Responding on TripAdvisor

Question:
Should I respond to every review on TripAdvisor? It seems to me that some properties respond all the time but their responses are pat-answers that don’t mean anything.

-Resort GM

Our Answer:

We recommend you at least acknowledge comments that are negative towards your property when there’s an objective point of view, and to respond to positive comments only if you provided truly extraordinary service.

If you don’t at least acknowledge the negative feedback — consumers might think you don’t care.  If you thank guests for every positive comment, some might take it as being over-the-top patting yourself on the back.  In all cases, we recommend you have a standard response framework that the executive committee and Heads of Department agree upon so that when to respond is never a spur of the moment decision.