Assessing the Performance of Managing and Following-up Online Hotels’ Guests Reviews

Abstract

Purpose-Word of mouth (WOM) is considered among the most powerful source of information that affect consumers' purchasing decisions in the hotel industry. The importance of this effect growing because of the hospitality nature, those services are difficult to evaluate before consumption. The digitization of WOM and its spread on a large scale make it easier to track opinions about the services offered, which is more likely to have more credibility among consumers. Handling and responding to guest comments and reviews especially negative one is a very important in affecting the purchasing decision of the potential consumers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how managing customers' online reviews affect hotel performance and customers retention of some four stars hotels in Red Sea, Egypt. Design/methodology/approach-the data was collected through a semi-structured interview addressed to Director of Sales and Marketing and another questionnaire addressed to a sample of customers who lately visited the Red Sea.