Hotel compliance · brand standards
Brand compliance, answered in full
Written for general managers, ownership groups and brand standards teams. What UniqueGreet is, what it is not, the exact rules it operates under, and the evidence your brand needs to approve it.
Summary for evaluation, not legal advice. Brand standards differ by brand, and between franchised and managed properties.
The short version
If you read nothing else on this page, read these nine lines.
The hotel is the sender
Messages go out in your property’s name, to your own guests, on your instruction. UniqueGreet is your vendor, not a separate business contacting your guests.
Every guest is invited
Happy or not, every reachable guest receives the same invitation to review. Nothing is filtered, held back or screened.
No incentives, ever
We never offer points, discounts, upgrades or anything else in exchange for a review, or for a particular rating.
We never touch your brand survey
guestVoice, HeartBeat, SALT and any other brand listening programme run untouched. We do not reference them, replace them or ask for scores.
Scripts are approved and locked
Your property, and your brand if it wishes, approves every script and every piece of artwork before a single message is sent.
Real human voices
Every note is recorded by a real person, then personalised. No synthetic clone of a named individual.
Registered and consented
US messages run on registered A2P 10DLC campaigns. WhatsApp messages use approved templates with opt-in. Every guest can opt out at any time.
Data processor, under contract
A Data Processing Agreement is signed with every customer. Guest data stays in your region, is used only to deliver your messages, and is never sold.
A full audit trail
Every message, delivery, reply and opt-out is logged per guest and per room, and is available to your team.
What UniqueGreet is, and what it is not
Most brand objections come from an assumption about what this kind of tool does. Here is the exact scope.
What it is
A guest messaging tool operated by the hotel, through a vendor
Branded voice notes recorded by real people, personalised per guest
One honest invitation to review, sent to every reachable guest
A direct line for unhappy guests to reach your team quickly
A data processor acting under your written instruction
A registered sender on US carrier networks and the WhatsApp Business Platform
What it is not
Not a review site, a review broker, or a writer of reviews
Not review gating: we never screen, filter or select who is asked
Not an incentive scheme: nothing is offered in exchange for a review
Not a replacement or competitor for your brand’s guest satisfaction survey
Not an AI voice clone of a named person, and not a robocaller
Not a marketing blast: we message your guests about their own stay, nothing else
The five questions brand teams ask
Answered directly, with the underlying policy in each case.
01
Can a third party solicit reviews on behalf of the hotel?
The hotel is the sender, not us. UniqueGreet is an authorised vendor acting on the property’s instruction, in the same way a survey platform, CRM or messaging provider does. The guest hears from your hotel, by name, about their own stay. We do not contact anyone who is not your guest, and we do not use your guest data for anything else.
Google’s policy governs how reviews are requested, not who operates the tool. Google prohibits incentives and selective solicitation. It sets no rule against a business using a vendor or tool to send review requests. Its own guidance tells businesses to ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code, which is exactly what your guests receive.
Outside vendors already run guest listening for the major brands. Marriott’s guestVoice platform was built with Medallia, and IHG’s HeartBeat survey programme has run with Medallia and Ipsos. Third-party operation of guest communication is the norm in branded hotels, not an exception.
Where brands do draw a hard line is incentives and gating. That is the practice of paying for reviews, trading perks for a rating, or steering only happy guests to a review page. We do none of it, and the rest of this page shows how that is enforced in the product.
02
Is this review gating?
No. Every guest gets the same invitation. There is no survey in front of the review request, no sentiment check, and no branching path. A guest who complains receives the same review invitation as a guest who does not.
Google’s wording is explicit, and we are on the right side of it. The policy prohibits businesses that “discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”. We solicit every guest, positively or negatively disposed, with identical wording and an identical link.
TripAdvisor’s identical-experience rule is met by design. TripAdvisor requires that where any survey or external route leads to a review, the path is identical for positive and negative guests. Our flow has only one path, so there is nothing to differ.
On the FTC, we are precise rather than dramatic. The FTC’s 2024 rule on consumer reviews bans fake reviews, undisclosed insider reviews and the suppression of negative reviews through threats. Asking only happy customers is not named in that rule, but the FTC has said the practice can still violate the FTC Act. We avoid it entirely.
03
Does it interfere with our brand’s guest satisfaction survey?
No. We never touch it. guestVoice, HeartBeat, SALT or whichever programme your brand runs continues exactly as before. We do not send it, replace it, reference it, or ask guests about their scores.
Different job, different moment. The brand survey measures the stay for the brand. Our note thanks the guest personally and invites a public review. If your brand wants separation in timing, we schedule around the survey window.
No interference with loyalty either. We do not enrol guests, alter profiles, award points, or send anything about a loyalty programme.
04
Who approves this, the brand or the owner?
For franchised properties, the decision normally sits with ownership. Subject, of course, to your brand standards and your franchise agreement. For brand-managed properties the approval route runs through the brand. We support either path.
Brand standards are confidential, so we do not guess at them. Marriott, Hilton, IHG and the rest treat their standards as trade secrets, and they are not published. Rather than claim compliance with a document we cannot read, we give your team the facts about what we do, so you can check us against the standard you hold.
We complete your brand’s vendor review. Security questionnaires, data protection reviews, procurement forms and, if it helps, a call with your brand standards or IT contact. We have done this before and we will do it with you.
