Organic Versus Solicited Hotel TripAdvisor Reviews: Measuring Their Respective Characteristics

Abstract

Hotels that participate in TripAdvisor’s Review Express review solicitation programs add volume to their review count. But are the incremental reviews generated good for the hotel? This research note reports findings from a study comparing organic and solicited reviews on TripAdvisor for 50 hotel properties across 10 American cities. The mixed research results suggest that participating hotels carefully evaluate their property’s postings to determine the positive and/or negative impacts solicited reviews may be having upon their online review image. Multiple review attractiveness measures are provided to assist hotel management evaluate their property’s review postings and make informed decision regarding participation in review solicitation programs.