We all by now are aware that social media online plays a major role in restaurant and hotel - any hospitality service - financial gains. Smaller, independent operators in Canada don't always have the resources of corporate restaurants or corporate hotels to create savvy online buzz. Enter Yelp.ca to the rescue.
According to a recent Harvard Business School study by Michael Luca,just and additional one star rating for a restaurant, for instance, garners a revenue bump of 5% to 9%. Luca's research of government data reported revenues of Seattle restaurants between 2003 and 2009, as well as Seattle restaurant reviews on Yelp.
The findings suggest that as Yelp's penetration of the market increased, so too did independent restaurants' share of the market. "The introduction of Yelp then begins to shift revenue away from chains and toward independent restaurants," Luca concluded, adding that this "suggests that online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation." Hooray for the little guys out there running a small QSR or casual dining restaurant in tough markets or boutique hotels looking for greater exposure!
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