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HolidayPirates user survey reveals the motivational factors behind a customer review

The study found that 70% of customers read reviews before booking. More than half of customers (58%) trust an online customer review as much as a personal recommendation.

As the competition for customer loyalty rapidly grows, hospitality establishments are feeling the pressure to secure reviews from its visitors. But what impact does an online customer review actually have and what incentivises a customer to write one?

HolidayPirates surveyed more than 1,000 of its U.K. based users to identify what motivates them to write a review (or dissuades them). The survey results provide the travel and hospitality industry with an understanding of how to obtain valuable customer reviews.

Customer reviews matter

  • The survey found that over 70% of customers will search for reviews from previous customers before making their decision to book their next trip, hotel stay, or restaurant visit.
  • More than half of customers (58%) trust an online customer review as much as a personal recommendation.
  • A staggering 96% of respondents said that the reviews will always or sometimes impact their decision to book their next trip, hotel stay, or restaurant visit (with just 3% saying it will not).  

Incentives to write a review
According to the respondents to the HolidayPirates study, more than three quarters of customers will publish an online review of an establishment or stay following their holiday. The primary motivation is that the customer had a positive experience and wanted others to benefit, or to contribute to the collective knowledge of other visitors.

But a positive experience on its own is not sufficient enough incentive for customers to leave a review. When asked what motivational factors (offered by establishments) might most encourage customers to contribute a review, respondents said:

  1. The promise of an offer, such as a future discount
  2. A ‘thank you for the visit’ email, without explicitly asking for a review
  3. A recommendation on which review site would be preferred by the establishment

Of the small number of customers who stated that they would never write a review (12%), the main reasons are a belief that the review will not make an impact (42%), or because too much time has elapsed since the visit (23%). Finally, if the experience was neither good nor bad, 15% do not feel it is worth leaving a review.   

David Armstrong, CEO at HolidayPirates comments: “Reviews can offer crucial insight into what customers think about your establishment. But with the growing impact reviews have, and the pressure to receive them, it is easy to become too pushy with urgent requests for a review even before the customer has left the site, and this can seriously backfire. Customers mean everything to a business and we hope that this insight can help the travel and hospitality industry better understand why and how to ask for a review.”

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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