Friends and fellow travelers : comparative influence of review sites and friends on hotel choice
Purpose– This paper aims to examine when travelers are more influenced by friends (word-of-mouth [WOM]) with limited knowledge of hotels but an understanding of the traveler, and when by review sites (electronic word-of-mouth [eWOM]) which have immense experience of hotels but cannot know the indivi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2019
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82839 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/48161 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Purpose– This paper aims to examine when travelers are more influenced by friends (word-of-mouth [WOM]) with limited knowledge of hotels but an understanding of the traveler, and when by review sites (electronic word-of-mouth [eWOM]) which have immense experience of hotels but cannot know the individual traveler. Sites such as TripAdvisor® offer millions of reviews, and travelers often reduce that to a manageable amount by focusing on reviews by writers who show homophily, i.e. are similar to them in terms of travel interests. These sites represent a form of eWOM recommendation; what is not clear is how much they replace or augment traditional WOM. Design/methodology/approach – Dual-method content analysis of semi-structured interviews with a heterogeneous purposive sample of regular users of TripAdvisor (N = 30), followed by a survey of TripAdvisor users (N = 237). Findings – Friends were considered the most credible information source, although friends showing greater homophily were more valued than others. However, in some circumstances, subjects found eWOM more credible: when they wanted greater certainty in their hotel choice, so complete information was important; when the hotel was for a special occasion or special people; and for feelings of empowerment. Most subjects compared all sources rather than relying on one. Originality/value – This study reminds hotel managers that while eWOM is accessible and analyzable, it may not fully represent guests’ opinions; hotels’ marketing strategy should balance it with other recommendation networks. As guests compare sources, consistency in all forms of customer engagement is also essential. |
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