According to Sann, Lai & Chen (2021), approximately 3.5 billion people are using the internet, which means that people often look for the information provided by other customers to buy products or check for services. In other words, the sharing or exchange of information between customers before purchasing products is known as electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). However, there is both negative and positive impact of eWOM on both the customers as well as on the growth of the organizations. In a similar context, the tourism and hospitality industry also faces issues related to the negative online reviews of customers on hotels’ image and consumer behavior. The negative online reviews of the customers have a huge impact on the reputation of the hotel industry as customers tend to make their decisions about staying in the hotel based on the reviews of other customers. Moreover, negative online reviews can also affect the revenue generated by the hotels in this industry.
In this context, the purpose of this research is to analyze the need for eWOM in the tourism and hospitality industry and analyze the ways in which hotels respond to negative online reviews that affect customers’ perceptions of hotel image and consumer behavior.
As per the data provided by Bore, Rutherford, Glasgow, aheri, & Antony (2017), the concept of online reviews and eWOM was introduced in the tourism and hospitality industry due to the increasing number of travelers that are using the internet in order to check the destination information as well as to conduct online transactions. The use of the internet has helped the customers to check the prices of hotels they wish to stay in along with the services that are provided to them. Additionally, Equihua, Romero & Casaló (2019), has provided similar views that increasing the use of internet among the customers has to lead to the introduction of online reviews and eWOM in the tourism and hospitality industry in order to sustain the market and accomplish the needs of the customers. As the products and services provided in this industry are intangible; due to which the customers are more likely to be dependent on the reviews of other customers before making their decision.
According to the research conducted by Hu & Kim (2018), eWOM has both positive and negative influences on the tourism and hospitality industry. The Negative Online Reviews Or Ewom Can Have Huge Impact On The Destinations Image As The Customers That Are Not Satisfied With The Destination Or The Services provided to them in that destination will post negative reviews. These negative reviews will further be noticed by the other customers that are planning to visit that particular destination and can avoid visiting that place due to the negative reviews they have observed thereby affecting the growth of the tourism industry. Similarly, Montella (2017) and Perez-Aranda, Vallespin & Molinillo (2018), has stated similar views that the reviews provided by the customers affect the sales of products and services such as wine tourism in Australia is affected by the customers’ reviews. The reviews posted by the customers helped the industry to boost the wine sale in the country, which helped the industry to increase its sales and the number of tourists visiting the country as per the reviews provided to them.
According to the study conducted by Gellerstedt & Arvemo (2019), it has been deduced that several customers face different types of issues due to which they come up with different types of complaints. It has been further deduced that the customers face issues related to dirty rooms as compared to what the hotels show in the pictures. The customers have also raised complaints regarding the internet services that are provided to them as the customers are now more dependent on the internet while traveling, whereas Beneke, Mill, Naidoo & Wickham (2015), states that the customers mostly complaint about the ways in which the hotel staff behaves with them. The customers and staff may get into some conflicts, which results in the bad behavior of the staff towards the customers. The customers then tend to put negative reviews on social media or the hotel’s website, which affects the customer base of the hotels in this industry.
As per the study conducted by Chen (2017), there is a need for the customers to complaint about their experience because they think that their reviews will help other customers before making their decision. Additionally, complaining on social media is the fastest and cheaper method for customers to spread their word. The online reviews reach a large number of audience and the customers’ reviews remain for a longer period of time, which has a huge impact on the growth of hotels in this industry. In a similar context, as per the data provided by Beneke, Mill, Naidoo & Wickham (2015), customers tend to post negative reviews regarding their bad experiences as they are concerned regarding the customer satisfaction level. They would also want hotels to improve their services and enhance customer satisfaction levels so that the customers in future can have a good experience.
The hotels in the tourism and hospitality industry respond in several ways with respect to the negative online reviews received as it has a huge impact on the hotel’s reputation along with the behavior of the customer. According to the data provided by Liu, Zhang, Sun & Li (2020), service recovery methods are used by the hotels as this method helps the hotels to explain their views to the customers along with apologizing to the customers with respect to the mistakes that are conducted by them. The hotels further provide compensation, coupons or discount offers to the customers in order to sustain the hotel’s image in the industry. In addition to this, the hotels use nine methods in order to make the service recovery method successful. The nine methods include apologizing to the customers, explaining the views of the hotel management, and correcting the mistakes conducted by the hotel staff. In the service recovery method, the hotel also has to show empathy to the customers by understanding their needs and requirements along with the issues that were faced by them while taking the services of the hotel.
Furthermore, Chen (2017) has provided similar views that the hotels under this method also provide compensation to the customers as this strategy helps in attracting more customers to the hotels and reduces the amount of negative reviews against them. The hotels also acknowledge the issues that were faced by the customers and try to resolve them in order to enhance the customer satisfaction level. Additionally, follow-up plans are also developed by the hotels as soon as possible as it not only helps them to change the customer’s perception but also improves their image in the industry. Under this recovery method, the hotels also tend to treat their customers exceptionally and also take sessions for the interaction of employees and managers in order to identify the issues in the services and mitigate them. It has further been deduced that free food or discount coupons that are provided to the customers while apologizing have a positive impact, whereas apologizing and understanding the reason for their complaint has no impact on the customers.
