The #1 Hotel in the World on Tripadvisor in 2017 96.1% GRI- The highest company-wide Global Review Index of any luxury hotel brand in the world according to a study by ReviewPro Access the complete show notes, please visit: AdeleGutman.com/GetGreatGuestReviews