The Role of Online Customer Reviews and Managerial Feedback in Shaping Travelers’ Decisions

Abstract

This paper presents two experimental studies examining how online customer reviews, specifically positive and negative evaluations of hotel attributes, influence travellers’ decision-making processes. In the first study, we investigate how guest evaluations of three types of hotel attributes—cognitive, sensory, and affective—affect booking intentions and the likelihood of recommending the hotel. Our results show that positive reviews of sensory and cognitive attributes significantly enhance both booking intentions and recommendations, while affective attributes have a lesser impact. The second study compares the effectiveness of two types of managerial responses—personalized versus generic—on these decision-making outcomes. Our findings reveal that personalized managerial responses are more impactful than generic ones. Furthermore, when a hotel review contains a mix of positive and negative evaluations across cognitive, sensory, and affective attributes, personalized responses notably improve the perceived attitude toward the hotel and the likelihood of booking, more so than generic responses.