Determinants of hotel guests’ satisfaction from the perspective of online hotel reviewers

With the proliferation of Web 2.0 and the travel-related user-generated content platforms, researchers can obtain abundant unsolicited data to examine guests’ perceptions, preferences and behaviors. Drawing on online reviews, this study aims to identify the key factors that determine guest satisfaction in lodging businesses.

A total of 400 English-language reviews posted about the best-rated hotels in Istanbul, Turkey, according to TripAdvisor’s ranking system, were selected and content-analyzed. A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive content analysis was adopted in this study.

The findings suggested that the quality and size of rooms, along with the service quality from staff, mainly determine guest satisfaction. The findings also reveal that relatively young European male travelers who stay in couple and with family are more likely to share their accommodation experiences in cyberspace.

The study adds to the literature on the determinants of guest satisfaction by examining online reviews. Unlike research using conventional research methods, the present study contributes to the existing literature of guest satisfaction in the hotel industry by harnessing the power of the word of mouse.