At 85%, a large percentage of millennials use online ratings and reviews to search for apartments. More than half of the Gen X, baby boom, and Silent Generation cohorts also consult Internet ratings and reviews. So it’s easy to see how reviews are critical to apartment owners and managers.
While people generally look at aggregate ratings overall, one bad review by itself can do a lot of damage. When that happens, it’s essential the apartment manager respond to the complaint within 24 hours. The way a manager addresses such conflict can mean a lot to the consumer. In some instances, undesirable reviews can be removed, but that’s rare.
While review sites can receive the brunt of the attention, apartment owners must be aware of all the other places their reputation can take a hit as well, including Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. But for smaller, mom-and-pop owners, the best strategy might be to pick a few critical places and focus on those.
