I absolutely agree with Swarwick999 who actually talks about lack of support and respect of Partners from Booking.com.
I know in my own experience that Booking.com really does not care about our problems. I agree that when you are in holiday business it is impossible to have only perfect guests. However, it does not mean Booking.com can use such reply "there is nothing we can do".
That is the real problem especially when it comes to review system and cancellations.
For example, I don't know what I should expect from coming guests because there is no reviews of them. Yes, it is part of the business but it could be OK when I'm running my own web site and receive bookings there. When the property listed on the OTA and you pay 15% commission you can expect help with this I suppose. AirBnB deal with that perfectly.
When I got untrue review on Booking.com and gave them evidence I was told: "If you want the review to be removed, then you require to terminate the agreement, after which the review will be gone forever.”
I think it is not adequate reply to someone who pays you.
Personally I'm happy that you have not got reviews affecting your business negatively. I suppose this is the reason to be so positive on reviews including anonymous ones. All people here look at the reviews slightly globally and shared different stories both positive and negative. Unfortunately, if look at Booking.com review system we understand that it is unfair and outdated (you can find reasons and proofs around the forum). So we don't "misunderstand the anonymous comments...":)
Another example of anonymous reviews I received at once and could not identified from whom. You wrote that there is booking number but actually it is not a case when it comes to anonymous. They are anonymous for all and I disagree that we should respect such type of privacy. If to do so then Booking.com should also hide for what property anonymous review was posted:) This could be ridiculous.
And that is only one of the problem: who can tell me what was wrong with 7.5 points if during the stay none of the last several guests complained?
When I received anonym review for the first time I asked Review Team to help identify the guests so I could make improvements. They refused, as usual though. And this is another reason why I'm sure that Review Team is the most useless part of Booking.com as well as anonymous reviews.
Obviously, Booking.com prefer not to pay attention to any uncomfortable info regarding their own. However, if all of us send links to our comments to the review team they will feel rather uncomfortable and possibly someone show up here:) Also it is possible to send comments to CEO.
My opinion on Genius is that this is something which benefits only Booking.com. Before renting my property I was just a traveller using Booking.com periodically. After several bookings I received Genius. I received it from Booking.com not from a property or hotel. And if there was discount for Genius I always felt that it was given by Booking.com. The same time hotels, airlines etc all have their own loyalty programs. The main difference between Genius and other loyalty programs is that companies give their customers discounts, upgrading, ability to visit business halls and so on. And that is fine because they are owners of business and program as well. As far as Genius is concerned nevertheless the program is owned by Booking.com they think that we should pay for it. I wonder why? Why should I give 10% discount to Genius guests and build customer loyalty for Booking.com (not for my property) and finally lose money? If you own the program give this discount by yourself:) If I want to give a discount I'd rather add promotion for everyone. That's why I always wonder when see Genius logo on some properties.
I'd like to add some points regarding reviews and share my story. Unfortunately, it is a huge problem for private apartment's listings. I agree that as an owner I can not do business without making some mistakes and always hail constructive criticism from guests. It helps to operate in a better way. However, anonymous and reviews without comments or just untruth reviews could be very destructive for small businesses. I disagree with Booking.com position on this issue at all. They do nothing with this out of date review system just hiding under their one-sided policy. I don't understand why when you proved that there is lie in the review they ignore it? When I got one last year Booking.com refused to delete it because it was not against their policy which is actually very easy to follow. I even asked CEO to look into my case - nothing. One of Booking.com manager wrote to me: "If you want the review to be removed, then you require to terminate the agreement, after which the review will be gone forever." This case showed me that nevertheless we are paying commission and gain income for the company they value travellers much higher than us which is ridiculous. I understand that there is no sense to contact Review Team - all you can receive from them is "copy/paste" robotics answer.
The problem was that my ranking dropped dramatically after that review was published as well as reviews score - from 9.8 to 9.1. Needless to say I started to lose bookings, some guests cancelled their reservations because of its context.
The only I could do was to respond to it which is absolutely unfair in case of untruth review.
Have anyone had a successful case of deleting untruth review? Also I would highly appreciate some examples or TIP how you deal with similar cases.
P.S. I fully agree with previous msg - we must know a history on guests and be able to review them. It works great on AirBnB. Moreover AirBnB always try to help with such type of review and delete them.
I absolutely agree with Swarwick999 who actually talks about lack of support and respect of Partners from Booking.com.
