The Effects on Consumer Behavior of Hotel Related Comments on the TripAdvisor Website: An Istanbul Case

Abstract

In parallel with the major developments witnessed in information technologies, social media, supported by its broad area of usage, is gaining significance in every field, with the tourism sector being no exception in this regard. The transfer of changing marketing strategies via digital channels into social media has transformed the way customers interact with the tourism sector, having now the ability to access the comments of other consumers via social media, and adjusting their preferences accordingly. In this study, the impact of the content analysis on the star rating given to hotels is examined with a "Panel Data Analysis" of all the hotels in Istanbul that have received a maximum of 25 reviews on the TripAdvisor website, with a total of 12,000 comments assessed. It was found that the location of the hotel, the access to transport facilities, the food and beverage concept, the quality of staff/service, and the cleanliness of the facilities all affected the star ratings given to hotels; while the architectural structure and the recommendations of other guests had a lesser effect. It was further noted that entertainmentanimation programs had little effect on guest preferences.

The Mediating Role of Real-Time Information Between Location-Based User-Generated Content and Tourist Gift Purchase Intention

“…The concept of real-time information has been in the limelight due to its ability to improve competitiveness (Reid, 2014), however, the recent emergence of dynamic user-provider interaction enables performance effectiveness and efficiency by dynamically engaging and performing timely actions based on real-time information (Buhalis & Sinarta, 2019). Online platforms provide a medium for communication and thus they can be critical to attracting new customers, as well as reinforcing existing relationships between businesses and customers (Özdemir & Çelebi, 2017;Steward et al, 2018;Yılmaz, 2020). Online platforms enable the maintenance of customers' communication records, which potentially influences other users (Ahsan & Rahman, 2016).…”

“…Developments in digital technologies have presented new and advanced means of marketing to business managers (Yılmaz, 2020). The emergence of Web 2.0 and online platforms influence the intention of tourists and impact marketing models that organizations should transform to expand their business.…”

“…Such content engages customers through increased product awareness, moreover, it is considered a valuable input for purchase decisions (Batra & Keller, 2016;Ciftci et al, 2020). Correspondingly, the digital marketing approach is shifting from business to consumer to peerto-peer model (Akçura & Altınkemer, 2002;Yılmaz, 2020). In this regard, consumer content sharing provides an extensive understanding of the emechanisms designed for spreading online information, which assists firms to promote and expand their business via online platforms.…”

Branding Heritage Tourism in Dubai: A Qualitative Study

“…A heritage brand is based on longevity, positioning, and value proposition, which need precise marketing and communication (Balmer & Burghausen, 2019;Wilson, 2018). The quality of the product reflects the quality of the place, and the story must be emotive and appealing (Pera, 2017;Yilmaz, 2020). Hence, the destination/country whose marketing succeeds in appealing to environmental and cultural associations successfully delivers on corporate, regional, destination, and individual branding.…”

Yi̇yecek İçecek İşletmeleri̇ne İli̇şki̇n Yorumlarin İçeri̇k Anali̇zi̇

“…Konu ile ilgili literatür incelendiğinde restoran işletmelerine yönelik benzer çalışmaların yapıldığı görülmektedir (Aydın, 2016;Beuscart, Mellet ve Trespeunch, 2016;Dalgıç, Güler ve Birdir, 2016;Demirkol, Kaya ve Akın, 2017;Erdem ve Yay, 2017;İbiş, Kızıldemir ve Çöp, 2019;Şengül, Çavuş ve Taşkın, 2018;Taştan ve Kızılcık, 2017;Yaşar, 2019;Yurday ve Kıngır, 2019). Turizme yönelik yapılmış diğer çalışmaları incelediğimizde ise otel (Ak ve Dinçer, 2019;Au, Buhalis ve Raw, 2014;Bayer ve Emir, 2017;Çuhadar, Köseoğlu ve Gültepe, 2018;Çizel, Çizel, ve Ajanovic, 2015;Doğancili, Karaçar ve Ak, 2019;O'connnor, 2010;Yılmaz, 2019), imaj (Belli ve Çolak, 2017), destinasyon (Miguéns, Baggio ve Costa, 2008), ulaşım (Güngör, Yücel Güngör, ve Seden, 2019) ve diğerleri (Amaral, Tiago ve Tiago 2014;Egresi, 2017;Safaa, El Housni ve Bédard, 2017;Yoo ve Gretzel, 2008) şeklinde karşımıza çıkmaktadır.…”