An Analysis of One-Star Online Reviews and Responses in the Washington, D.C., Lodging Market

2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart E. Levy ◽  
Wenjing Duan ◽  
Soyoung Boo

The hotel industry continues to develop strategies for addressing consumer-generated online reviews, and particularly responding to poor reviews, which can have a damaging effect on a hotel’s reputation. To gain a greater understanding of the dynamics of poor reviews, this study analyzed 1,946 one-star reviews from ten popular online review websites, as well as 225 management responses from eighty-six Washington, D.C., hotels. A comprehensive complaint framework found that the most common complaints related to front desk staff, bathroom issues, room cleanliness, and guestroom noise issues. Complaints were also analyzed by hotel characteristics, including chain-scale segments, and reviewer characteristics, including purpose of travel and geographic location. Examining the reviews, highly rated hotels often respond to online complaints with appreciation, apologies, and explanations for what had gone wrong. Compensation adjustments are rarely mentioned by any hotel. The increasingly prominent role of social media necessitates that hotels use online reviews for market research and service recovery opportunities, regardless of whether they respond publicly.

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Vijay Tata ◽  
Sanjeev Prashar ◽  
Chandan Parsad

With an increase in e-commerce activity, online reviews have become a pertinent source of information for shoppers. Existing research is limited to examining select predictors of shoppers' intention to write reviews; however, there exists a gap in deciphering the role of review involvement in intention to write reviews. The present study pertains to the influence of the usefulness of site and product, and shoppers' satisfaction, and also on the intention to write reviews online. Besides this, the article also explores the moderating role of review involvement on the relationship between shopper satisfaction and their intention to post reviews. The study reveals a few interesting and counter-intuitive findings that add to literature and practice in understanding online review posting behaviour. Theoretical and managerial implications based on the findings are also presented.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 74-84
Author(s):  
Chih-Hung PAI ◽  
Kuo-Min KO ◽  
Troy SANTOS

Akamavi, R K., Mohamed, E., Pellmann, K., & Xu, Y. (2015). Key determinants of passenger loyalty in the low-cost airline business. Tourism Management, 46, 528-545. Baldus, B.J., Voorhees, C., & Calantone, R. (2015). Online brand community engagement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Research, 68(5), 978-985. Boo, H.V. (2017). Service Environment of Restaurants: Findings from the youth customers. Journal of Asian Behavioural Studies, 2(2), 67-77. Bowen, T.J., & Chen, S.L. (2015). Transitioning Loyalty Programs: A Commentary on the Relationship Between Customer Loyalty & Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(3), 415-430. Casidy, R., & Shin, H. (2015). The effects of harm directions and service recovery strategies on customer forgiveness and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 27, 103-112. Chang, J.H. (2017). The role of relationship on time and monetary compensation. 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2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fayez Ahmad ◽  
Francisco Guzmán

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether a message from a brand with stronger brand equity generates more trust than a message from a brand with lower brand equity, and thus is more likely to encourage consumers to write online reviews. This paper also explores what happens when consumers become aware that brands are trying to persuade them to write a review. Design/methodology/approach Through three experimental studies, where participants were randomly assigned to a brand that has either a stronger or weaker brand equity, participants’ intention to write reviews was measured. Trust in the message was measured to study its mediating role, and persuasion knowledge of the participants was manipulated to investigate its moderating effect. Findings The findings confirm that consumers are more likely to write online reviews when a message comes from a brand that has stronger brand equity, trust in the message mediates the relationship between brand equity and consumer intention to write an online review, and persuasion knowledge has a differential effect on consumer intention to write reviews. Originality/value The study adds to the brand equity and online review literature by providing evidence that a higher level of consumer trust on brands that have stronger brand equity leads to an increased intention to write a review for the brand. It also shows that consumers’ awareness of the motive of the brand is more beneficial for brands with strong brand equity, contributing to persuasion knowledge literature.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135676672110632
Author(s):  
Lujun Su ◽  
Qingyue Yang ◽  
Scott R Swanson ◽  
Ning Chris Chen

This study explores the impact of the valence (positive/negative) and emotional intensity (strong/weak) of online reviews on potential Chinese visitors’ travel intentions and trust of a destination. An experimental design was used to test the hypotheses. Findings suggest that online review valence and emotional intensity affect travel intentions and that destination trust can partially mediate this relationship. Changes in destination trust and travel intention due to positive/negative review emotional intensity changes are not equivalent. Furthermore, online review trustworthiness moderates the valence and destination trust and travel intention relationships, but not the effect of review emotional intensity on the same outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Esmark Jones ◽  
Stacie Waites ◽  
Jennifer Stevens

