How to get more Google and Tripadvisor reviews within the rules

Reviews help potential guests understand an experience before booking. A consistent request also gives past guests a chance to share what went well and what could improve.

In a 2019 Tripadvisor and Ipsos MORI survey, 72% of surveyed Tripadvisor users said they always or frequently read reviews before deciding where to stay, eat or what to do. The finding describes surveyed Tripadvisor users, not every traveller.

Arival's 2024 research found that more than half of surveyed US experience travellers had written an online review. Arival also reported Google as the leading place for those travellers to post, ahead of Tripadvisor. Treat the finding as context, not proof of UK guest behaviour.

Reviews can also help you improve the tour itself. Look for recurring comments about meeting points, guides, accessibility and expectations. Use the feedback to improve both the experience you deliver and the description guests read before booking.

Yes. The Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, says simply emailing customers to ask whether they would like to leave a review, without steering what they say, is not prohibited. Your request should also follow platform rules and your agreements with booking partners.

The fake reviews ban under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 came into force on 6 April 2025. The CMA's guidance covers fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews and publishing reviews in a misleading way.

The CMA says encouraging only satisfied customers to review may break the law. Suppressing genuine negative reviews or selectively promoting reviews may also be misleading. Arbitrarily stopping and starting review invitations is another example in the guidance.

The CMA can decide breaches itself and impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. See the government's explanation of the consumer protection regime. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Use a consistent, neutral request. Do not withhold invitations because guests complained or appeared unhappy.

Google and Tripadvisor allow requests for genuine reviews, but both prohibit selective requests and incentives. Ask for an honest account rather than a positive rating or particular wording.

Google also prohibits pressure to review while a customer is on the premises, staff review quotas and requests for specific review content. An optional QR code can be available at the end of a tour, but guests should be free to ignore the code or review later. See Google's review policy and review link guidance.

Tripadvisor says owners can ask guests to review and points owners to Review Express in the Management Center. Tripadvisor's owner guidance also bans discouraging negative reviews and giving staff incentives for encouraging reviews.

Breaking the rules can affect more than an individual review. Google says content can be removed and account action can range from suspension to termination. Tripadvisor describes ranking penalties, warning badges and member bans for fraudulent reviews.

Do not offer a discount, free service or prize in return for a Google or Tripadvisor review, even if you ask for an honest opinion.

Review gating means filtering customers so that happy guests are encouraged to review while unhappy guests are not. Google and Tripadvisor prohibit selectively asking satisfied guests, and the CMA says the practice may break the law.

For example, do not send a satisfaction survey and direct only guests who praise the guide to your Google link. Do not route guests who complain exclusively to a private form while inviting everyone else to post publicly.

You can still invite feedback and deal with complaints. Make the public review invitation available consistently, and do not make resolving a complaint conditional on a guest avoiding a negative review. The CMA guidance also says businesses must not push customers to complain instead of reviewing.

Check the whole guest journey, not just the final message. A neutral email can still be part of a selective process if staff decide who receives the email based on apparent satisfaction. The same risk applies when an invitation list uses survey answers as a filter.

• Include guests who raise concerns in the same invitation routine as other guests.
• Use neutral wording regardless of a guest's feedback.
• Offer a way to contact you about problems without presenting private contact as a substitute for a public review.
• Check that manual and automated invitation lists are not filtered by satisfaction.
• Avoid switching invitations on and off arbitrarily.

Open your Google Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. Google provides a review link and a QR code. Create the QR code in a desktop browser.

Google suggests sharing the link in thank-you emails, on receipts and in messages. Google also suggests sharing the QR code at your location. Choose a point in your guest journey where the invitation feels helpful rather than intrusive.

Test the link before sending a request and make sure your message names the experience. If you display a QR code after a tour, explain that reviewing is optional and guests can use the link later. Do not stand over guests or pressure them to post while on the premises.

Keep the process simple for your team. Store the approved link and neutral wording where whoever manages guest communications can find both. Check that any printed code remains clear and points to the intended business profile.

