How to get more Tripadvisor reviews: a guide for hotels, restaurants and attractions in Southeast Asia
Claim your listing, ask every guest at checkout or after the meal, use Tripadvisor's free tools and reply to reviews. An honest guide for Southeast Asia.
To get more Tripadvisor reviews, claim your listing, ask every guest in person at the moment their stay, meal or tour ends, hand them a QR code or link that opens your review form, and follow up once by email. Then reply to the reviews you get, so the next traveller sees a business that listens.
This guide is for hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, tour operators and attractions in the places travellers plan with Tripadvisor: Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai, Bali, Penang and Langkawi, Hoi An, Boracay and Cebu, and Singapore. It covers what Tripadvisor offers businesses, what it forbids, and a simple routine for asking.
Does anyone still use Tripadvisor?
Yes, especially travellers. Locals in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur deciding where to have dinner tonight mostly check Google Maps, and Chinese-speaking visitors often look on Xiaohongshu. But a family planning a week in Phuket, a couple choosing a guesthouse in Ubud or a backpacker picking a cooking class in Hoi An will often read Tripadvisor before they book. (That is a general pattern, not a measured figure: no one publishes a reliable split by market.)
So the question is not Google or Tripadvisor. It is which one your customers use to decide.
Which is better, Google reviews or Tripadvisor?
It depends on who your customers are. This is how we would weigh them, by business type.
| Business | Main customers | Focus first on | Also worth it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawker stall, kopitiam, neighbourhood café (SG, MY) | Locals, regulars | Instagram, Xiaohongshu | |
| Restaurant in a tourist area (Bangkok old town, Ubud, Hoi An old town) | Travellers and locals | Both, equally | |
| Boutique hotel or guesthouse (Chiang Mai, Langkawi, Boracay) | Travellers | Tripadvisor and Google | |
| Tour operator or dive shop (Phuket, Cebu, Bali) | Travellers | Tripadvisor | |
| Attraction or museum (Singapore, Penang George Town) | Travellers and families | Both | Xiaohongshu for Chinese-speaking visitors |
| Salon, clinic, gym | Locals | Facebook, Instagram |
If your business sits in the top rows, start with how to get more Google reviews. If it sits lower down, keep reading.
Step 1: claim your Tripadvisor listing
Most hotels, restaurants and attractions in tourist areas already have a listing, often created by a traveller. Claiming it gives you the owner's tools: you can keep your details up to date, reply to reviews and order Tripadvisor's free stickers. You manage all of it through Tripadvisor's Management Center for businesses.
Once claimed, check the basics: the right category (a Bali warung listed as a "café" or a Penang guesthouse listed as a "hotel" can show up in the wrong searches), opening hours, address and map pin, price range, and recent photos. A traveller who reads a review and then finds the wrong opening hours loses trust in both.
Step 2: use Tripadvisor's free tools
Tripadvisor gives claimed businesses two free ways to ask for reviews (as described on its business pages, seen on 22 October 2026):
- Review Express, a free tool for emailing guests a review request. It suits hotels, guesthouses and tour operators that already collect guest emails when people book. See Tripadvisor's capture more reviews page.
- Free stickers for claimed listings, including one with a QR code that opens your listing's review page. You order them from the Management Center. See Tripadvisor's free stickers page.
Tripadvisor encourages businesses to ask all their guests for reviews, which is the habit this whole guide is built on.
Step 3: ask at the right moment
The best moment is when the experience has just ended and the guest is still feeling it:
- Hotels and guesthouses: at checkout, while you print the bill or call the Grab. "Thank you for staying with us. If you have a minute on the way to the airport, a Tripadvisor review really helps a small guesthouse like ours. The QR code is on this card."
- Restaurants: after the meal, when you bring the bill or they compliment the food. Point to the card on the table, don't hover while they write.
- Tours and dive trips: in the last ten minutes, on the boat back to Boracay or the van back from the rice terraces, when people are relaxed and looking at their photos.
- Attractions: at the exit, the gift shop or the café, not at the ticket desk on the way in.
Ask every guest the same way. Tripadvisor does not allow asking only the guests you think are happy, and it does not allow discouraging negative reviews (review posting guidelines). More phrasing ideas, in several languages, are in our guide on how to ask customers for reviews.
Step 4: follow up once
For hotels, homestays and tours, a single follow-up message the day after works well, by Review Express email or by the WhatsApp you used for the booking. Keep it short, include the link, and stop there. One reminder is a nudge; several feel like pressure.
What Tripadvisor does not allow
Tripadvisor's guidelines and its FAQ for business owners say, in summary (review posting guidelines; FAQ for business owners, seen 22 October 2026):
- You can't offer anything in exchange for a review, whatever the rating. Tripadvisor's examples include free drinks, discounts, contest entries and donations made in the customer's name.
