In today’s digital age, a hotel’s reputation can change quickly and travel without borders. With the power of social media, a single negative experience can soon snowball into a long-lasting stain on brand reputation, with a domino effect that does not cease until it reaches your bottom line. This compounding effect is a leading concern for hotel owners and operators.
Research shows that negative social media messages have a lasting influence on a hotel’s public image and financial health. It is a well-worn adage that “bad news travels fast.” In the age of the internet, social media posts, mass media and a connected society, the adage updates to “bad news damages faster.” The recent explosion of consumer choice of hotels across all hospitality niches also gives your growing competition a heavy club with which to batter you. They disseminate negative events (e.g., bed bug incidents) rapidly through their own social messaging and omnipresent word-of-mouth.
A recent University of Kentucky survey illustrates this phenomenon, highlighting how bed bug references become the most compelling element of negative travel site reviews. While bed bugs may be merely one issue faced by the industry, they drive unanimous disgust. The lesson is clear: Bed bug guest encounters and their resultant feedback will reverse years of accrued goodwill. Brand trust is eroded. Repeat customers evaporate. Conventions are abandoned. Customer loyalty is erased. Bookings are canceled. The culmination? Census and room rates nosedive.
This can happen before you even have a chance to read and react to an initial post. Not only do the words bite you, but the bottom-line revenue numbers sting you even more. The domino effect of a bed bug mention drives revenues off a cliff. Moreover, search engine algorithms and review platforms rank harmful content prominently, as “train wrecks” are clickbait, and your news becomes easily discoverable. This prolongs the story. The pressing question becomes, can infestations be avoided? Can reputations be salvaged?
The answer is “Yes.” Both real-time and proactive reputation management are essential to mitigate the long-term impact. Hotels should respond to guest complaints without defensiveness and with empathy, with customer perks/upgrades and visible mitigation steps. Establishments should monitor online feedback, address complaints promptly, and enumerate fast-track solutions while stressing that cleanliness is not related to bed bugs – “hitchhiking” is. Hoteliers can encourage satisfied guests to leave positive reviews to counter the negative ones.
However, proactive steps are the best ones and can ensure your peace of mind. Investing in staff training, quality assurance and proven tools can reduce painful encounters. Specialized mattress liners like ActiveGuard® offer a formidable defense against bed bugs and their potentially ruinous effects. These mattress liners are simple yet powerful “set it and forget it” tools, providing a shield for two years before requiring a quick replacement. They safeguard sleeping surfaces, killing bed bugs and ceasing their ability to multiply.
ActiveGuard Mattress Liners and strategic responses actively deployed to guest issues may assure the health of your brand equity and financial standing. These cannot be squandered.