Blogs
Lauren Gould - Head of Operations
Most hospitality operators will tell you reputation management is important.
And yet, in practice, it’s still treated as a nice-to-have, something owned by marketing, checked occasionally, or only addressed when a bad review lands.
That gap between intention and execution is often overlooked.
Why is this so important?
Your reputation isn’t just about brand perception. It’s how guests decide where to spend their money, often before they’ve even considered anything else, and where revenue is ultimately won or lost.
Reality: “Fine” doesn’t get you chosen.
Guests don’t analyse reviews in depth anymore. They skim, compare, and decide quickly.
What they’re actually looking at:
In most markets:
And it’s not just the score. Volume matters. Recency matters. Consistency matters. A handful of good reviews isn’t enough if they’re old or sporadic.
Reality: AI reads them for them.
Guests increasingly rely on:
So, recurring comments about service delays, cleanliness, and friendliness surface instantly, even if a potential guest doesn't scroll past the first screen.
If the same issue keeps appearing, it will define your brand.
Reality: Inconsistency costs trust.
Responding to reviews isn’t an admin task. It’s a public signal.
Brands that respond consistently see:
Responses to positive and negative reviews matter. Guests don’t expect perfection, they expect accountability. Silence suggests indifference. A response shows care.
The challenge is that when ownership is unclear, responses slip. Or only negative reviews get attention, which creates its own imbalance.
Reality: Most won't, unless you ask.
Guests are far more likely to leave a review after a poor experience than a good one. Without active prompting, public perception can skew negative, true performance goes unseen, and opportunities to recover unhappy guests are missed.
The most effective operators capture feedback directly, resolve issues before they go public, and encourage reviews through initiatives such as in-venue QR codes.
AI shouldn’t replace human judgement, but it can act as an early warning system.
Used properly, AI helps operators:
Tools like Halo summarise guest sentiment across platforms and help teams understand what’s really driving feedback, without drowning in data.
That’s the difference between reacting to reviews and managing reputation strategically.
The operators who get this right:
If reputation management isn’t a defined part of your 2026 strategy, it’s already being defined for you, by guests, platforms and algorithms.
The conversations are happening. Decisions are being made. Revenue is being won or lost before guests even walk through your doors.
The question isn’t whether reputation management matters.
It’s whether you’re managing it or leaving it to chance.
If you’re exploring how to turn guest feedback into clearer, more actionable insight, you can find out more about how Halo works as a Reputation Manager.
From analysing guest sentiment across platforms to helping teams understand what’s driving perception and where action matters most.
Read more here.
