It’s hard to believe it’s been four years since we interviewed David Scott, Chief Executive at The Hotel Folk for a case study on how the group use GuestRevu. Back in 2021, the world was just beginning to emerge from the worst of COVID. Travel was slowly finding its rhythm again, and hotels were learning how to welcome back both loyal and new guests whose expectations had shifted almost overnight.
At the time, The Hotel Folk, a collection of six privately run hotels in Suffolk, were already making great use of GuestRevu to capture guest feedback and had integrated it with For-Sight CRM to link valuable insights with marketing and communications across the group.
Since that conversation, the relationship between The Hotel Folk and GuestRevu has grown stronger. Over the years, the team has embraced new features, including AI-powered insights and streamlined review management. The group has become even more connected, not just through data, but through a shared commitment to creating memorable experiences for every guest. Their overall Net Promoter Score has improved from 52 in 2021 to around 63.5 in 2025, showing the real impact of these efforts.
In this blog, we take a closer look at how David and his team have continued to impress guests, embraced GuestRevu’s latest features, and evolved as a group.
Six Hotels, One Team
Let’s rewind to before The Hotel Folk started using GuestRevu. Each of the group’s six hotels largely operated on its own. Feedback came in from multiple channels, but there was no central system to bring it all together.
“Most of the channels would be quite disparate. It may be on Booking.com, it could be on TripAdvisor, it could be on Google review, or they could be writing a letter with an issue to us, but nothing was bringing all of that feedback together,” David recalls.
The group needed a way to consolidate this feedback and make it useful. To do this, The Hotel Folk started using GuestRevu integrated with For-Sight. Centralising guest comments and reviews allowed them to see patterns across all six hotels and connect those insights directly with marketing and communications, making messages relevant and personal for each guest.
“We go through some very complicated segmentation modelling using the data through For-Sight and then combining that with the trends that we see through GuestRevu. Often we've got various different email formats or pieces of communication that are very personalised to lots of different groups of people,” David explains. “Then we enhance what's going well or change what isn't working – and that can change through the time of year; it can change [depending] on what the weather’s doing, so we track all of those things to make sure that we optimise all of our marketing communications.”
The magic is in the details. By making sure emails and messages reflect what each guest has experienced, The Hotel Folk avoid sending anything that could feel out of place or tone-deaf – for example, sending an email that says “we’re glad you enjoyed your stay” to a guest who gave negative feedback. Small mistakes like that could easily undermine the effort the team puts into connecting with each guest.
Turning Feedback into Action
The last time we spoke to The Hotel Folk, they were already starting to turn guest feedback into action using GuestRevu. They could see what guests loved, spot small issues, and make improvements across their six hotels. It was a big step forward in delivering consistently excellent experiences, and it relied just as much on the team’s attention and care as on the technology.
In the last few years, the rise of AI has taken this to a new level. Feedback is not just collected, it is understood almost instantly and at scale. AI analytics highlight trends, giving staff a clear picture of what matters most to guests. But it is not just about the AI doing the work. The team still decides how to act, using insights to make meaningful changes. David puts it perfectly: “What is really golden within a guest review is not necessarily the score, but it is the comment that the guest has written throughout the review. The AI tools really help you bring those words to life in a format that is really easy to digest, and the staff can understand.”
AI has also made replying to reviews faster and more accurate, and by responding promptly, it helps The Hotel Folk boost their Google ranking. AI Management Responses generate thoughtful, on-brand replies that staff can personalise before sending, saving time but still sounding genuine. “Using AI to help us build responses and talk to guests allows us to be quicker and more efficient. In an environment where labour costs are increasing, we want to leverage those AI improvements so that we can spend less money on labour and actually let the computer do a bit more for us,” David adds.
For The Hotel Folk, it is the combination of smart technology and a passionate team that makes the difference. AI helps spot trends and save time, but it is the people who turn insights into memorable experiences. Together, they ensure every guest feels seen, heard, and looked after, and that is what keeps people coming back.
Creating Memorable Experiences for Guests and Staff
With centralised data, the team can spot issues early and prevent small problems from escalating. Staff motivation is higher because they can see the real-time impact of their work and understand what makes guests happy. David explains, “From an internal point of view, it is really powerful. We use it to inform our refurbishment programme, we understand by room type where the biggest issues are in certain bedrooms so we can focus our maintenance teams and our refurbishment into those specific areas, so we can add value in so many different ways as well as making ongoing operational improvements to standards and procedures to make sure that we get it right every single time.”
It is not just numbers that show the difference. The team feels more connected and empowered, and guests notice the attention to detail in every stay. From a perfectly prepared room to a thoughtful dining experience, small improvements add up to create memorable moments that keep visitors coming back.
The Hotel Folk: People, Technology, and the Future of Hospitality
Catching up with The Hotel Folk after four years highlights just how much the group has grown. What started as six independently run hotels has become a connected team, working together to ensure every guest feels valued and understood. Feedback is no longer just collected; it is used to shape experiences, improve services, and guide every decision the team makes.
For David and his team, it is the people who make the difference. Staff are empowered to take action, motivated by knowing their efforts have a real impact. With GuestRevu supporting them, making insights easier to act on and freeing them to focus on the personal touches that make a stay special.
“The ethos behind The Hotel Folk is all about the people who work in our hotels, ‘our Folk’, and we put a lot of effort into their training and development so that they are able to deliver what we call a ‘blow your socks off hospitality experience’ for all of our guests,” David says. This commitment, combined with smart use of tools like GuestRevu and For-Sight, ensures that every guest leaves feeling seen, heard, and cared for.
Reflecting on this partnership between hotel team and technology, David explains, “GuestRevu as a company are very guest-oriented. They’ve really done a good job of embracing new technology and challenging us to think about how we could do things quicker and more efficiently. That’s exactly what you want from a supplier, someone giving you the solution before you’ve even thought of the problem.”
As the world of hospitality continues to evolve, The Hotel Folk show that technology and human care can work hand in hand. With a team focused on connection and attention to detail, and systems that help them work smarter, the group is ready for whatever comes next, continuing to create moments that guests will remember for a lifetime.
