Hotels that fail to provide good air conditioning for their guests can have a poor impact on their online reputation, a survey by Synecore recently found.

News of bad customer service reaches twice as many ears as praise for a good service experience.

White House Office of Consumer Affairs

Poor air conditioning might also show that hotels are not implementing their legal obligations to maintain their systems, according the Kent-based air conditioning business. 

Many consider Air conditioning as a standard in hotel rooms around the world today. The rooms air quality with regards to temperature and humidity is viewed as a given, something that todays guest have come to simply expect to be a non-issue. These expectations are not only for hotels in the hotter more humid parts of the country but just as import the cooler states. ​Take a look at any of todays travel advisory websites and you will find that guests often complain about the lack of, or badly maintained, air conditioning in their rooms. Unhappy guests post their feelings about the poor AC in online travel sites which can badly damage hotel’s reputation. 

In fact, the well known travel review site, Trip Advisor’s ‘Trip Barometer’ study shows travel trends in 2016. The study found that 63% of travellers around the world said that air conditioning was a requirement when they looked for places to stay. Air conditioning was more important to them than breakfast (40%), or a swimming pool (26%).

When guests are paying for a room their comfort is obviously paramount and the environment being supplied by the hotel is without doubt a major contributor to their over-all impressions. In today’s world of instant information and travel sites the impact a negative review can cause a negative ripple effect that can take months and in some cases possibly years to correct. Study’s show how difficult it is for hotels to rebuild their reputations once guests complain online on sites like Trip Advisor. Addressing the negative on-line comment is one thing but addressing the actual problem is another. The resources in time, personnel and money that is spent addressing these negative issues can effect the bottom line of any hotel.

Some food for thought

According to a study by Go Fish Digital, reviews given online have a significant impact on the consumers’ buying decisions.  The study states that-

  • 67.7% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by the reviews that they read online.
  • About 54.7% of the surveyed audience also admitted that online reviews are an important part of their decision-making process.
  • Businesses run the risk of losing as many as 22% of customers, even if a single negative article is found by users who are considering making a purchase. In the same way, if three negative articles pop up in a search query, the potential for lost customers increases to 59.2%. If the negative reviews are more, a hotel will likely lose 70% of potential customers.