Customer reviews for a hotel or a bed and breakfast
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In hospitality the moment to use is check-out: the guest has slept on site, had breakfast, and is handing back the key. A plate on the reception desk lets them leave a review by holding their phone near it. What sets the sector apart is that two public surfaces matter instead of one, Google and Tripadvisor, and they carry weight at different points in the booking journey.
Customer reviews for a hotel or a bed and breakfast
Hospitality is the sector where reviews carry the most weight, and it is also the one where the guest is most available to leave one. They have slept on site, taken their time in the morning, and they hand back the key without a queue pressing behind them. That moment is rarely used.
The check-out moment
Unlike retail, where the request has to fit inside a thirty-second payment, a hotel departure leaves room for a sentence. The guest sets their bags down, returns the key, exchanges a few words.
A plate on the desk, turned towards the guest, puts the invitation exactly there. It asks nothing of your receptionist beyond one sentence, and it keeps working when the desk is unstaffed.
Google and Tripadvisor matter at different moments
This is what sets the sector apart: two public surfaces count, and they come into play at different stages.
Google captures the immediate, location-based search, from the traveller looking for a room near where they are, often for that same evening. The rating and the number of reviews decide within seconds.
Tripadvisor comes earlier, during trip planning, and its city-level ranking is read particularly closely by international travellers. A well-ranked property gains visibility there that Google does not provide.
A plate's destination can be changed at any time from the mobile app, so nothing forces a permanent choice.
What a plate cannot do
Booking platforms, Booking, Airbnb, Expedia, operate as closed circuits. They only invite the traveller who booked through them, via a link tied to that reservation and sent after the stay. There is no public page for submitting that review, so no plate can lead to one.
That limit matters: it means your reviews on those platforms depend entirely on their traffic, whereas Google and Tripadvisor are yours, and they also benefit from your direct bookings, the ones that cost you no commission.
In a bed and breakfast, the relationship makes the difference
The response rate is structurally higher than in conventional hotels, because the guest was welcomed by a person rather than by a desk. The request comes naturally.
The location changes, however: with no permanent reception, the plate belongs in the room or on the breakfast table, wherever the guest lingers. Our plates are made for indoor use, so a terrace or an exposed outdoor spot is not a good place for one.
One installation detail
Reception desks are often stone, solid wood, or fitted with a metal top. Metal blocks the NFC signal: in that case, allow for a thick enough insulating support, or rely on the QR code, which works on any surface and with any phone camera.
What you may say, and what you may not
You may invite every guest to leave a review. You may not offer a night, an upgrade or a discount in exchange, nor restrict the request to stays that went well. Those practices are prohibited and detected by the platforms. The detail is in our guide on the legality of asking for reviews.
Going further
Frequently asked questions
Should we aim for Google or Tripadvisor?
Both, for different reasons. Google captures local and last-minute searches, from the traveller already in the area looking for a room tonight. Tripadvisor weighs on trip planning, further upstream, and its city ranking is watched closely by international travellers. Many properties take one plate per destination, the volume discount applying from the second one.
Can a plate collect Booking or Airbnb reviews?
No, and no plate can. Booking platforms only invite the traveller who booked through them, via a link tied to that reservation and sent after the stay. There is no public page for submitting that review. A plate therefore serves Google and Tripadvisor, the two surfaces any guest can contribute to, including those who booked with you directly.
Where should the plate go in a hotel?
On the reception desk first, facing the guest, because every departure passes through it. The breakfast room is the second useful spot: the traveller is seated, available and often in a good mood. In the room, on the desk or bedside table, the plate works throughout the stay, but that means one plate per room.
Do we need one plate per room?
Not to begin with. One plate at reception covers every departure and is enough to build the habit. Equipping rooms makes sense for a small property where reception is not always staffed, typically a bed and breakfast, or where guests check out on their own. The volume discount applies from the second plate.
Can we ask every guest for a review?
Yes, and it is the only lawful way to proceed. What is prohibited is asking only the guests you believe are happy, making the review conditional on a discount or an upgrade, or filtering feedback before publication. A plate offers the same thing to everyone, with no sorting, which keeps you within the rules.
What should we do about a negative review of a stay?
Answer it, publicly and promptly. In hospitality the next traveller reads the property's replies as closely as the reviews themselves: a measured answer to a specific complaint reassures more than a run of perfect scores. Volume helps too, since a disappointing stay weighs far less across a hundred reviews than across twelve.
Is the plate deductible and the VAT recoverable?
The plate is a business purchase, so a deductible expense under the usual conditions. Accommodation being a taxable activity, VAT is recoverable under the general rules. If you supply a valid intra-Community VAT number, the sale is exempt and no VAT is charged to you; otherwise the applicable VAT is added at checkout. Check your situation with your accountant.
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