Leading guest feedback and online reputation management solution GuestRevu and independent academic partner Stenden
Univeristy South Africa, are excited to announce entries are now open for the GuestRevu GREAT Awards – celebrating hotels that deliver Guest-Rated Excellence in Accommodation & Travel. The awards will run from June through to the end of September with winners being announced in November 2023.
The GREAT Awards are unique in that the winners will not be decided by judges, but by the hotels’ own guests, using aggregated guest feedback data from online review sites. This means there is no subjective judging or social media voting frenzies but rather a clear picture of what each hotel means to the people who matter most, the guests.
The awards are open to any guesthouse, hotel or resort including members of hotel groups. Members of the public can also nominate hotels that have provided exceptional guest experiences, and these hotels will be invited to participate. Each hotel’s data will be collated from the top three online review sources (Booking.com, Google Reviews and Tripadvisor) using GuestRevu’s free online reputation management tool, GuestRevu LITE.
To ensure the GREAT Awards are objective, fair, and transparent, the awards will be run in partnership with the Hotel Management School of Stenden South Africa, and the categorisation, algorithm development and data review will be overseen by the Executive Dean, Dr Wouter Hensens.
“Stenden South Africa is excited to be part of the GuestRevu GREAT awards programme, as it combines leading online guest review platforms in one ranking to recognise the top performers in different destinations,” said Dr Wouter Hensens, Executive Dean of Stenden South Africa. “Over the last decade, online guest reviews have had an increasing impact on the global hospitality industry. They have made it easier for consumers to access information about hospitality businesses, and this increased transparency has empowered consumers to make more informed decisions based on feedback from other guests.
“As a result, hospitality businesses must work harder to stand out from the crowd and provide a unique and compelling value proposition, providing high levels of service and hospitality for their guests. Stenden South Africa is excited about these developments as we believe it has and will continue to make the hospitality industry better, more guest focussed, and more exciting for our graduates to thrive in. We believe the GREAT Awards allows us to celebrate those hospitality businesses that excel in exceeding their guest’s expectations and we look forward to playing our part in ensuring the program is unbiased, transparent, and fair.”
Entries are open until 30 June 2023, after which each hotel’s data will be collected over a three-month period, from 1 July to 30 September 2023. At the end of the three months, each hotel’s online reviews will undergo extensive analysis, and in November 2023 winners will be announced in various categories based on number of rooms and location.
“Learning from your guests is what sets great hotels apart,” says Chris Alexandre, CEO and Founder of GuestRevu. “Bridging the gap between what your management thinks your guests want and finding out exactly what your guests are looking for can make a difference to your bottom line and the longevity of your brand. The power of analysing guest reviews over time cannot be highlighted enough.
“These awards are a way for hospitality teams to pull together and work towards the common goal of delivering excellent guest experiences. Thereby getting your team motivated and encouraging that guest-centric approach. Seeing the consolidated data gathered during the awards can offer you invaluable insights, over and above the awards competition.”
