Guest satisfaction starts long before the hotel room is booked. Guest satisfaction begins during the information gathering stage, where prospective guests consult hotel web sites, social media channels, online travel agencies (OTAs) and online review communities to ask for advice or validate recommendations. How your hotel is positioned across these sites and how you communicate with prospective guests is critical to capturing the initial booking and beginning your relationship with your guests.
via Best Practices for Cultivating Guest Satisfaction and Retention, by Michelle Wohl.