Travelers’ online review on hotel performance – Analyzing facts with the Theory of Lodging and sentiment analysis

Abstract

This study analyzes how customers' online review sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral valence) and lodging experience vary across luxury, mid-tier, and low-tier hotels using the Theory of Lodging (ToL). This study investigated how customers rated the hotel's performance based on their subjective vs. objective evaluation of the lodging experience. The Sensitivity analysis and NLP method are used to determine how various aspects of hotel lodging services are related to various sentiments. Additionally, this study examined how external factors (beyond lodging) like walking facility, external attraction, and type of hotel influenced hotel review valence. Results found the significant effects of these factors on review valence. Interestingly, travelers in luxury hotels adopted a subjective evaluation approach, whereas those in low-tier hotels adopted an objective evaluation approach. This study contributes to hospitability and tourism consumption literature by integrating the ToL with the tourism environment to provide a satisfying touring experience.