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Hotel Responses to Guests’ Online Reviews: An Exploratory Study on Communication Styles

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Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016

Abstract

This study explores the communication approaches used by hotel managers in responding to their guests’ online reviews. Data were collected from one of the largest hotel booking websites (Booking.com). Specifically, 447 responses provided by hotel managers belonging to an international chain (Best Western) were analysed within the ethos/logos/pathos framework. The findings highlight that hotel managers tend to adopt either a company-focused or a customer-focused style in their responses. Suggestions for practitioners are provided for effectively responding to online guest reviews.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, Verona, Italy

    Angelo Bonfanti & Vania Vigolo

  2. Department of Economics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Francesca Negri

Authors
  1. Angelo Bonfanti
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  2. Vania Vigolo
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  3. Francesca Negri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vania Vigolo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom

    Alessandro Inversini

  2. HES-SO Valais, Sierre, Valais, Switzerland

    Roland Schegg

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Bonfanti, A., Vigolo, V., Negri, F. (2016). Hotel Responses to Guests’ Online Reviews: An Exploratory Study on Communication Styles. In: Inversini, A., Schegg, R. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2016. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28231-2_29

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