How a 0.1-Point Boost on Booking.com Can Increase Hotel Profits by 24%

Originally published on HotelTechReport, this blog post explains how an 0.1-point improvement in your Booking.com rating can boost hotel profits by up to 24% and how during-stay feedback can help. 

For General Managers and Operations leaders, maintaining a strong Booking.com score is essential to driving occupancy and revenue. Yet, many hotels focus on review management after the guest has left rather than proactively improving guest sentiment during their stay.

The reality is clear: A small 0.1-point improvement in your Booking.com score can increase revenue by up to 2%. And because most fixed costs remain the same, this can translate into a 24% boost in net income.

If you’re looking for practical, measurable ways to improve guest feedback quality and increase profitability, this article will outline exactly how to do it.

How Much Does a Higher Booking.com Score Really Matter?

Industry studies show a clear connection between higher review scores and increased revenue. A one-point increase on a 10-point scale can boost revenue by 10-20%, while even a 0.1-point improvement can lead to a 1-2% revenue gain.

For example, a 150-room hotel with an average daily rate of €120 and a 70% occupancy rate can see an additional €90,000 in annual revenue from just a 0.1-point rating increase. Since fixed costs like rent and salaries remain the same, most of this extra revenue turns into profit.

For a property with a 60% gross margin, this could mean an additional €55,000 in net income and an almost 25% increase in net profit. This means that even minor improvements in guest feedback quality can lead to a disproportionate increase in profitability. Beyond revenue, higher ratings also improve direct bookings, reduce dependence on OTAs, and lead to long-term brand loyalty.

The Problem: Most Hotels React to Reviews Instead of Preventing Bad Ones

Many hotels invest in tracking and responding to guest reviews after checkout. While this matters, it’s often too late to improve the guest experience. The most successful hotels don’t just react to negative feedback, they work to prevent it. They collect feedback during the stay and resolve issues before they turn into bad reviews.

The Challenge: Capturing Guest Feedback in Real Time

Hotels have traditionally relied on front desk interactions to understand guest sentiment. But this approach has clear limitations:

• Upset guests often post negative reviews online instead of speaking with staff, so problems go unnoticed until it’s too late.
• Front desk staff are often too busy with check-ins and check-outs to escalate concerns quickly.
• Without time to ask every guest for feedback, staff miss chances to address issues early.

The Solution: How SuitePad’s Quick Feedback Helps Prevent Negative Reviews

This is where technology-driven solutions like SuitePad’s Quick Feedback make a difference. No waiting for check-out or leaving reviews online. This instant feedback goes straight to the hotel team, so they can fix issues quickly and keep guests happy.

How it works:

• Integrated into SuitePad’s in-room tablets
• Engages 60-80% of guests
• Guests can choose happy, neutral, or unhappy
• Negative responses trigger real-time alerts for hotel staff

It’s simple and unobtrusive—just a quick, easy way for guests to share their thoughts. This helps hotels catch issues early, improve the guest experience, and prevent negative reviews. In practice, it acts as an automated in-stay check-in, giving the guest a chance to voice concerns before they escalate into negative online feedback.

The Impact: Stopping Negative Reviews Before They Happen

By actively gathering real-time feedback, SuitePad’s Quick Feedback helps hotels identify and address issues before they escalate. The results speak for themselves:

• Top-performing hotels receive over 50 feedback responses per device annually.
• Average-performing hotels gather 10+ responses per device each year.
• A 100-room hotel can collect more than 1,000 guest insights annually.

On average, 88% of feedback responses are positive, while only 12% indicate issues. This creates up to 120 opportunities every year to resolve concerns before they turn into negative reviews, improving the overall guest experience and reputation.

How Many Negative Reviews Can Be Prevented?

According to Reputation Defender, 48% of guests post online after a negative experience, but only about 10% of Booking.com guests leave a review. Without intervention, this means that from the 120 instances of complaints, around 40 negative online reviews could be posted each year.

With Quick Feedback in place, we assume:

• Half of these guests will change their behavior after receiving intervention.
• Of those, 50% will choose not to post anything.
• The other 50% will write a more positive review instead.

This means around 20 negative reviews per year could be prevented or turned into positive feedback. These numbers are estimates, but they align with industry benchmarks and real hotel data.

The Bottom Line: Turning Guest Feedback Into Profitability

The data shows us a clear blueprint for improving your Booking.com score and maximizing profitability. To achieve this, you need to:

• Stop focusing solely on post-stay reviews.
• Capture guest sentiment during their stay.
• Use Quick Feedback to address issues before they turn into negative reviews.
• Leverage higher ratings to drive more direct bookings and increase revenue.

The figures in this article illustrate the maximum potential impact, assuming a 60% gross margin and a 2% revenue increase per 0.1-point rating improvement. Even in more conservative scenarios, the benefits are substantial, especially when you consider the long-term value of preventing negative reviews. Ready to take control of your hotel’s online reputation and profitability? Now is the time to act.

_{Published on 8 July 2025}