Meng, Dipietro, Gerdes, Kline & Avant (2022) and Brunner, Ullrich & Oliveria (2019), have provided similar views that the strategy of using psychological and tangible elements is used by hotels in order to resolve the issue of service failure by the customers. Under the psychological elements, the hotels tend to express their concern for their customers along with understanding the issues faced by them. They also tend to understand the need of the customers and acknowledge them that they shall improve the hotel services in the future. On the other hand, tangible elements are those under which the hotels resolve their failure by correcting their mistakes and completing their failed services. Psychological elements are generally associated with apologizing to the customers, due to which the customers are not completed satisfied and they do not tend to remove their negative reviews. However, tangible elements help the hotels to deal with the customers by providing them with a discount coupons, free upgrades, free food, or free spa services due to which the customers seem to be more satisfied. This strategy also helps in removing the negative reviews posted by the customers, which further helps the hotels to maintain their image in the industry.
However, Brunner, Ullrich & Oliveria (2019), has also stated that the hotels should also follow the signaling theory that will help the hotels to resolve the issues related to their employee behavior and practices followed by them that leads to increased dissatisfaction level of the customers. Under the signaling theory, in a communication process, the sender sends the signals to the recipient. The sender has the power to send the signal specific information to the receiver, whereas the receiver decides the ways to interpret the signal. This theory is beneficial for hotels while searching for the new staff. The employee sends signals to the employer related to the information that is required for his/her new job. The employee presents specific knowledge and abilities in order to demonstrate whether they are suitable for the job or not. This theory is also beneficial for the hotels as they receive a higher amount of evidence from the employee based on their previous performances, which helps in reducing the risks related to employee performance thereby increasing the customer satisfaction level.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it has been concluded that eWOM is considered as an essential aspect of the tourism and hospitality industry. The companies have to enhance their practices and implement new strategies in order to reduce the risks related to negative online comments. The main agreement in this literature review is that the companies use different strategies to overcome the issue of online reviews such as using service recovery methods and using psychological elements such as apologizing and understanding the issues faced by the customers. However, it has also been deduced that the psychological elements are not useful for the companies to reduce the risks of negative reviews rather the tangible elements that are provided by the companies in which they provide free services or discount coupon; is more preferred by the customers.
The important issue that is still unresolved in this research is that there are some companies in this industry that are still not improving their practices in order to reduce the customers’ complaints. This is affecting their growth and revenue generated by them. The companies should follow new strategies and accomplish the demands of the customers in order to reduce the risks in the future and sustain their position in the market.
The overall perspective on this research topic is that the companies in the tourism and hospitality industry should implement new strategies and improve their practices in order to reduce the risks related to customers’ dissatisfaction. Moreover, the use of eWOM would be increased by the customers therefore the companies should also implement new technologies and strategies that will help in analyzing the needs and requirements of the customers. It will also help the companies to implement strategies that accomplish the customer requirements.
From the above literature review, it has been identified that eWOM is considered one of the major concerns for companies in the tourism and hospitality industry. There were several aspects discussed in this research paper that were eventually reflecting the need and impact of eWOM in this industry. Moreover, this study lacks the comparison of different types of eWOM along with its need in the industry. Furthermore, most of the journals, books, and articles are based on secondary data that might be out of date or inaccurate to conduct current research.
References
Beneke, J., Mill, J., Naidoo, K., & Wickham, B. (2015). The impact of willingness to engage in negative electronic word-of-mouth on brand attitude: a study of airline passengers in South Africa. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 9(2).
Bore, I., Rutherford, C., Glasgow, S., aheri, B., & Antony, J. (2017). A systematic literature review on eWOM in the hotel industry: Current trends and suggestions for future research. Hospitality & Society, 7(1), 63-85. doi: 10.1386/hosp.7.1.63_1
Brunner, C., Ullrich, S., & Oliveria, M. (2019). The most optimal way to deal with negative consumer review. Emerald Publishing Limited, 29(1), 104-122. DOI 10.1108/IntR-08-2017-0307
Chen, W. (2017). A Study of Negative Customer Online Reviews and Managerial Responses on Social Media-Case Study of the Marriott Hotel Group in Beijing. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research, 14, 53-60.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322520641_A_Study_of_Negative_Customer_Online_Reviews_and_Managerial_Responses_on_Social_Media-Case_Study_of_the_Marriott_Hotel_Group_in_Beijing
Gellerstedt, M., & Arvemo, T. (2019). The impact of word of mouth when booking a hotel: could a good friend’s opinion outweigh the online majority?. Information Technology & Tourism, 21(3), 289-311. DOI:10.1007/s40558-019-00143-4
Hu, y., & Kim, H. (2018). Positive and negative eWOM motivations and hotel customers’ eWOM behavior: Does personality matter?. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 75, 27-37.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.03.004
Liu, J., Zhang, H., Sun, J., & Li, N. (2020). How to prevent negative online customer reviews: the moderating roles of monetary compensation and psychological compensation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(10), 1-20. DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0334
Meng, f., dipietro, r., gerdes j., kline, s., & avant, t. (2022). How hotel responses to negative online reviews affect customers’ perception of hotel image and behavioral intent: An exploratory investigation. Tourism Review International, 22, 23-39. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3727/154427218X15202734130422
Monntella, M. (2017). Wine Tourism and Sustainability: A Review. Economics and Business Management, 2, 3-4. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/1/113
Perez-Aranda, J., Vallespin, M., & Molinillo, S. (2018). Hotels’ online reputation management: benefits perceived by managers. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(2), 615-632. DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-07-2017-0460
Ruiz-Equihua, D., Romero, J., & Casaló, L. (2019). Better the devil you know? The moderating role of brand familiarity and indulgence vs. restraint cultural dimension on eWOM influence in the hospitality industry. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 29(3), 310-328. DOI: 10.1080/19368623.2019.1630698
Sann, R., Lai, P., & Chen, C. (2021). Review papers on eWOM: prospects for hospitality industry. An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 32(2), 2-4. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13032917.2020.1813183
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