How do I display all of my ratings and reviews on my website?

There is nothing more exciting for a property manager or host than receiving a positive review from a recent guest. This feeling is then repeated each and every time somebody new enjoys their stay in one of our homes and posts a glowing or encouraging review, either on our website or elsewhere on one of the many another review platforms.

When our customers write reviews and submit ratings on websites with enormous influence within our sector, such as Airbnb, Vrbo / Homeaway or booking.com, this creates fantastic visibility. It also creates confidence for our new guests going forward, who use one of these sites to view our vacation rental. The same can also be said for other sites too, such as Expedia, TripAdvisor, Google My Business, TrustPilot as well as the ubiquitous Facebook.

As you already know, ratings and reviews from your recent guests are essential in creating confidence for your future guests to such an extent that they decide to rent your house or apartment. A collection of positive reviews helps to increase demand for your vacation rental and also allows you to make more profit. We have already seen in a previous article that, depending on your average score and the number of reviews submitted, this could increase your conversion rate by as much as 250%!

The issue with having reviews spread out all over the web

However, having your ratings and reviews dispersed in various places around the internet can cause a problem. As the number of ratings and reviews grows, we should see a positive impact on our business, in the form of more potential customers interested in our listings. But having said this, if they are scattered all around the internet, this impact is diminished. The reason why this happens is that when people search online for vacation rentals they don ́t see all reviews posted everywhere regarding a certain letting, they only know about those on the website they use.

At the very best, only the most thorough and demanding customers will search for more information and further opinions regarding your vacation rental from an additional source. In fact, according to BrightLocal ^[2], 70% of consumers consult various review sites before choosing which company to go with. Nonetheless, they will never read every single review posted everywhere. In other words, they will only ever receive a small part of the information that they are interested in and they might even, incorrectly, believe that the letting has had relatively few previous guests.

This is not good news for your vacation rental business…

The spread of reviews reduces the visibility of your vacation rental apartments or houses and therefore reduces the likelihood of renting them out.

Be that as it may, there is a solution to this problem if we manage to show our customers all of the reviews from previous guests, that can currently only be found in a multitude of places around the web, directly on our website. Could you imagine the possibility of all your future guests being able to see all of these dispersed reviews all in one place on your website and the impact that this could have?

You should also be aware that by doing this you will increase your visibility exponentially, which in turn will substantially boost your future guests’ confidence. In addition, it will also provide other advantages; the positioning of your website on search engine results, for example. Customer reviews improve the SEO of our vacation rental websites and therefore enhance their search engine results positioning.

Think about what this could mean for your vacation rental business.

Why do we need to compile all of our review on our website?

It has been proven that people have more confidence in ideas that are expressed across various platforms (Convertize – Travel Pulse ^[3]). This is called the “Multiple Source Effect”. The grouping of your own reviews with third party reviews is the most effective strategy in generating authenticity for your brand and demonstrating that previous guests have given your listing their stamp of approval. As a result, more direct bookings will ensue.

The fundamental reason why we should focus on displaying ratings and reviews on our website is because customers that come directly to our website are always more profitable than if they arrive via a third party.

When a customer comes directly to our website there is more chance of this person becoming a customer, given that our listings are now no longer competing with those of other property managers on specialised online marketplaces. Moreover, on our own website, the lettings that interest these customers are positioned next to other properties that we also manage. As a result, as long as the client remains on our website and makes a booking from the selection available, we win either way.

Also, when this customer comes directly to our website we save on the commission fees that the online marketplaces charge.

In summery, the concentration of opinions boosts our visibility, enhances our image, benefits the global positioning of our website and increases the possibilities of converting the potential customer visiting our website into a reservation.

How can we take advantage of all of these scattered reviews?

As stated earlier on, 70% of consumers consult various reviews sites when choosing a company ^[2] with which to make a booking. By showing the consumer all of this information on your website, you prevent them from leaving for another site. As a result, your direct reservations will notably increase.

The best way to take advantage of ratings and reviews scattered across different websites and combine them on your own website in order for them to add real value to your rental vacation website is through a review aggregator such as Revyoos.

Grouping together your sporadic reviews on AirBnB, Vrbo / Homeaway, booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Google My Business, TrustPilot or Facebook and taking full advantage of them couldn ́t be easier with the widget that Revyoos has designed especially for you.

In no time at all you can create an account and include all of your external reviews on your website, achieving a lasting impression on your future guests and obtaining more direct bookings.