Responding to Tripadvisor: How Hotel Responses to Negative Online Reviews Effect Hotel Image, Intent to Stay, and Intent to Return

Online guest reviews have become an important facet of consideration when guests decide on a hotel. Similarly, research has been done that shows a correlation between guest satisfaction and hotel responses to online reviews. However, little research has been done to show specifically how hotel management responses to comments posted on online review sites such as Tripadvisor influence guest intent to stay. This study will investigate how guest perception of hotel image, guest intent to stay, and guest intent to return are impacted by hotel responses to negative online feedback. The data reveals that providing a service recovery response to negative online reviews increases guest perception of image, guest intent to stay, and guest return intent. Similarly, the study found that guest perception of image was a predictor for guest intent to stay and guest return intent; and that in certain scenarios, overall perception of the hotel also predicted intent to stay and return. The current study examines these relationships and provides implications for practitioners and academics