Hotel assessment through social media – TripAdvisor as a case study

Authors

  • Sebastian Molinillo University of Malaga Andalucia Tech Faculty of Economics and Business Management http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9132-5190
  • Antonio Fernández-Morales University of Malaga Andalucia Tech Faculty of Economics and Business Management
  • José Luis Ximénez-de-Sandoval University of Malaga Faculty of Tourism
  • Andres Coca-Stefaniak University of Greenwich Business School

Keywords:

Online customer review websites, hotels, word of mouth, TripAdvisor.

Abstract

Hotel booking decisions are increasingly influenced by consumers’ feedback available on social media sites. Using data submitted by TripAdvisor users, this study provides four key contributions to knowledge. Firstly, a comparative analysis was carried out of customer ratings received by hotels located on Spain’s coastal areas as well as Portugal’s southern coast. Secondly, significant differences were found in the number of comments as well as the average online review rating score awarded, which were found to be related to the geographical location of each tourism destination. Thirdly, it is found that customers tend to rate their experiences in hotels positively. Fourthly, the level of overall customer satisfaction with a hotel tends to increase proportionately to the number of customer feedback comments posted for that hotel. As a result of this, one of the findings of this study is that hotels should encourage their customers to post comments on online customer review websites to balance out any negative feedback received. 

Author Biographies

  • Sebastian Molinillo, University of Malaga Andalucia Tech Faculty of Economics and Business Management

    Associate Professor of Marketing

    Department of Business Management

  • Antonio Fernández-Morales, University of Malaga Andalucia Tech Faculty of Economics and Business Management

    Professor

    Department of Applied Economics (Statistics and Econometrics 15) 

  • José Luis Ximénez-de-Sandoval, University of Malaga Faculty of Tourism

    PhD Candidate

    Program in Tourism Management and Planning

  • Andres Coca-Stefaniak, University of Greenwich Business School

    Senior Lecturer

    Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism

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Published

31.01.2016

Issue

Section

Tourism/Hospitality: Research Papers

How to Cite

Molinillo, S., Fernández-Morales, A., Ximénez-de-Sandoval, J. L., & Coca-Stefaniak, A. (2016). Hotel assessment through social media – TripAdvisor as a case study. Tourism & Management Studies, 12(1), 15-24. https://tmstudies.net/index.php/ectms/article/view/784