Reviews aren’t just about star ratings. They’re your most underutilized marketing asset. In this session, Colin Stone from Reviewflowz breaks down why not all review platforms are equal, how to train your team to collect reviews without feeling awkward, and what to actually do with reviews once you have them. You’ll learn which platforms are worth your focus, how to analyze patterns in negative feedback, how to use AI to find themes across hundreds of reviews, and why long keyword-rich reviews outperform empty five-star ratings. Whether you’re getting 10 reviews a month or 100, this is the system for turning guest feedback into bookings, better tours, and search visibility.
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Top 10 Takeaways:
- Google reviews drive zero-commission bookings while OTA reviews stay locked in their platforms. When customers search “tours near me,” Google Maps appears first—and your prominence there (60% of the ranking algorithm) depends on review quantity, velocity, sentiment, and keyword-rich content.
- Being first on one platform beats being fifth everywhere. Focus your review collection efforts on Google plus your top 1-3 revenue OTAs. Audit your bookings from the last 90 days and see where customers actually come from before spreading yourself thin.
- Long reviews with keywords outperform empty five-star ratings. A four-star review mentioning “sunset cruise” and “snorkeling” has more SEO value and conversion power than a wordless five-star because it helps you rank for specific searches and gives prospects the details they need.
- Train guides to drip-feed review mentions throughout the tour, not just ask once at the end. Reference reviews naturally 4-6 times during the experience (“guests often mention in reviews how much they love this distillery stop”), then make the final ask feel like a natural conclusion.
- Track review collection rate by guide, tour, and platform using a simple spreadsheet or software. You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Know who’s getting reviews, which tours generate them, and which platforms have the most friction for customers.
- Fill out your Google Business Profile completely—it’s your direct booking engine. Add a booking button, list activities with prices in the ticket section, post seasonal offers, and upload photos. When customers Google your brand to verify you’re legit, a strong GBP saves you 25% commission.
- Use the principle of reciprocity to make review requests feel natural. Give guests something unexpected (not listed in the tour perks) as a gift, wait a few minutes, then ask for a review. People are more likely to reciprocate when they’ve just received something they weren’t expecting.
- Don’t take negative reviews personally—analyze them for patterns instead. One-star reviews often reflect a guest’s bad day, not your business. But if you’re consistently getting three-star reviews, that’s a signal something needs fixing. Always reply with empathy and correct the record when reviews are factually wrong.
- Repurpose your best reviews into social proof across all channels. Screenshot five-star reviews and pin them as Instagram carousels, embed them on your homepage with widgets, include them in email signatures. Reviews sitting unused on platforms are wasted marketing assets.
- Structure review data before using AI to analyze it. Don’t dump raw reviews into ChatGPT—you’ll get generic summaries. Clean up the text, ask AI to identify 10-15 specific themes, then have it extract sentiment scores for each theme. This reveals exactly what guests love and what needs improvement.