1. 1 Open the Google Business Profile for the relevant business.
2. 2 Choose Read reviews, followed by Get more reviews.
3. 3 Copy the review link for your approved guest message.
4. 4 Use a desktop browser to create the QR code if you want to display one.
5. 5 Test the link and QR code, then share them without incentives or pressure.

Ask guests at the same point with a short, neutral invitation. A thank-you email after the experience can include your Google link, while an optional QR code can give guests another way to find the review page.

Your message should thank the guest, identify the experience and invite an honest account. Avoid asking for a particular star rating, suggesting what the guest should say or promising a benefit in return. Keep the request easy to understand without making guests feel obliged to respond.

Give staff approved wording rather than a target. Staff can explain where to find the link, but guests should not feel that a review is required or that the guide's reward depends on a review. Include guests who raised concerns in the same routine.

For emailed invitations, check which contact details you are entitled to use. Your booking source matters: a guest who books through a marketplace may be covered by different supplier terms from a guest who books directly.

• Example email subject: Thank you for joining our tour
• Example email: Thank you for joining us. If you would like to share your experience, you can leave an honest review here: [review link]. Your feedback is welcome.
• Example spoken request: Thank you for coming. If you would like to leave an honest review later, the QR code is here. There is no obligation.
• Before sending: check that guests who complained have not been excluded and that no reward is mentioned.
• After sending: listen to feedback and make improvements without trying to influence the review.

Tripadvisor encourages owners to ask guests for reviews and points them to Review Express in the Management Center. Tripadvisor's owner guidance describes Review Express as a way to email recent visitors.

Before sending a Tripadvisor request, check that you can use the guest's contact details for that purpose. Use neutral wording and do not select guests because their feedback was positive. Do not offer discounts, upgrades or special treatment for a review.

You can make a Tripadvisor request part of your normal follow-up rather than leaving the decision to individual guides. Decide who checks the invitation process and who reads the reviews. Keep complaint handling available to every guest without making a complaint route replace the opportunity to review.

Third-party Hospitality Net reporting says Tripadvisor's popularity ranking considers review quality, recency and quantity. Tripadvisor does not publish the weightings. Focus on delivering a good experience and inviting genuine feedback rather than trying to influence what guests write.

1. 1 Open the Tripadvisor Management Center and find Review Express.
2. 2 Check which recent guests you are entitled to contact.
3. 3 Use a neutral invitation that asks for an honest review without offering a reward.
4. 4 Check that the request process does not exclude guests because they complained.
5. 5 Assign someone to read feedback and respond politely.

An optional, neutral in-person request can avoid reliance on marketplace contact details. Check your supplier terms before emailing a marketplace guest, and do not pressure anyone to review.

The publicly filed 2023 Viator supplier agreement says suppliers will not contact customers for marketing without direct permission and may use customer information only to provide the product. Check the terms that apply to your business before contacting a Viator customer.

Showing every guest an optional QR code at the end of a tour does not rely on marketplace customer data. Emailing marketplace guests a Google review request is riskier under the published Viator terms, so seek clarification before using that route. Viator's operator resources report that Viator sends its own review requests after an experience.

The GetYourGuide supplier code prohibits pressuring customers for reviews, writing reviews for them, offering incentives for positive reviews and asking for legitimate negative reviews to be removed. Breaches can lead to suspension or termination.

A neutral request does not override restrictions on how you may use a booking partner's customer information.

Reply politely to both positive and negative reviews. Thank the guest, address the substance of the feedback and explain a useful next step without disclosing personal information.

For a positive review, refer to the aspect the guest mentioned rather than posting an identical reply everywhere. For a negative review, acknowledge the concern and avoid arguing about the guest's motives. If further discussion would help, invite the guest to contact your business without making private contact a condition of resolving the complaint.

Google says replies are public and posted as the business. Tripadvisor's management response rules prohibit accusing anyone of fraud, guessing who the reviewer is, including personal details or quoting private correspondence. Tripadvisor also removes responses offering gifts, services or money.

A thoughtful response can shape a reader's impression. In a 2019 Tripadvisor and Ipsos MORI survey, 89% of surveyed Tripadvisor users said a thoughtful reply to a negative review improved their impression. The result describes what respondents said, not an observed booking outcome.

