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 5-star hotels was 80%, compared to 70% on 4-star properties.
Key findings of the report highlighted that the most popular destinations in Europe was the UK and Germany for business travel and France and Spain for leisure, which also received the most reviews, making up 71% of all reviews.
Hotels in Greece received the most positive reviews: over 70% of their reviews were of a positive nature and 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 in the report highlighted that Paris outperforms its national average by receiving 61% of positive reviews and 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.
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.”