05
What happens to guest data, and what about messaging law?
We are your processor, under a signed agreement. A Data Processing Agreement is signed with every customer. We hold guest data in your region, use it only to deliver your messages, and never sell it.
US messaging runs registered and consented. Texts are sent on registered A2P 10DLC campaigns through established carriers, which requires your business details and a declared opt-in process. Opt-outs are honoured automatically.
WhatsApp messaging follows Meta’s rules. Business-initiated messages use approved templates and require opt-in, and every opt-out request is respected on and off the platform.
Full detail is below. The next two sections list exactly which data we receive, which we refuse, and which rule applies where.
Which rules apply, and what we do about each
Rule
What it requires
What UniqueGreet does
Google review policies
No incentives for reviews, no selective solicitation of positive reviews, no pressure on wording or rating.
Every guest receives the same invitation and the same link. Nothing is offered in return. We never ask for a rating or suggest wording.
FTC consumer reviews rule, 2024
No fake or insider reviews, no buying sentiment, no suppression of negative reviews.
We never write, buy, solicit internally or suppress reviews. Negative feedback is routed to your team, and the guest keeps their right to post.
TCPA, United States
Consent before messaging, and opt-out honoured promptly by any reasonable wording.
Consent is captured by the hotel at booking. Opt-out keywords are honoured automatically, and the guest is removed from every future send.
A2P 10DLC, United States
Business and campaign registration with carriers, including declared opt-in and opt-out handling.
We register campaigns using your business details, with sample messages and the opt-in process documented.
WhatsApp Business Platform
Opt-in before business-initiated messages, approved templates, respect for opt-out.
Templates are submitted and approved before launch. Opt-outs are respected on and off WhatsApp.
GDPR and UK GDPR
Lawful basis, processor contract, data minimisation, deletion rights.
We act as processor under a signed DPA, receive only the fields needed to send your messages, and delete on request.
CCPA and CPRA
No sale of personal information, honour consumer requests.
We never sell guest data and support deletion and access requests through your team.
EU AI Act transparency
People should not be misled about interacting with artificial content.
Voice notes are recorded by real people and then personalised. We do not clone a named individual’s voice.
Your brand standards
Confidential, and specific to your brand and agreement.
We give you the facts, complete your vendor review, and will speak to your brand contact directly.
Exactly what we receive, and what we refuse
Data minimisation is not a slogan here. The integration pulls the fields needed to send a personal message, and nothing more.
What we receive
Guest first and last name
Mobile number, where the hotel holds one
Arrival and departure dates
Room number and room type
Booking reference and channel
Language preference, where available
What we never receive
Card numbers or any payment data
Passport, ID or visa details
Loyalty passwords or account credentials
Health information
Anything from your brand survey
Guest data from any other property
Where it is stored
Guest data is held in the region your property operates in, whether that is the UK, the EU, the US or the Middle East.
Who else touches it
Only the providers needed to deliver a message: established messaging carriers such as Twilio and Bird, the WhatsApp Business Platform, and our cloud infrastructure. Each is bound by contract.
How long we keep it
For the period agreed in your contract, after which it is deleted. Deletion on request is supported at any time, including for a single named guest.
Your brand, under your control
Nothing reaches a guest that your property has not seen and approved.
Scripts approved, then locked
Every script is written with your team, approved in writing, and locked. Changes require your approval again.
Artwork to brand
The video card carries your property’s approved logo and imagery. No UniqueGreet branding is pushed at your guest.
Voices you choose
Recorded by real people, in the accent and language you want, and signed off before launch.
Every message logged
Sent, delivered, opened, replied, opted out. Per guest, per room, available to your team and your brand.
How to get UniqueGreet approved at your brand
This is the route that works, in the order that works.
1
Send this page to whoever raised the concern
It is written for them. If the objection is about third-party solicitation, section 01 answers it directly.
2
Tell us what was actually said
A review-solicitation concern and a vendor-approval process are two different things, and they need two different answers. Forward us the wording and we will respond to that specific point.
3
We complete your brand’s vendor review
Security questionnaire, data protection review, procurement forms. We will also provide the signed DPA, sample scripts, our message templates and the 10DLC registration details.
4
Put us in front of the brand contact
We will join a call with brand standards, IT or legal and answer questions directly, with your team in the room.
5
Start with one property
A single property, one month, with the full audit trail. That is usually what turns a compliance conversation into a rollout.
Compliance questions, answered
Is UniqueGreet review gating?
Can a third party ask for reviews on behalf of a hotel?
Does this interfere with guestVoice, HeartBeat or SALT?
Do you offer guests anything in exchange for a review?
What happens when a guest is unhappy?
Are the voices AI?
How do you handle consent and opt-outs?
Where is guest data stored, and who is the controller?
Can you complete our brand's vendor and security review?
Do you solicit reviews on TripAdvisor or Expedia?
Sources
The policies referenced on this page, so your team can read them first-hand.
Policies change. These links were checked in September 2026. UniqueGreet does not speak for Google, the FTC, Meta, TripAdvisor or any hotel brand, and this page is not legal advice.
Bring us into the conversation.
Send us what your brand or ownership group asked, and we will answer it in writing, complete the vendor review and join the call.