Reputation management in cyberspace: evidence from Jordan’s luxury hotel market

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on a sample of 520 negative reviews posted on TripAdvisor against all five-star hotels operating in Petra, Jordan, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the response of luxury hotels to negative online reviews by considering the Response Rate (RR), the Response Time (RT) and the Response Content (RC).

Design/methodology/approach

A deductive content analysis was used on hotels’ managerial responses. Based on the literature review, a four-construct scheme was identified to guide the analysis including Appreciation; Apology; Explanation; and Incentive. The managerial responses were carefully read and manually coded based on the four-construct scheme. The time between the review posting date and the date of the managerial response was also recorded. Luxury hotel managers were also surveyed to obtain insights into their perceptions and practices with respect to online reputation management.

Findings

The findings call into question luxury hotels’ awareness of the harmful impact of negative online reviews. Specifically, the findings suggest that less than half of the negative reviews received a managerial response, and that more than half of these were standardized and did not refer to the issues raised in the reviews. The low response rate coupled with the hotel managers’ consensus on the importance of answering all online reviews indicates inconsistency between hotel managers’ perceptions and practices with regard to online reputation management.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the ongoing debate on reputation management in the hospitality industry by considering the managerial response to negative online reviews. The paper discusses several managerial implications for hotel managers as well as avenues for future research.

研究目的

本论文以TripAdvisor网站上520条关于约翰佩特拉古城五星级酒店的负面评论为样本, 分析豪华酒店如何应对网上负面评论, 具体评估变量包括反应率（RR）,反应时间（RT）,以及应对内容(RC)。

研究设计/方法/途径

本论文采用由繁入减的方法来文本分析酒店经理应对反馈内容。结合文献综述, 本论文共确立四个变量：（1）感谢；（2）道歉；（3）解释；以及（4）补偿。经理回复内容经过了研读和手动编码等过程进行分析。评论刊登和经理反馈时间差也经过审阅分析。此外, 豪华酒店经理还接受了问卷调查来获得他们关于在线名誉管理的意见和处理措施。

研究结果

本论文结果呼吁豪华酒店对于网上负面评论的严重影响的重视。其中, 研究结果表明, 不足一半的负面评论获得了经理回复, 而且, 一半以上的回复还是标准回答, 并没有涉及评论中提出的问题。低回复率以及酒店经理对于回复所有网上评论的统一认识表明, 酒店经理对于网上名誉管理的认知和措施存在于不一致性。

研究原创性/价值

本论文主要研究了经理应对在线负面评论的态度和措施, 其研究结果对于酒店业名誉管理方面一直以来存在的争论提供了科学检验。本论文讨论了多个酒店经理人管理理念以及提供了未来科研方向。

Citation

Alrawadieh, Z. and Dincer, M.Z. (2019), "Reputation management in cyberspace: evidence from Jordan’s luxury hotel market", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 107-120. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTT-09-2017-0093