Antecedents of online word-of-mouth reviews on hotels

Abstract

Purpose

The word-of-mouth comments considered as the evaluation of a purchase experience have been widely discussed in the literature. Nevertheless, the study of online reviews pre-purchase stage remains limited. The purpose of this study is to analyze the variables that support word-of-mouth adoption in the choice of the hotel, from the receiver perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The information was collected by face-to-face survey to 393 guests from 32 hotels in two Spanish cities. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results confirm the significant and indirect effects of the motivations for conducting reviews on online word-of-mouth adoption. Specifically, the significant relationship chain of convenience and risk reduction motivations, intention to consult online comments, volume of comments exert a significant influence on acceptance the suggestions in online reviews and recommendations about the hotels.

Research limitations/implications

The study of these variables advances the literature on online word-of-mouth by analyzing in-depth the antecedents of the purchase decision using technologies. From the practical point of view, the results help hotels managers to improve the way to share information by facilitating access to the accommodation experiences of other consumers.

Originality/value

The novelty of this research is mainly found in the study of how consumers modify their behavior using online word-of-mouth reviews. From the receiver perspective, consumer motivations, word-of-mouth volume and intention to consult serve as antecedents of purchase decision.

Citation

Moliner-Velázquez, B., Fuentes-Blasco, M. and Gil-Saura, I. (2022), "Antecedents of online word-of-mouth reviews on hotels", Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 377-393. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHTI-10-2020-0184