Purpose Much research regarding social media posts and relevancy has resulted in mixed findings. Furthermore, the mediating role of relevancy has not previously been examined. This paper aims to examine the correlating relationship between types of posts made by hotels and the resulting occupancy rates. Then, the mediating role of relevancy is examined and ways that posts can increase/decrease relevancy of the post to potential hotel users. Design/methodology/approach Within the context of the hotel industry, three studies were conducted – one including hotel occupancy data from a corporate chain – to examine the impact of social media posts on relevancy and intentions to stay at the hotel. Experimental studies were conducted to explain the results of the real-world hotel data. Findings The findings show that relevancy is an important mediator in linking social media posts to service performance. A locally (vs nationally) themed post can decrease both the relevancy of a post and the viewer’s intentions to stay at a hotel. This relationship, however, can be weakened if a picture is included with the post, as a visual may increase self-identification with a post. Originality/value These results have important theoretical and practical implications as social media managers attempt to find the best ways to communicate to their customers and followers. Specifically, there are lower and upper limits to how many times a hotel should be posting to social media. The data also show many hotels post about local events, such as school fundraisers or a job fair, that can be harmful to stay intentions, likely due to the irrelevant nature of local posts to customers who are likely to stay in a hotel. National posts are seen as more relevant and likely to increase stay intentions, and the inclusion of a picture can help local posts seem more relevant.


Author(s):  
Reena Lakha ◽  
Prof (Dr) A C Vaid

In recent years, the hotel industry has started to follow social media marketing strategy as part of its marketing campaign to improve its brand value. Social networking channels are the means a hotel is promoting itself through. There are various channels that the hotels use to communicate with the clients. This paper aims to pick the best channel and use it wisely, so it helps the hotel industry the most. This paper aims to identify the available social media sites for the hotel industry. This study adds new knowledge regarding the hotel's most common social media site. The paper will provide insight into the medium of the social site used for communications and the use of social media advertisements as an integral part of the hotel's marketing strategy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630511878963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Jin Park ◽  
S. Mo Jang ◽  
Hoon Lee ◽  
Grace S. Yang

We examine the patterns of social polarization, with the case of Michael Brown shooting as an empirical basis for discussing the role of social media in promoting polarized viewpoints. In doing so, we test a model that synthesizes the interplay between text polarity in Twitter and four attributes of U.S. cities ( N = 216): (1) geographic location, (2) race, (3) poverty, and (4) technological condition. Our findings supported hypothesized functions of socio-environmental traits. However, the extents of polarization in tweet-texts were subtler than expected. Furthermore, the finding concerning poverty suggests that certain urban environments are more conducive to exacerbating racial tensions, reproducing them into social media narratives. We suggest future studies and discuss the implications for societal divide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Huang ◽  
Yulang Guo ◽  
Cheng Wang ◽  
Lei Yan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention, given the absence of direct experience in online shopping. Design/methodology/approach Based on four empirical studies, the authors examine the role of online review’s tactile cues in consumer’s purchase intention. A secondary data analysis on Taobao and three experiments were conducted. Findings First, this research demonstrates that tactile cues in online reviews are sure to have a significant influence on consumers’ purchase intention. Second, the purchase intention of consumers is easily influenced by the reviews of holistic tactile cues of the search product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of outcome simulation. Consumers’ purchase intention is also easily influenced by concrete tactile cues of experience product, which affects the final purchase intention through the way of process simulation. Temporal distance is the boundary condition. Practical implications A seller should manage the order of online review or labels related to corresponding tactile cues, in order to encourage consumers to comment on the relevant tactile features. Besides, in the aspect of website design, a seller can also encourage consumers to image about the process and the result of using so as to promote his sales volume. Social implications The conclusion may give a solution on how to deal with the absence of direct experience in online shopping. Originality/value There has been little research about the influences of others' tactile behaviors on consumers' behaviors. The authors focus the other tactile experience in online review. The previous studies on online reviews focus on the its influences of valence, quantity and sentiment polarity on the usefulness of reviews and sales volume. However, few studies are explored on contents of reviews. The authors focus on the content such as tactile cues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 25-36
Author(s):  
Dr. Muhammad Tahir ◽  

Previous literature supports the role of online reviews in influencing customer purchase intentions in the online context. However, the research gap exists based on the underlying mechanism of influence of online reviews on customer purchase intentions and the mediating and moderating variables in this relationship. The current study addressed this research gap by developing and testing a model of online reviews and customer purchase intention in the social media-e-commerce context. Additionally, we tested trust as mediator and source credibility as moderator. Data were collected from 360 participants of social media users by using an online survey. The analysis was performed through confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS and consists of two stages. The result indicates that online reviews have positive and significant effects on purchase intentions (β=.352, P<0.05); and customer trust (β=.691, P<0.05). Furthermore, customer trust has positive and significant effects on purchase intention (β=.240, P<0.05). Additionally, we found partial support for the mediating nature of trust between the relationship of online reviews and purchase intention. We also found support that source credibility moderates the mediating relationship of customer trust. Our findings imply that trust and source credibility play significant role in shaping the online reviews and purchase intention relationship.


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