Do expectations towards Thai hospitality differ? The views of English vs Chinese speaking travelers
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
ISSN: 1750-6182
Article publication date: 1 December 2020
Issue publication date: 5 March 2021
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to shed light on differences in the patterns of online rating behavior that Chinese- and English-speaking travelers adopt when making hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.
Design/methodology/approach
A dual analysis was conducted on 800 online reviews for eight hotel brands. The brands, which are currently operating in Bangkok City, are considered to be representative of their categories. The hotels were selected based on their abilities to meet the quantitative and qualitative requirements of the text mining strategy adopted in this study.
Findings
The results reveal that, with respect to all of the hotel service attributes (i.e. Service, Cleanliness, Room, Sleep Quality, Location, Value and Overall), the ratings offered by the English-speaking guests were higher than the Chinese-speaking travelers. Based on the qualitative analysis, the ten service attributes which had the most impact on traveler satisfaction were distinguished. These attributes were then classified into three broadly themed categories including intangible service, tangible service and staying experience. The results from the word frequency analysis also helps to clarify which features are drawing attention from travelers from different backgrounds.
Originality/value
This study contributes to tourism and hospitality literature by confirming certain differences in the online rating behavior of Chinese- and English-speaking hotel guests.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author Raksmey Sann would like to express great appreciation to Professor Ching-Hsu Huang, Department of Hotel and Restaurant Management, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, for her valuable and constructive suggestions during the proposal planning and quantitative methodology development of this research work. Her willingness to give her time so generously has been very much appreciated.
Citation
Sann, R. and Lai, P.-C. (2021), "Do expectations towards Thai hospitality differ? The views of English vs Chinese speaking travelers", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-01-2020-0010
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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