The checkout desk is the best in-person moment for a review ask, but guests are often rushing to catch a flight or hit the road right at that point. A direct Google review link sent shortly after checkout catches guests once they've had a moment to reflect on the full stay.
What a review link actually is
A short URL tied to your Google Business Profile that opens straight to the review box — guests don't need to search for your property first.
A post-stay email is the natural home for it
Most hotels already send a post-stay thank-you email or folio receipt. Adding the review link there, sent within a day of checkout, reaches guests once they've settled back home and have a calmer moment to write something thoughtful.
SMS works well for guests who opted into text updates
For guests who received text updates during their stay (room ready, late checkout confirmation), a short follow-up text with the review link the day after departure tends to get a higher response than email alone.
Timing matters — not too soon, not too late
Sending the link the same day as departure, once travel stress has settled, tends to outperform both an immediate at-checkout ask and a delayed one sent a week later when the trip has faded from memory.
Segment by trip type if you can
If your booking system tracks whether a stay was business or leisure, tailoring the follow-up message slightly — thanking a business traveler for choosing you for work versus a family for their vacation — can improve response rates over a single generic template.
Pair it with your checkout desk QR code, don't replace it
Some guests will happily leave a review right at checkout if prompted — the QR code captures that moment, and the link catches everyone who didn't, or who prefers to write something once they're home.
The bottom line
A Google review link extends your review collection past the rushed checkout moment to a calmer point after guests get home. Send it via post-stay email or SMS within a day of departure, and use it alongside your front-desk QR code rather than instead of it.