Online hotel reviews: Factors influencing how customers perceive their credibility and the likelihood of customer adoption

Abstract

Customer reviews are an increasingly important part of the travel and tourism industry. It is therefore important to understand how the perceived credibility of online reviews influence the likelihood of customer adoption. This study examines three factors that affect the credibility of online reviews and how those reviews influence customer adoption when booking hotel reservations, namely: argument quality, source credibility, and review consistency and quantity. The results show that these factors have direct and positive effects on review credibility and thus on review adoption. This has implications for both hotel managers and online booking and review websites. Hotel managers should assess all reviews for credibility by looking at the argument and source credibility, and then look for trends or patterns to uncover recurring issues. Most importantly, managers must respond to all reviews in a prompt, helpful and polite manner. This can influence not only the individual who has posted the online review, but also the many readers thereafter. Furthermore, online booking and review sites can do more to ensure fair postings and increase the credibility of online hotel reviews. These sites should not allow anonymous postings but rather require each reviewer to create a profile that includes ID verification.