Why vacation rental managers should collect reviews from past guests and how to do it right.

1. Guest Reviews How Guest Reviews Can Boost Business TJ Mahony Bill Furlong CEO, FlipKey.com CEO, Escapia and Clearstay.com

3. Why collect and display Guest Reviews?

4. When do reviews matter? TRUE Movies Impossible to sample TRUE Restaurants Movies Qualitative decision TRUE eBay sellers Less known brands TRUE Car rentals Airlines Variable quality TRUE Electronics Big commitment Vacation Rentals? Examples

5. Every major online travel agent features hotel guest reviews  Hotels.com  Priceline ? Your Website  Travelocity  Orbitz  Expedia Features Guest Reviews Online Lodging Site

7. Stand out from the crowd Which hotel would you be more likely to click on?

8. Boost confidence Increase conversion Since July 25, 2007, Hayes & Jarvis has displayed the five most recent TripAdvisor reviews and ratings on its hotel pages. The TripAdvisor content is displayed for more than 80% of Hayes & Jarvis’ hotels Online shoppers who look at TripAdvisor reviews on the Hayes & Jarvis site book trips at double the rate of online shoppers who have not seen the TripAdvisor reviews. Case Example Conversion Lift Vacation rentals can yield an equal, if not greater, lift from guest reviews!

9. Reviews drive bookings 1.13 ratio of bookings to units 0.79 ratio of bookings to units 41% higher booking/unit ratio Source: ClearStay.com.

10. Use feedback to manage better

11. Best Practices with Guest Reviews

12. Be proactive: Ask for their review Responded No Response When asked, Guests respond (Actual response rate from Escapia emails, N=116,045)

13. More Reviews = Higher Conversion Source: Bazaar Voice, April 2008

14. Establish Review Authority Escapia Example FlipKey Example

18. Participate in the conversation

19. What To Expect from Guest Reviews

20. Consistently high satisfaction Sources: Escapia “Overall, were you satisfied with your stay”; N=39,518. FlipKey “Rate your overall experience”, N=10,000 Compete “Had you left a review, how would you have rated your experience”. N=300 60% 24% 13% 3% 1%

24. The Guest Review Process

26. Step 1: Ask Escapia Example FlipKey Example

27. Guests leave a review Escapia Example FlipKey Example

28. Step 2: Review & Comment Escapia Example FlipKey Example

29. Step 3: Publish Automatically Escapia Example FlipKey Example Your Site TripAdvisor FlipKey Marketing Partners

30. Escapia Detail

31. FlipKey Detail

33. Tangible business results… “ It was easy to get started and we’ve already had guests make reservations based on guest reviews. Our guest review service helps us effectively manage and get the most from guest reviews and feedback.” - Nick Lanza, Owner Big Bear Vacations “ Our properties are already getting increased exposure on the web due to guest reviews. Guest reviews increase the confidence of prospective guests, and provide leverage to improve our owner relationships – the guest reviews are a great way to motivate furnishing upgrades, etc..” - Kristen Askey, Data/Reservations Manager, Ocean Resorts, Myrtle Beach, SC “ We are seeing over 50% conversion rate amongst prospective guests that have read our guest reviews.” - Diane Kaufman, Owner Mermaid Cottages

34. Q & A