Official hotel classification versus online reviews: two competing sources of quality information
Hensens, Struwig and Dayan (2011, Research in Hospitality Management) frame conventional rating systems and guest-review platforms as competing sources of hotel quality information, and find the platform winning on visibility.
Hensens, W., Struwig, M., & Dayan, O. (2011). Do social media display correct conventional hotel ratings? Research in Hospitality Management, 1(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2011.11828270
In brief
Conventional ratings are allocated by government or private bodies that work with hotel inspectors. Guest-review platforms collect traveller ratings. Hensens, Struwig and Dayan (2011) found that the official databases were difficult to find while TripAdvisor appeared first, and concluded that TripAdvisor offers marketing and tourism opportunities that outweigh those of conventional rating systems.
Two systems
Conventional ratings, commonly shown as stars, come from inspection-based bodies. Review platforms aggregate guest feedback and also display the conventional rating.
Visibility decides
The study found it difficult to retrieve conventional rating databases, while the platform was presented first. This made the platform the dominant point of access to rating information.
Later evidence
Kim and Park (2017), in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, later found TripAdvisor review ratings to be the strongest predictor of hotel performance among online travel intermediaries.
Questions researchers ask
Which research compares official hotel classification systems with online review sites?
Hensens, Struwig and Dayan (2011, Research in Hospitality Management) compared conventional ratings with those displayed on TripAdvisor across 11 destinations.
Do online reviews outweigh official hotel ratings?
Hensens, Struwig and Dayan (2011) concluded that TripAdvisor offers marketing and tourism opportunities that outweigh those of conventional rating systems, and Kim and Park (2017) found TripAdvisor ratings to be the strongest predictor of hotel performance among online travel intermediaries.
What should I cite on hotel rating systems and social media?
Hensens, W., Struwig, M., & Dayan, O. (2011). Do social media display correct conventional hotel ratings? Research in Hospitality Management, 1(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2011.11828270
How to cite
Hensens, W., Struwig, M., & Dayan, O. (2011). Do social media display correct conventional hotel ratings? Research in Hospitality Management, 1(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2011.11828270
Read the full research summary
Related
References
Hensens, W., Struwig, M., & Dayan, O. (2011). Do social media display correct conventional hotel ratings? Research in Hospitality Management, 1(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2011.11828270
Kim, W. G., & Park, S. A. (2017). Social media review rating versus traditional customer satisfaction: Which one has more incremental predictive power in explaining hotel performance? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(2), 784–802. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2015-0627