I’m a hotel manager in London – here’s how I moved the property up the Tripadvisor ranking from 272nd to FIFTH

Unreliable elevators, noisy and failing air conditioning, insufficient seating for breakfast and queues at check-in.

Those were the types of guest complaints Royal Lancaster London hotel when it was ranked 272nd on Tripadvisor in 2013.

But then, that year, Sally Beck took over as manager and everything changed. It now ranks fifth in the British capital, with almost universally favorable reviews: of the 2,226 posts on Tripadvisor, 90 percent (2,015) have five stars, 160 four stars and just 16 (0.72 percent) rate the hotel as a one star experience.

So we asked Sally: what has changed? A lot, as it turns out.

Here, Sally reveals some of the secrets behind the Hyde Park hotel’s rapid rise up the Tripadvisor rankings, from its ‘no blame’ staff culture to an unwavering commitment to listening to and reading complaints.

But undoubtedly Sally herself is one of the main reasons for the change in Tripadvisor’s fortunes from Royal Lancaster London.

The 58-year-old explains she has worked in the hospitality industry all her life, having been born in Wells in Somerset, where her parents ran the Red Lion Pub.

She continues: ‘I am the daughter of a publican and come from a long line of publicans and hoteliers. I didn’t live in a house until I was fifteen.

‘When I was 18 months old we moved to Caenby Corner in Lincolnshire where we ran the Moncks Arms before moving to The Berkeley Hotel in Scunthorpe at the age of seven. We then stayed near Scunthorpe and ran several pubs, hotels and restaurants until I went to university at nearby Grimsby – Grimsby Tech College, where I studied hotel, catering and institutional management. I then started my first job as a Trainee Manager at The Dormy in Ferndown, Dorset.’

Fast forward to 2013 and Sally was put in charge of the 411 room Royal Lancaster London and its reputation as just a not bad five star hotel.

The biggest problem? The product.

Sally explains: ‘When we came 272nd we were happy not to be over 300. We were about to embark on a long overdue renovation – new elevators, air conditioning, plumbing and so on, and the hotel was very tired. However, the feedback from our staff was still always good. Our product has let us down.”

Was a strategy specifically put in place to improve the hotel’s Tripadvisor ranking?

“Yes,” says Sally. ‘We believe that guest feedback is the lifeblood of our business.’

Sally reveals that the renovations were completed in 2018, with the hotel rising to around 60 in the rankings at the time thanks to ‘guest service efforts’ and a new working culture.

First, “surprise and delight” options were introduced: additional touches added to the guest experience for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and graduations.

The “guest of the day” concept saw team members choose a guest and “spoil them beyond expectations,” and public mentions of endearing staff behavior were “publicly shared and celebrated.”

Sally explains: ‘Staff do get reward points for every mention, but the biggest impact is a personal well done and a congratulations from us.’

The ‘glitch culture’ was also reinforced – so any guest ‘glitches’ with their experience, where expectations were not met, were ‘recorded and discussed’.

Sally reveals: ‘Any constructive feedback is taken seriously, learning or training opportunities are highlighted, discussed and followed up in a non-threatening way. Our only focus is to get better, and never to chastise anyone.”

This ban on the ‘blame culture’ has paid off.

Sally explains: ‘We prefer confident team members who can look guests in the eye and correct them [issues] for them. By not having a blame culture, they feel confident that they will be supported in their decision to make happy guests.

‘Our team is trained and encouraged to tell the difference between a great stay and a great stay, and knows how to ask open-ended questions with genuine care and attention to proactively dig deeper where things aren’t quite meeting guests’ expectations. And they have the power to make it right: a small problem, a generous recovery.”

Other initiatives included small giveaways upon departure, at the team’s discretion, and an “overall culture of treating each other and our guests as we would want to be treated.”

Have customers noticed the changes over the years?

Sally says, “Absolutely. Our repeat customers have increased exponentially and we have managed to attract more and more business customers and holiday guests.

“Our suite business has grown and our entire team is invested in our results and feels proud and committed when they turn a guest issue into a great review.

“It’s a big part of our day-to-day work to see our reviews, where we stand and how well we’re doing in satisfying our guests.”

Sally suspects that not paying attention to reviews is a common mistake among less successful hotels.

She believes these properties “underestimate how many people look at reviews before making a hotel decision,” adding that another mistake “is not responding to reviews, good or bad.”

“The public can clearly see which hotels really care about their stay and experience, and which hotels clearly don’t,” Sally notes.

However, the hotelier emphasizes how crucial its employees are.

She says: “The dedication and passion of our team members are at the heart of everything we do. At Royal Lancaster London we value every interaction with our guests, from pre-stay to during the stay and even after guests have checked out. We treat our guests like family, from the bottom of our hearts, and ensure that our hotel becomes a true home away from home.

‘One of my key missions is to make our hotel the happiest hotel in London, and I believe we have made significant progress in achieving this goal. A testament to our success is our excellent retention rate of 23 percent in the last financial year – a true reflection of the happiness and loyalty we cultivate among our team and our guests.

“Our team turnover is so low – and I know our entire team is invested in our commitment to making happy guests.

“I think guests are surprised by the personal attention they receive as our team greets them and strives to surprise and delight them with every interaction during their stay.”

Was Sally surprised by the hotel’s positive rating?

She says: ‘We really didn’t think we would go beyond the top 50. Then we went to the top 30, then to the top 20, then to the top 10 and last year we were all trading in the top five. ‘

Tripadvisor has also noted the hotel’s success, telling MailOnline: ‘Tripadvisor’s popularity index is based on real traveler feedback and takes into account factors such as recency, quantity and quality of reviews, as well as the consistency of reviews over time. Royal Lancaster London’s rise in ranking is testament to the excellent customer experience they have delivered over the years.

‘This year the hotel was named one of the best hotels in the world by Tripadvisor reviewers as part of our Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Hotel Awards, placing it in the top one percent of properties listed worldwide on the site are mentioned. Guests were particularly impressed with the friendly staff, great location and views of Hyde Park. The property ranked 17th on our 2024 list The best of the best pet-friendly hotels.’