Hotel guests give European hotels overwhelmingly positive feedback. The most popular destinations in Europe –UK and Germany for business travel and and France and Spain for leisure – also received the most reviews: they make up 71% of all reviews.
Nearly two thirds of all customer feedback on hotels across Europe was positive in 2015, according to a joint report by Revinate and Colliers International. Furthermore, the higher the star classification of the hotel, the more positive the review is likely to be (the number of positive reviews on five star hotels was 80%, compared to 70% on four star properties). Revinate/Colliers research is based on the analysis of 4.7 million reviews on more than 4,600 hotels across Europe.
Overall highlights from the Revinate/Colliers report:
- The most popular destinations in Europe –UK and Germany for business travel and and France and Spain for leisure – also received the most reviews: they make up 71% of all reviews.
- Hotels in Greece received the most positive reviews: over 70% of their reviews were of a positive nature.
- The number of reviews does not seem to have an impact on the amount of positive feedback: with only 55% of positive reviews, France is the weakest performing country. However, Spain, another of the big four, outperforms the European market by receiving 68% of positive reviews.
- A city-by-city evaluation shows that Paris outperforms its national average by receiving 61% of positive reviews.
- Only four cities showed an improvement in the share of positive reviews they received in the last three years: Amsterdam, Brussels, Edinburgh and Moscow. All other cities saw a decrease.
- Many cities performed well on their five star hotel reviews and were above the 80% average. For four star hotels, however, the scores fluctuated significantly and several cities need to improve their offering for four star hotels.
Dirk Bakker, Head of EMEA Hotels Colliers International said: “In today’s internet-led world the hotel industry has been forced more than ever to take guest feedback seriously. Where in the past hoteliers who offered a poor service might suffer from criticism passed on by word of mouth, now they are faced with an abundance of online reviews sites – like Tripadvisor and Booking.com – where customers can air their opinions giving those offering poor service nowhere to hide. Customers can express what they like or dislike about a hotel experience, and these customer reviews have become a major deciding factor for people when booking their next hotel.”
Maarten Plesman, VP EMEA for Revinate said: “Colliers’ perspective is rooted in the observation that 93% of travelers worldwide say online reviews have an impact on their booking decisions. Around the globe hotels trust Revinate with their online reputation and we have incredible data on hotel performance in terms of guest satisfaction. With this report we want to help hoteliers understand how they are benchmarking in their relative markets around Europe.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
