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Cornell Hospitality ReportVol. 10, No. 18, December 2010
How Travelers Use Online and Social Media Channels to Make Hotel-choice Decisions
by Laura McCarthy, Debra Stock, and Rohit Verma, Ph.D.
Advisory Board
The Robert A. and Jan M. Beck Center at Cornell University
Cornell Hospitality Reports,
Vol. 10, No. 18 (December 2010)
© 2010 Cornell University
Cornell Hospitality Report is produced for
the benefit of the hospitality industry by
The Center for Hospitality Research at
Cornell University
Rohit Verma, Executive Director
Jennifer Macera, Associate Director
Glenn Withiam, Director of Publications
Center for Hospitality Research
Cornell University
School of Hotel Administration
489 Statler Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-9780
Fax: 607-254-2922
www.chr.cornell.edu
Back cover photo by permission of The Cornellian and Jeff Wang.
Ra’anan Ben-Zur, Chief Executive Officer, French Quarter Holdings, Inc.
Scott Berman, Principal, Industry Leader, Hospitality & Leisure Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Raymond Bickson, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Taj Group of Hotels, Resorts, and Palaces
Stephen C. Brandman, Co-Owner, Thompson Hotels, Inc.
Raj Chandnani, Vice President, Director of Strategy, WATG
Rod Clough, Managing Director, HVS
Benjamin J. “Patrick” Denihan, Chief Executive Officer, Denihan Hospitality Group
Kurt Ekert, Chief Commercial Officer, Travelport GDS
Brian Ferguson, Vice President, Supply Strategy and Analysis, Expedia North America
Chuck Floyd, Chief Operating Officer–North America, Hyatt
Anthony Gentile, Vice President–Systems & Control, Schneider Electric/Square D Company
Gregg Gilman, Partner, Co-Chair, Employment Practices, Davis & Gilbert LLP
Susan Helstab, EVP Corporate Marketing, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Jeffrey A. Horwitz, Chair, Lodging + Gaming, and Co-Head, Mergers + Acquisitions, Proskauer
Kevin J. Jacobs, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Treasurer, Hilton Worldwide
Kenneth Kahn, President/Owner, LRP Publications
Kirk Kinsell, President of Europe, Middle East, and Africa, InterContinental Hotels Group
Radhika Kulkarni, Ph.D., VP of Advanced Analytics R&D, SAS Institute
Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman, Jumeirah Group
Mark V. Lomanno, President, Smith Travel Research
David Meltzer, Vice President of Global Business Development, Sabre Hospitality Solutions
William F. Minnock III, Senior Vice President, Global Operations Deployment and Program Management, Marriott International, Inc.
Shane O’Flaherty, President and CEO, Forbes Travel Guide
Thomas Parham, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Philips Hospitality Americas
Chris Proulx, CEO, eCornell & Executive Education
Carolyn D. Richmond, Partner, Hospitality Practice, Fox Rothschild LLP
Steve Russell, Chief People Officer, Senior VP, Human Resources, McDonald’s USA
Michele Sarkisian, Senior Vice President, Maritz
Janice L. Schnabel, Managing Director and Gaming Practice Leader, Marsh’s Hospitality and Gaming Practice
Trip Schneck, President and Co-Founder, TIG Global LLC
Adam Weissenberg, Vice Chairman, and U.S. Tourism, Hospitality & Leisure Leader, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Friends
Thank you to our generous Corporate Members
PartnersDavis & Gilbert LLP Deloitte & Touche USA LLPDenihan Hospitality GroupeCornell & Executive EducationExpedia, Inc. Forbes Travel GuideFour Seasons Hotels and Resorts Fox Rothschild LLP French Quarter Holdings, Inc. HVS Hyatt InterContinental Hotels Group Jumeirah GroupLRP PublicationsMarriott International, Inc.Marsh’s Hospitality Practice MaritzPricewaterhouseCoopersProskauer Sabre Hospitality Solutions Schneider Electric Southern Wine and Spirits of AmericaThayer Lodging Group Thompson HotelsTravelportWATG
Senior Partners
Hilton WorldwideMcDonald’s USAPhilips HospitalitySASSTRTaj Hotels Resorts and PalacesTIG Global
4
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Laura McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration,
and a minor in Spanish from the College of Arts and Sciences. She currently works on a web marketing team at TIG
Global, a hotel internet marketing company based near Washington, D.C. She has work experience with Octagon,
a sports and entertainment marketing firm, and she worked in London, England, on the sales and marketing team
at the Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel. At Cornell, Laura was heavily involved with serving the local Ithaca
community for three years as she participated in a mentorship program for children in partnership with
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Debra Stock is a market manager for Expedia, Inc., in Washington, D.C. and a recent graduate from the Cornell
University School of Hotel Administration. She has experience in front office operations at the Fairmont Copley
Plaza Hotel in Boston, and in sales and marketing as a manager for Hotel le Bleu and Hotel le Jolie in New York
City. During her time at Cornell, Debra was actively involved on campus as a guest speaker on distribution systems
for HSMAI and in her role as a Hotel School Ambassador, hosting speakers and visiting companies, giving tours
of the Hotel School to prospective students and alumni, and mentoring freshmen. She is still actively involved as
an alumna and is currently chair of the events committee for the Cornell Hotel Society Washington DC/Baltimore
chapter.
