How Hotel Responses to Negative Online Reviews Affect Customers' Perception of Hotel Image and Behavioral Intent: An Exploratory Investigation

Online guest reviews have become an important facet of consideration when customers decide on a hotel. However, limited research has been done to examine how hotel management's responses to comments posted to online review sites such as TripAdvisor influence customers' hotel perception and choice. This pilot study uses a semiexperimental approach to investigate how customers' perceived hotel image, attitude, and hypothetical intent to stay are impacted by three different hotel responses to negative guest online feedback, respectively, including "no response," "negative response," and "service recovery response" scenarios. The results reveal that providing a service recovery response to negative online reviews enhanced hotel image, attitude, and hypothetical intent to stay at the hotel. Comparatively, respondents' hotel image and attitude toward the hotel were ranked lowest under the "no response" strategy, which indicates that any hotel response, even negative, would be better than taking no action. This study provides valuable implications and strategies for academics and hotel management in terms of addressing negative online reviews.