The importance of sensory dimension of customer experiences has been supported in tourism literature; albeit, there are still several important theoretical and methodological gaps to be bridged. This study showcased a methodological procedure of developing a sentiment scale of sensory experiences. By using big online review data in a restaurant context, this study examined the impact of five sensory experiences (sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch) on rating behavior. Results illustrated the relative importance of different sensory experiences. Based on an experiential paradigm, taste experiences were considered the most important component of restaurant experiences. A negativity bias was also observed. This study found a consistent pattern across five sensory experiences that negative attribute had a stronger effect on customer rating than its positive counterpart. The findings are expected to extend the discussions on ‘otherscapes’ and provide theoretical and methodological grounds to develop sentiment scales to understanding tourist experience and behavior
