How satisfying are Shanghai’s superior hotels? The views of international tourists

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to assess international customers’ experiences in the leading hotels of the iconic city of Shanghai.Design/methodology/approachLeximancer, a qualitative analysis software program, was used to examine over 2,000 reviews appraising Shanghai’s superior hotels. The reviews were posted on Agoda.com.FindingsOverall, the international tourists were actually quite satisfied with the superior Shanghai hotels. This study highlighted the continuing importance of the attentive and professional “staff”, physical attributes of the “hotel”, comfort of the “room”, “location”, proximity to a “shopping” area and co-creation possibilities to deliver some “beautiful” experiences. Segments of the market based on tourists’ origins, travel style and hotel management styles emphasized different expressive and instrumental features. Some strong commonalities were identified. The most satisfied customers, no matter what their backgrounds, were those who were more impressed with the expressive and intangible elements in the hotel, especially their interaction with and the service qualities of the hotels’ professional and attentive staff.Practical implicationsThe work offers a potential range of insights and emphases for individual properties in Shanghai and other locations to help market and co-create experiences in their properties in distinctive ways.Originality/valueThe work is framed within the wider theoretical concerns of extending the meaning of co-creation in the experience economy. The work argues that co-creation is not limited to the on-site experience but rather that post-visit appraisals through user-generated contents constitute an extended form of interaction which may assist in understanding the full trajectory of the hotel experience.