I know in my own experience that Booking.com really does not care about our problems. I agree that when you are in holiday business it is impossible to have only perfect guests. However, it does not mean Booking.com can use such reply "there is nothing we can do".
That is the real problem especially when it comes to review system and cancellations.
For example, I don't know what I should expect from coming guests because there is no reviews of them. Yes, it is part of the business but it could be OK when I'm running my own web site and receive bookings there. When the property listed on the OTA and you pay 15% commission you can expect help with this I suppose. AirBnB deal with that perfectly.
When I got untrue review on Booking.com and gave them evidence I was told: "If you want the review to be removed, then you require to terminate the agreement, after which the review will be gone forever.”
I think it is not adequate reply to someone who pays you.
Hi Mollysretreatbandb,
Personally I'm happy that you have not got reviews affecting your business negatively. I suppose this is the reason to be so positive on reviews including anonymous ones. All people here look at the reviews slightly globally and shared different stories both positive and negative. Unfortunately, if look at Booking.com review system we understand that it is unfair and outdated (you can find reasons and proofs around the forum). So we don't "misunderstand the anonymous comments...":)
Another example of anonymous reviews I received at once and could not identified from whom. You wrote that there is booking number but actually it is not a case when it comes to anonymous. They are anonymous for all and I disagree that we should respect such type of privacy. If to do so then Booking.com should also hide for what property anonymous review was posted:) This could be ridiculous.
And that is only one of the problem: who can tell me what was wrong with 7.5 points if during the stay none of the last several guests complained?
When I received anonym review for the first time I asked Review Team to help identify the guests so I could make improvements. They refused, as usual though. And this is another reason why I'm sure that Review Team is the most useless part of Booking.com as well as anonymous reviews.
Thanks!
Personally I'm sure that the best way is not to be concentrated on one online platform only. AirBnB can also generate bookings.
Obviously, Booking.com prefer not to pay attention to any uncomfortable info regarding their own. However, if all of us send links to our comments to the review team they will feel rather uncomfortable and possibly someone show up here:) Also it is possible to send comments to CEO.
Happy New Year!
Very useful article about Genius: https://www.mirai.com/blog/20-reasons-to-leave-booking-genius/
My opinion on Genius is that this is something which benefits only Booking.com. Before renting my property I was just a traveller using Booking.com periodically. After several bookings I received Genius. I received it from Booking.com not from a property or hotel. And if there was discount for Genius I always felt that it was given by Booking.com. The same time hotels, airlines etc all have their own loyalty programs. The main difference between Genius and other loyalty programs is that companies give their customers discounts, upgrading, ability to visit business halls and so on. And that is fine because they are owners of business and program as well. As far as Genius is concerned nevertheless the program is owned by Booking.com they think that we should pay for it. I wonder why? Why should I give 10% discount to Genius guests and build customer loyalty for Booking.com (not for my property) and finally lose money? If you own the program give this discount by yourself:) If I want to give a discount I'd rather add promotion for everyone. That's why I always wonder when see Genius logo on some properties.
Hi everyone!
I'd like to add some points regarding reviews and share my story. Unfortunately, it is a huge problem for private apartment's listings. I agree that as an owner I can not do business without making some mistakes and always hail constructive criticism from guests. It helps to operate in a better way. However, anonymous and reviews without comments or just untruth reviews could be very destructive for small businesses. I disagree with Booking.com position on this issue at all. They do nothing with this out of date review system just hiding under their one-sided policy. I don't understand why when you proved that there is lie in the review they ignore it? When I got one last year Booking.com refused to delete it because it was not against their policy which is actually very easy to follow. I even asked CEO to look into my case - nothing. One of Booking.com manager wrote to me: "If you want the review to be removed, then you require to terminate the agreement, after which the review will be gone forever." This case showed me that nevertheless we are paying commission and gain income for the company they value travellers much higher than us which is ridiculous. I understand that there is no sense to contact Review Team - all you can receive from them is "copy/paste" robotics answer.
The problem was that my ranking dropped dramatically after that review was published as well as reviews score - from 9.8 to 9.1. Needless to say I started to lose bookings, some guests cancelled their reservations because of its context.
The only I could do was to respond to it which is absolutely unfair in case of untruth review.
Have anyone had a successful case of deleting untruth review? Also I would highly appreciate some examples or TIP how you deal with similar cases.
P.S. I fully agree with previous msg - we must know a history on guests and be able to review them. It works great on AirBnB. Moreover AirBnB always try to help with such type of review and delete them.
Thanks!