The Impact of Review Types on Accommodation Decisions of Consumers

This paper investigates the effects of online reviews on consumer decisions for accommodation sites. Customers who traditionally relied on friend’s referral and website reviews are now using eWOM (electronic word of mouth communication) and SNS reviews, such as those from Instagram and Facebook, in their accommodation decisions. They now have a wider range of options-people are now exposed to an array of accommodation choices such as Airbnbs. But no existing research comprehensively tracks down customers’ decision making in this environment. This research is an attempt to fill this gap. This paper collects survey data and ask how customers identified which accommodation to use, which review mediums they found their information from, and the key drivers that affected customers during their accommodation experience. Research also focuses on the impact of COVID-19 in their decision making process. Using this data allows us to look into the rationale behind many of their consumer decisions. Moreover, it is expected to be useful to those interested in hospitality sectors (such as myself) as this paper focuses on the effect of review's on their hospitality business, and how satisfaction plays an integral role for various accommodation mediums