TripAdvisor: respond to customer reviews to increase diner engagement

04-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 05-Jun-2017 at 14:28 GMT

Website advice: venues that respond to reviews see higher engagement

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Restaurant and pub owners who respond to TripAdvisor reviews are more likely to see higher levels of engagement from their customers on the website, according to a new study.

The TripAdvisor 2017 Diner Engagement Study, which analyses the behaviour of TripAdvisor’s 150m average monthly restaurant browsers, found that restaurants and pubs that answered just 1% of reviews on the site are likely to see twice as much engagement with their listings.

Photos and opening hours

The study also found venues that displayed photos and opening hours on the website received more interaction and engagement than those who failed to upload such information.

Diners tended to spend more time looking at listings of restaurants and pubs with at least 20 reviews, compared to similar restaurants with no reviews.

The diner's experience

The study states: “Management response is viewed as a positive indicator. Effectively, a manager is demonstrating that [he or] she cares about the diner’s experience by taking the time to review the feedback and respond.

“Our study verified that this holds true for restaurants, as managers who respond to feedback see twice as much engagement with their TripAdvisor listings.”

Pub owners recently told The Morning Advertiser what they thought of TripAdvisor, after the site hit 500m comments in April of this year.

The full results of the study can be viewed online here.