E-Word-of-Mouth in the Hotel Industry

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Table of Contents

Interview Summary
The Eight Aspects of E-WOM
Work Cited

Interview Summary

To gain a better grasp of the impact of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) in the hotel industry, we interviewed Mr. Hisham who was kind enough to share his expertise. According to the interviewee, the first step is the evaluation of brand awareness, which is usually conducted through a series of questions to clients. It is best if they can provide information as to how they first heard about the hotel and what was the exact channel of communication – advertisement, social media platforms, or friends. Other sources can also be valid communication channels, which obviously, should be specified.

Mr. Hisham shared his opinion on hotel comparison and the difficulties related to that aspect. Namely, customers are not experts in the hotel industry: they do not know the market inside out and are not capable of a thorough analysis of brands and names. A typical client cannot judge objectively on the quality and services provided, which eventually may lead to a decision not advantageous for the hotel in question. Mr. Hisham argues that the customers with very limited knowledge regarding the hotel industry do not only make bad decisions but they also set a negative example for others. They can disseminate wrong information and inadvertently make other potential and actual customers follow their advice.

Yet, the aforementioned issue is nothing insurmountable: the hotel should simply focus on its strong points and capitalize them. For instance, defining the strengths is possible by inquiring about customers’ book intentions – business trips, leisure trips, medical tourism, or others. Focusing on the key points will gain a hotel more positive comments about its services. Moreover, it will help create a vision that potential customers will be able to understand and use as one of the factors in the selective process.

According to Mr. Hisham, knowing the customer affects the way a hotel is promoted. Many factors are taken into consideration: nationality, gender, ethnic origin, and others. Still, not all negative comments should serve as an indicator of the worthiness of a hotel, its flaws, and virtues. In the interview, Mr. Hisham provides an excellent example: the manager is well aware that his restaurants are serving authentic Asian food, some of the best in the country. However, if a Scandinavian consumer finds it not to his or her taste, it can be explained by their habits and what they are used to. For Mr. Hisham, the most important may be to appease the majority and accept the fact that it is impossible to be liked by everyone.

Mr. Hisham states that a hotel should make an effort to enhance its perceived trustworthiness by ensuring transparency. For instance, being precise and straightforward about the room sizes helps contradict complaints about small rooms. Overall, a hotel can reduce risks by making information available and updating it when necessary. There should be no misleading data about prices, charges, and extra services. Instead, a good manager should foster product acceptance by posting recent pictures and making sure that the architecture of the website and its navigation are clear and accessible.

In the long term, all these efforts will help to build a loyal customer base that is responsive to promotional offers and intends to use a hotel’s services again. Mr. Hisham highlights the importance of customer care in defending the electronic reputation of a hotel. Customers should know that they are not being lied to and that they get to know about the best options, be it via mail or in a conversation. Negative comments might still come through, but a well-built customer base will help a hotel to save its face and stay afloat.

The Eight Aspects of E-WOM

As of now, in marketing, there is a consensus on eight key aspects of electronic word-of-mouth. Hotel or brand awareness refers to the ability of a customer to recognize a brand and its attributes (Cantallops and Salvi 46). Hotel comparison implies that a customer does research contrasting brands before making a decision. One of the factors that influence the final decision is the book intention – individuals travel to serve various needs, be it work, health, or leisure. Locating preferable brands, defining intention, and contrasting brands all constitute the decision-making aspect of e-WOM. Other than that, customers care about the perceived trustworthiness of a venue, and more often than not, the primary source of information is the Internet. Thus, in order not to soil the reputation, a hotel needs to work on risk reduction, namely, moderate what is known about it online and keep the information up to date. Product acceptance only comes when a customer makes a well-informed decision and is sure that he or she can trust the provider (Cantallops and Salvi 48). In the long perspective, all these aspects may contribute to product loyalty – a conscious choice of a product and its preference over all others.

Below are some examples to match each of the aspects described drawn from the interview with Mr. Hisham and other sources (see Table 1).

Hotel/ Brand Awareness	Hotel Comparison	Book Intention	Decision Making	Perceived Trustworthiness	Risk Reduction	Product Acceptance	Loyalty
Making a purchase/ using a particular service with this brand before	The prestige of the brand (how well-known a hotel chain is based on customer’s perception)	Business trips	Need recognition (defining a need and making it known)	Friends’ and family’s recommendation (applies to the older cohort within the customer base that does not often make decisions made on online research)	Updating information so that customers never feel misled and can make well-informed decisions	The application ensures that a particular venue meets the market’s need	Inertia loyalty (customers are only loyal to a specific hotel brand because there are no other decent alternatives)
Recommending a hotel to a friend/ family	The number of rooms (or hotel size)	Medical tourism – a safe stay in the instant vicinity of a chosen medical facility	Information search (researching what could be the best solution for the newly emerged problem)	Independent ratings provided by experts of the hotel industry, be it brand classification or other essential criteria	Conducting surveys independently and gathering online data to get the full picture	Executive management provides ongoing support of the product and makes sure that the realization of the project is successful	Mercenary loyalty (customers are only loyal because they see this decision as to the most cost-effective of all)
Awareness of how a particular product or service improves a customer’s life	Brand classification (economy, midscale, upscale – also correlates with the overall prestige of a venue)	Tourism (may fall into many subsequent categories: luxury vacations, backpacking, and others)	Evaluation of alternatives (comparing and contrasting hotel brands and names based on specific criteria)	Online reviews (other customers’ feedback regarding a particular venue)	Analyzing feedback (paying attention to both positive and negative reviews but taking a conscious approach, as stated by Mr. Hisham)	Infrastructure accounts for overall convenience and accessibility	Cult loyalty (customers prefer a hotel brand because they feel like it makes part of their true identity and lifestyle)
Having a problem to be solved using a company’s product or service	Hotel trustworthiness – customer care, quality of service, lack of negative reviews online	A change of surroundings (customers looking for a location that would best serve a special event)	Booking decision	Official website (how well structured it is, the pleasant layout, and up-to-date information)	Giving feedback – not leaving critical posts and comments without a response and doing so promptly	Customers (includes locating a target group, testing, and providing the best possible customer care)	True loyalty (customers experience genuine positive emotions when using a particular product or service)
Recognizing a company’s attributes such as the logo and other design elements	Prices per room, especially when compared to the hotel location, room sizes, and brand classification (whether it is worth the money)	Out of necessity (customers having to book a room due to unexpected circumstances)	Post-purchase behavior (giving feedback, giving a recommendation, filing a complaint, etc.)	Strong online and social media presence – updates on changes and prompt responses to negative posts and comments	Taking action – identifying dire problems based on electronic word-of-mouth and taking action to tackle them	Feedback processing	Relationship loyalty (customers are loyal to a particular person who has something to do with a hotel but not to the brand itself)

Table 1. E-WOM aspects with examples.

Work Cited

Cantallops, Antoni Serra, and Fabiana Salvi. “New Consumer Behavior: A Review of Research on eWOM and Hotels.” International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 36, 2014, pp. 41-51.

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E-Word-of-Mouth in the Hotel Industry

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