- You can't run staff incentive schemes for reviews, such as a bonus per review collected.
- You can't ask only happy guests (selective solicitation), or discourage negative reviews.
So "free welcome drink for a 5-star review", a lucky draw for reviewers, or a staff bonus for reviews collected are all out, in every market. Our article on what Google and Tripadvisor allow puts both platforms' rules side by side.
Step 5: reply to every review
Replies, which Tripadvisor calls management responses, are part of how a future guest judges you. Only the owner of a claimed listing can post them, through the Management Center. Tripadvisor's guidelines say replies may not be promotional, may not identify the reviewer and may not accuse them (management response guidelines, seen 22 October 2026).
A good reply is short, thanks the guest by what they wrote about ("So glad you enjoyed the sunrise trip to Mount Batur"), and answers a complaint with what you have changed rather than an argument. Our guide on how to respond to negative reviews has examples.
Tripadvisor ranking and Travellers' Choice
Two things are often confused: your position in Tripadvisor's lists (for example, "#12 of 480 restaurants in Hoi An") and the Travellers' Choice award.
We have not seen Tripadvisor publish an exact formula for how its lists are ranked, so be wary of anyone who claims to know one. What is safe to say is that a steady flow of genuine reviews, a complete listing and replies to reviews are all within your control, and none of them breaks a rule.
For Travellers' Choice, Tripadvisor's awards page describes the basics (Tripadvisor awards, seen 22 October 2026):
- The award is based on the quality and quantity of reviews over 12 months.
- A business needs to have been listed for at least 12 months and meet minimums for reviews and rating.
- Winners are roughly the top 10% of listings, and the Best of the Best roughly the top 1%.
The practical lesson: a burst of reviews in one busy month matters less than a steady flow all year, through the high season and the rainy one.
A one-week routine for a small guesthouse
A worked example for a ten-room guesthouse in Chiang Mai, with one person on reception:
- Monday: claim the listing if you haven't, fix the category and hours, and order the free stickers.
- Tuesday: print a small card with your review QR code for the reception desk and one for each room.
- Wednesday: agree one sentence everyone at reception says at checkout, to every guest.
- Thursday: turn on Review Express, or write a two-line follow-up message for WhatsApp.
- Friday: reply to every review from the last three months, starting with the critical ones.
- Every day after: ask at checkout, reply within a few days, and note what guests keep praising, so you can mention it on your listing.
The same routine works for a Cebu dive shop or a Langkawi homestay. Swap "checkout" for "the boat back" or "handing back the keys".
How reviewus helps
reviewus is a QR card for the reception desk, the table or the tour van. The guest scans it with their phone camera (no app, no account), gives stars and taps what they loved. For Tripadvisor, reviewus gives the guest thought prompts drawn from what they tapped, and they write the review in their own words, so the review is personal and entirely theirs. One tap opens your Tripadvisor review form.
The same card can offer Google, with an AI draft built only from the guest's taps and note, and Xiaohongshu for Chinese-speaking visitors. Every guest, at every rating, gets the same two choices: share publicly or send you private feedback. The guest page reads in English, Bahasa Melayu, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese and more. Setting up is free, and plans start at S$10 a month per location. Try the demo or set up your business.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Google reviews or Tripadvisor?
Neither is better everywhere. Google matters most for businesses that serve locals and walk-in customers, because that is where people search on the go. Tripadvisor matters more for hotels, tours and restaurants in tourist areas, where travellers plan ahead. Many businesses in Bangkok, Bali or Penang need both.
Does anyone still use Tripadvisor?
Yes. Many travellers still read Tripadvisor when planning hotels, tours and restaurants, particularly in tourist areas. Locals choosing a place nearby are more likely to use Google Maps, so the answer depends on who your customers are.
How do I get a Tripadvisor QR code for my business?
Claim your listing, then order Tripadvisor's free stickers from the Management Center; one of them carries a QR code that opens your listing's review page. You can also link guests to your review form by email using Review Express.
Can I offer a discount for a Tripadvisor review?
No. Tripadvisor does not allow offering anything in exchange for a review, whatever the rating, including free drinks, discounts, contest entries or donations in the guest's name. Thank guests for their stay, and keep any offer completely separate from reviews.
How do you win Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice?
You don't apply for it. Tripadvisor bases it on the quality and quantity of reviews over 12 months, for businesses listed at least 12 months that meet its review and rating minimums. Winners are roughly the top 10% of listings. A steady flow of genuine reviews all year is the only honest route.
How many 5-star reviews do I need to increase my rating?
There is no fixed number, because it depends on how many reviews you already have and what they average. A new listing moves quickly with each review; an established one moves slowly. Focus on asking every guest and fixing what the critical reviews mention, rather than on a target.