By Steve Moran

Last month Caring.com (a Foresight Partner) released its annual list of best senior living communities in the United States, based on consumer reviews on the Caring.com website.

Criteria

In order for a community to be considered it must meet the following criteria:

  • 10 or more published reviews on their Caring.com profile by 10/15/21
  • An overall average rating of 4.5 stars or higher
  • 3 or more published reviews from 10/15/20 through 10/15/21, with at least one of the recent reviews being a 5-star review and one or more published in 2021 
  • Public-facing responses to any 1-star or 2-star negative reviews on the Caring.com listing

There is no requirement that the community has a referral or advertising contract with Caring.com.

The Winners

This year’s list includes 439 senior living communities in 44 states, with California, Florida, and Texas having the most winners. The size of the 2022’s list is nearly triple what it was for 2021.

Here is the entire list by state:

SEE THE LIST

The Details

With any kind of list or award process, the details are important. Take a look:

  • In 2021, consumers published 58% more reviews per month on average than prior to the pandemic.
  • Going back to in-person tours contributed to the increase in reviews and a more positive sentiment.
  • In the United States, there are more than 15,000 searches an hour for senior living and senior care — up from 6,000 per hour in 2017.
  • There is an increased interest in taking a look at consumer reviews. 
  • As additional quality assurance measures, Caring does an integrity audit of every review for every Caring Stars finalist community, plus they review available state licensing and inspection reports.

You can access the press release HERE.

What It Means . . .

While I love the idea that the 2022 list size nearly tripled from 2021, it is honestly discouraging that, with more than 40,000 senior living communities in the country, less than 500 communities made the list. This is not because there are only 439 great communities . . . at least I hope that is the case. But rather that senior living organizations are not paying enough attention to their ratings.

THIS IS A MISTAKE!

The data is abundantly clear that when businesses have great consumer reviews they are more profitable; which, in senior living, means higher occupancy.

Getting the reviews you need to be a Caring Star takes some effort, but it is not a herculean effort. Ask residents and resident families to write a review — if you’re partnered with Caring, they even offer a reviews-by-phone service for your customers who aren’t as comfortable online. Monitor reviews and respond to low-rated reviews. Doing this will likely gain you at least one additional move-in a year, and more likely 5-10. You can calculate the value of that.

If you are struggling with how to work on your reviews, reach out to [email protected] and Caring’s team of experts can help you figure it out.