listen to your customers! how hotels manage online travel reviews. the case of hotels in lugano
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ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 1
Listen to your customers! How hotels manage online travel
reviews. The case of hotels in LuganoSilvia De Ascaniis
Alessia BorrèElena MarchioriLorenzo Cantoni
Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (CH)(silvia.de.ascaniis; alessia.borre; elena.marchiori;
lorenzo.cantoni)@usi.ch
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 2
Hotels and online reviews• Online Travel Reviews (OTR) had a growth rate of 800% in
the last 4 years• OTR are a key driver in tourism decision-making, because:
are used at any stage of travel planning are considered the most reliable form of advertising,
second only to recommendation from friends and relatives are “invitations to reason” in a certain way , i.e.
recommendations and opinions are justified with arguments
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 3
• OTR affect the reputation of tourism businesses• Hotels need to monitor and manage OTR• Hotels may take advantage of OTR, in terms of: service
improvement, benchmark competitors, enhanche customers’ relationship and confidence
• Suggestions on how to manage and answer to OTR come both from scholars and the industry
Hotels and online reviews
Do hotels reply to OTR? How do they reply?
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 4
Objective and research designOBJECTIVETo understand if and how hotels answer to online reviews
RESEARCH QUESTIONWhich communicative practices are employed by hotels to respond to OTR?
Reaction to customers’ reports Aspects of concern Structure of response Attention to review
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 5
Sample of analysisHotel category N° of reviews received
between 01.02.2013 and 31.01.2014
N° of answers to reviews given between 01.02.2013 and 31.01.2014
Ration between answers given and reviews received
5* hotels 264 113 42.8%
4* hotels 657 72 10.9%
3* hotels 561 74 13.2%
Total 1482 259 17.5%
Positive: 192 (74%)
Negative: 67 (26%)
more!
quicker!
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 6
Objective and research design
3 ANALYTICAL STAGES 1. construction and validation of a typology of the online
interaction guest-hotel 2. identification of the main argument put forward by the
reviewer and its role (if any) in hotel’s response3. analysis of the rhetorical moves used by the hotel in its
response
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 7
STAGE 1: Typology of the online interaction guest-hotel
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 8
91% (236 / 259)7% (19 / 259)1.5% (4 /259)
(…) the elevator suddenly stopped between floors. (…) After an
extended period of screaming for help and pounding on the door,
someone finally heard us and tried to physically open the door but to no
avail.
91% (236 / 259)7% (19 / 259)1.5% (4 /259)
STAGE 1: Typology of the online interaction guest-hotel
(…) a member of the Staff entered in contact with you in less than a minute.
(…) the doors were opened in approximately 5 minutes, and I
understand that remaining stranded in a elevator, the waiting time may have
seemed much longer.
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 9
91% (236 / 259)7% (19 / 259)1.5% (4 /259)
95% (247 / 259)5% (12 / 259)
The expectation was unreasonable because:
• the hotel clearly stated beforehand that the guest shouldn’t expect certain services
• the hotel category did not include certain services
• the expectation was unreasonable if compared with competitors
• the expectation was unreasonable at all
«It’s a pleasure to read that you would like us to be ranked as a 5 star hotel. We wish to remind you, however, that we
are a 3 star hotel.»
STAGE 1: Typology of the online interaction guest-hotel
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 10
My biggest complaint was WIFI!! When I asked for Internet they brought me a cable to plug into
the phone! And you can only have 1 hour free Wifi at a time, the rest
you need to pay for.
91% (236 / 259)7% (19 / 259)1.5% (4 /259)
95% (247 / 259)5% (12 / 259)
STAGE 1: Typology of the online interaction guest-hotel
91% (236 / 259)3% (7 / 259)6% (15 / 259)
we are actually offering a basic service which is of 1 hour per day and a
premium (…) Besides this offer we have also an extended free wifi zone
that covers all our public areas (…) It is a shame that you did not used this
offered service.
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 11
91% (236 / 259)7% (19 / 259)1.5% (4 /259)
95% (247 / 259)5% (12 / 259)
Cannot be denied!
72.5% (188 / 259)18.5% (48 / 259)22% (11/259)
STAGE 1: Typology of the online interaction guest-hotel
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 12
Argument = opinionated information based upon the arguer’s reflection on her experience
Claim/opinion + justification/reason
Claim: «Avoid this hotel.»
Main Argument: bad staff attitude.
STAGE 2: Hotel’s tendency to address customer’s main argument
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 13
Main argument = the unity of claim and justification used by the customer as the core of her review
3 kinds of hotel’s attitude towards the main argument:Completely ignored the main argument advanced by the customerSupplied a generic «thanks» for the reviewReported a generic apology for the unsatisfactory performance
Hotel type Direct response to main argument
Direct response to main argument in positive
reviews
Direct response to main argument in negative
reviews
5-star 49% (56 / 113) 45% (41 / 91 positive reviews)
77% (17 / 22 negative reviews)
4-star 49% (35 / 72) 24% (9 / 38) 76% (26 / 34)
3-star 22% (16 / 74) 11% (7 / 63 positive reviews)
82% (9 / 11 negative reviews)
STAGE 2: Hotel’s tendency to address customer’s main argument
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 14
STAGE 3: Rhetorical moves in hotels’ response
Rhetorical move = communicative strategy used by a speaker to make her point or to strenghten the persuasive effect of
her discourse
The different parts of the review text were classified according to their communicative function.
A saturation approach was adopted: the list of rhetorical moves emerged empirically.
Rhetoric is the art of conveying a message in a convincing, eloquent and effective way
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 15
STAGE 3: Rhetorical moves in hotels’ response
Rhetorical move Exemplary statement Occurrence in positive OTR (192)
Occurrence in negative OTR (67)
Allocution Dear guest 187 (97.4%) 66 (98.5%)Gratitude Thank you for your review 177 (92.2%) 58 (86.5%)
Acknowledgment We are happy that you liked your stay at our hotel 149 (77.6%) 12 (17.9%)
Invitation to return Looking forward to host you again 178 (92.7%) 51 (76.1%)Salutation Your sincerely 149 56 (83.5%)
Integration I inform you that our hotel is provided with service x at guests’ free disposal / according to our hospitality approach …
96 (50%) 60 (89.5%)
Clarification/correction The price is in line with Swiss category standards 23 31 (46.3%)
Apology We regret for the inconvenience 33 (17.2%) 44 (65.7%)
Request for more details We kindly ask you to contact us to better explain what happened
2 (1%) 6
Compensation We will be happy to offer you an extra service on your next visit
0 1
Notify to the proper person We will relate your praises/complaint to the addressed person 18 (9.3%) 9
Denial The fact you are reporting cannot be due to our service 0 7
Understanding We understand that a hotel located in x might make transfers more difficult
1 7
mostly uncustomized generic formulas
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 16
Suggestions for hotel online reviews management
Typology of guest-hotel online interaction
Monitoring and classification of reviews
Identification of main argument in customers’ reviews
Direct reference to the main argument increasing customer-care
Rhetorical moves Prepare standard reply formats
Customize moves in standard reply formats
ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 17
Every good conversation starts with good listening!