A couple on their second day in Marrakech has fifty rooftops to choose from. They will pick yours, or not, in about a minute, and most of that minute is spent reading what strangers wrote about you. Your reputation online is now part of the front door. The difference between restaurants with a strong profile and those with a weak one is rarely the food; it is whether anyone is looking after the reviews.
Here are five habits that build a reputation and keep it.
1. Watch every platform, not just your favourite
Guests talk about you on Google, TripAdvisor and social media, and a tourist from Madrid and a family from Casablanca will not use the same one. Check them all, every day if you can. Read the words, not only the stars: three mentions of "slow on the terrace" in one month is an operations note, not a coincidence.
- Google MapsWhere tourists search ten minutes before they walk in.
- TripAdvisorWhere they plan from abroad, weeks ahead.
- InstagramWhere the terrace at sunset does the selling.
- Your own follow-upWhere an unhappy guest tells you first, privately, if you ask.
2. Answer every review, especially the bad ones
A reply shows that someone is home. Thank happy guests specifically: name the tagine they loved, the birthday they celebrated. A generic "thanks for your review" reads as if nobody cared.
With a negative review, resist the urge to defend. Acknowledge, apologise, say what you have changed, and offer to continue privately. Remember who the reply is really for: the hundred future guests reading it. They judge you on how you handle criticism, not on the criticism itself. Try to answer within a day.
3. Ask happy guests at the right moment
Most delighted guests say nothing online unless someone asks. The moment to ask is when the pleasure is fresh: a compliment to the chef, a request for the recipe, a photo of the sunset. A warm word from the waiter who served them is worth more than any printed card.
Then make it effortless. A short message after the visit with a direct link to your review page is the simplest version; LumenTables can send that follow-up for you, so the ask happens every evening and not only when someone remembers. Never pay or discount for reviews; it breaks the platforms' rules and guests can tell.
4. Show up on social media, consistently
Your Instagram shapes expectations before anyone walks in. Post regularly, with real photos of plates, the terrace at golden hour, the team preparing for Ramadan evenings. Reply to comments and messages, and share what guests post when they tag you. An active account says the restaurant is alive; a page last updated two years ago raises a question you do not want asked.
5. Turn a bad evening into a loyal guest
A guest whose problem was handled beautifully often becomes more loyal than one who never had a problem. Let your team fix things on the spot without hunting for a manager: a dessert, a sincere apology, an invitation to come back. The cost is almost always smaller than a public one-star review.
Track what goes wrong. If the same complaint keeps coming back, the issue is in the system, not in the night.
Left to chance
- Reviews read once a month, when someone remembers.
- Negative reviews answered in anger, or not at all.
- Happy guests leave without ever being asked.
- Nobody notices which complaint keeps repeating.
Looked after
- New reviews seen every day, across every platform.
- Every review answered within a day, in the right tone.
- A follow-up message asks each guest while the evening is fresh.
- Complaint patterns spotted and fixed at the source.
Reputation is a practice, not a project
Set three monthly numbers: how many reviews you answered, your average rating, how many new reviews came in. Share them with the team at the pre-service briefing; they are the ones creating the evenings guests write about. Do this for one season and watch the profile change.