Online reviews drive bookings, and the way a venue responds shows future guests how it behaves. Google reviews often matter most because they appear in search and maps, while Tripadvisor still carries weight with tourists. Fake reviews and review manipulation are illegal in the UK: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans commissioning or publishing fake reviews and concealing incentivised ones, and the Competition and Markets Authority enforces it. Platforms also remove suspicious reviews.
Asking every guest for feedback is fine, but offering rewards only for positive reviews, or selectively inviting happy guests, crosses a line. Replies should be calm, specific and brief: thank people, acknowledge problems, explain what's changed and take detailed disputes offline. A war of words in public almost always looks worse for the venue than the original review. Reading reviews as data rather than insults helps, because recurring themes about waits, noise or service are usually worth acting on.
What we ask on the show
- What's the most unfair review you've ever received?
- Should owners reply to every review, or let some go?
- Do star ratings tell you anything real about a venue?
- How do you stop staff taking bad reviews personally?