Rohit Verma, Ph.D., is professor of service operations management and executive director of the
Center for Hospitality Research at the Cornell University School of Hotel
Administration ([email protected]). His research interests include
product-and-service design and innovation, customer choice modeling, and quality/ process
improvement strategies. His work has appeared in such publications as MIT Sloan Management
Review, California Management Review, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly and several prominent academic
journals. He is a co-author of a textbook titled Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st
Century and co-editor of a forthcoming book titled The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on
Hospitality: Cutting Edge Thinking and Practice.
How Travelers Use Online
and Social Media Channels to
Make Hotel-choice Decisions
by Laura McCarthy, Debra Stock, Rohit Verma
6
CORNELL HOSPITALITY REPORT
by Laura McCarthy, Debra Stock, Rohit Verma
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EXHIBIT 1
Comparison of visitors to Facebook and Google
Cornell Hospitality Research Summit
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EXHIBIT 2
Word cloud from #CHRS tweets
Note: Developed by Michael J. Dixon from Twitter feeds for the 2010 Cornell Hospitality Research Summit.
Intelligent listening.
Legal issues.
Next Gen. Forbes Hotel Guide,
Social media constitute a focus group of millions of people
who provide information without being prompted.
—Stuart Greif, J.D. Power and Associates
Forbes Travel Guide
Engagement.
ship Oasis of the Seas
EXHIBIT 3
Research timeline
CHR Report
Data Analysis
Data collection from randomly selected business and
leisure hotel customers in the United States
Survey Development
(Qualitative Research, Pilot Survey, Final Survey)
Background ResearchJanuary 2010
December 2010
:
6
“
Cornell Hospitality Report
the Secrets of Customer Choices Cornell Hospitality Report
Cornell Hospitality
Report
travel
history
searching
booking pre-arrival
during the
stay
post-
departure
mobile
features
technology
perceptions
demographics
EXHIBIT 4
Research question flow
sites (e.g
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Hotel recommended by my organization
Google, Yahoo, Bing or other search engine.
Travel-related websites
Friends and family recommendation
Colleagues and business associates recommendation
Hotel reviews provided AAA, Forbes Travel Guide, etc.
Hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor, Facebook, Myspace,
Twitter, Blogs, etc.
Meta-search websites (e.g. Expedia, Priceline, Kayak)
Female
Male
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Hotel recommended by my organization
Google, Yahoo, Bing or other search engine.
Travel-related websites
Friends and family recommendation
Colleagues and business associates recommendation
Hotel reviews provided AAA, Forbes Travel Guide, etc.
Hotel reviews posted on TripAdvisor, Facebook, Myspace,
Twitter, Blogs, etc.
Meta-search websites (e.g. Expedia, Priceline, Kayak)
Female
Male
EXHIBIT 5
Hotel information sources for business travelers
Percentage of respondentsNote: Respondents could select more than one information source.
EXHIBIT 6
Hotel information sources for leisure travelers
Women
Men
Percentage of respondentsNote: Respondents could select more than one information source.
Women
Men
Results
Information-search di"erences.
i.e.,
Women’s due diligence.
e.g
e.g.
Forbes Travel Guide
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Myspace
Tripadvisor
AAA
Forbes Travel Guide
Blogs
Flickr
Youtube
Hotel Chatter
Female
Male
EXHIBIT 7
Most frequently consulted social media and customer review sites
Percentage of respondents
Note: Respondents could select more than one information source.
Women
Men
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Read a travel book
Online Search Engines
Online Meta-Search site
Online Travel Agency
Brand Website
Tripadvisor
EXHIBIT 8
Information sources consulted in the early phase of a hotel purchase decision
Number of respondents
EXHIBIT 9
Information sources consulted in the beginning and middle phases of a hotel purchase decision
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Read a travel book
Online Search Engines
Online Meta-Search site
Online Travel Agency
Brand Website
Tripadvisor
Number of respondents
Read a travel book
Search site
Online Travel Agency
Brand Website Middle StageMiddle stage
Early stage
Read a travel book
Online Search Engines
Search site
Online Travel AgencyEarly Stage
Information-search continuum.
<
e.g.,
7 op.cit.
Narrowing the search.
Decision time.
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Read a travel book
Online Search Engines
Online Meta-Search site
Online Travel Agency
Brand Website
Tripadvisor
EXHIBIT 10
Information sources consulted in the all three phases of a hotel purchase decision
Read a travel book
Online Search Engines
Search site
Online Travel Agency
Brand Website Later Stage
Middle Stage
Early Stage
Number of respondents
Late stage
Middle stage
Early stage
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Luxury or 5-Star Hotel
Upscale or 4-Star Hotel
Mid-range or 3-Star Hotel
Economy or 2-Star Hotel
Budget or 1-Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Female
Male
Women
Men
Unlikely Likely
EXHIBIT 11
Likelihood of booking a hotel that has negative reviews
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Luxury or 5-Star Hotel
Upscale or 4-Star Hotel
Mid-range or 3-Star Hotel
Economy or 2-Star Hotel
Budget or 1-Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Female
Male
Women
Men
Unlikely Likely
EXHIBIT 12
Likelihood of booking a hotel that has positive reviews
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Luxury or 5-Star Hotel
Upscale or 4-Star Hotel
Mid-range or 3-Star Hotel
Economy or 2-Star Hotel
Budget or 1-Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Female
Male
Women
Men
Unlikely Likely
EXHIBIT 13
Likelihood of posting a hotel review after a negative experience
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Luxury or 5-Star Hotel
Upscale or 4-Star Hotel
Mid-range or 3-Star Hotel
Economy or 2-Star Hotel
Budget or 1-Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Star Hotel
Female
Male
Women
Men
Unlikely Likely
EXHIBIT 14
Likelihood of posting a hotel review after a positive experience
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