• Positive reply example: Thank you for joining our walk. We are pleased you enjoyed the guide's local stories.
• Negative reply example: Thank you for sharing your experience. We are sorry the meeting point was unclear. We will review the directions we provide to guests.
• Before publishing, check the reply for names, booking details, private correspondence, accusations or offers.
• Share useful operational feedback with the team responsible for the experience.

You can report a review you believe breaks a platform's rules, but a negative opinion alone is not a reason for removal. Google says it removes reviews that violate its policies and does not resolve disputes between businesses and customers.

On Google, open your Business Profile, choose Read reviews, select Report next to the review, choose a reason and send. Google says checks typically take several days. If Google finds no violation, you can make one appeal through its Reviews Management Tool.

On Tripadvisor, owners can use Report problem with review. Tripadvisor says the company will research the complaint within 48 hours. A report starts a review process; removal is not automatic.

Keep a clear record of your concern and choose the relevant policy reason. While waiting, consider whether a calm public response would help future guests understand the issue. Do not accuse the reviewer of fraud or share private information in a Tripadvisor response.

Do not offer a discount or other incentive to remove or change a review. Google and Tripadvisor both prohibit relevant forms of that practice.

You can display reviews on your website, but you must take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove banned reviews. The CMA guidance applies even to a small trader publishing only its own customers' reviews.

The CMA expects an easy-to-find, plain-English policy prohibiting fake reviews. The steps expected of a small business showing reviews from its own verified customers are lighter than those expected of a review platform, according to the guidance.

Present reviews fairly. The CMA says cherry-picking can include showing only favourable reviews or highlighting praise that does not reflect reviewers' experiences overall. If a tour has changed materially, older reviews that no longer reflect the experience may mislead.

Check displayed ratings and counts as part of your routine. The CMA says a star rating or review count must be updated promptly when fake reviews are removed. Copying a review onto your own site does not remove your responsibility for how you present the review.

• Publish a clear policy explaining that your business does not permit fake reviews.
• Explain how someone can raise a concern about a review shown on your website.
• Set a process for checking concerns and removing banned reviews where appropriate.
• Review testimonial selections for a fair picture, not just favourable wording.
• Check whether older comments still describe the tour you currently sell.
• Update affected ratings and counts promptly when fake reviews are removed.

Build a repeatable review routine around every guest, not around a target rating. Start with a neutral invitation, make the review link easy to find and assign someone to read and respond to feedback.

The most common mistakes include selective invitations, rewards and pressure. Other avoidable problems include using marketplace contact details without checking your terms, publishing only flattering testimonials and treating every negative review as fake.

Review your process as the business changes. Check that staff know the approved wording, that booking channels are handled correctly and that your website presents feedback fairly. Keep the Google policy, Tripadvisor guidance and CMA guidance available to the people responsible.

1. 1 Map the guest journey for direct and marketplace bookings, including who holds each guest's contact details.
2. 2 Create your Google review link and optional QR code. Check Tripadvisor's Review Express if you want to request Tripadvisor reviews.
3. 3 Write a short invitation asking for an honest review, with no reward or suggested rating.
4. 4 Apply the same invitation approach to guests, including those who raised concerns, while respecting booking partner terms.
5. 5 Give staff the wording and explain that guests must not be pressured and staff must not be given review quotas or incentives.
6. 6 Assign responsibility for replies, reports of potential policy breaches and sharing useful feedback with the team.
7. 7 If your website displays reviews, publish a fake reviews policy and check that selections, ratings and counts remain fair and accurate.

• Mistake: Asking only guests who praised the experience. Better approach: invite guests consistently, regardless of feedback.
• Mistake: Offering a prize or discount. Better approach: thank guests without offering anything for a review.
• Mistake: Asking guests to post before leaving. Better approach: make the link available and leave the decision to them.
• Mistake: Reporting every negative review as fake. Better approach: respond to the concern and report a suspected policy breach.
• Mistake: Copying only glowing comments onto your website. Better approach: check that the presentation reflects reviews fairly.