Influence of Online Reviews on Hotel Reservation Intentions: Insights from Bangladeshi Travellers

Abstract

The primary objective of this research is to undertake an empirical investigation of the overall influence of online reviews on hotel booking intentions within the context of Bangladesh. The study involved the execution of semi-structured interviews with a sample of 25 individuals with a recent history of frequent travel and hotel stays. Subsequently, a thematic analysis of the responses was conducted with the goal of elucidating the outcomes and ascertaining the influence of online reviews on individuals' predispositions towards booking a hotel for their accommodation facility. The findings of the study revealed that positive reviews wield the most substantial influence among the various dimensions of tourists' reviews. Notably, the idea of "trust" appeared within the identified indicators as a mediating variable in the association between reviews and the intention to book a hotel. Moreover, this empirical study also showed that unfavorable online reviews significantly influence individuals ‘intents to reserve hotels, whereas positive reviews do not yield an equivalent impact. Considering these outcomes, the authors draw a series of management implications, including the need to use this information to promote stakeholder engagement and collaboration, to use these indicators for the management of hotels to adopt a more holistic approach to address the service gap in the hospitality industry, and to focus on resilient planning for sustainable smart tourism development.