Why Do We Care What Other People Think? - A Peekinto the Psychology of Online Reviews

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Over the past few months I have heard from a lot of different clients about their concerns over online reviews and what they have read about various hotels. In addition, I have also had a few clients reach out and want to book something because of what they read online. Which got me thinking - is it good that we book and plan trips based around other people's opinions - and more often than not the opinions of strangers? Following is a good article written by Angela Rasmey that I found in my almuni magazine - Premier Magazine. It talks about the physchology of online reviews and why we make decisions based on the opinions of others.

 

The Psychology of Online Travel Reviews by Angela Ramsey

 

“i’ve heard good things,” a friend says after learning of your tentative plans to stay at a certain beachside resort. You smile, still gripped with doubt. After all, this is your one big trip this year, not counting the summer’s family reunion (which everyone knows doesn’t count as a vacation), and it needs to be postcard perfect.

 

Refusing to leave your booking decision to chance, you take to your laptop to consult a more reliable friend—your favorite travel review site. Here, you will scrutinize amenities and weigh the opinions of a mostly anonymous lot whose experiences may very well become the blueprint for your vacation.

 

“Like you, these travelers have invested time and money selecting an experience that matches their expectations,” says Dr. Sarah Tanford, associate professor at the Harrah College of Hospitality. “Their perspectives feel like free advice … a glimpse behind the curtain.”

 

But while consumers may be empowered by the world of the online travel reviews, the service industry often struggles when confronting complicated questions, like "just what exactly do our customers want?"

 

That’s where Tanford comes in. Over the past five years, Tanford has been plumbing the depths of online travel review sites, mixing and matching elements to see how they affect customer decisions. Her methodology? Setting up mock review sites and presenting potential travelers with different scenarios to test how they react when choosing where to stay and what to eat (names of actual restaurants and hotels are not used).

 

“Simulating the online travel review space means that I can control the variables, which cannot be done using real sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp” Tanford says. In her own virtual world, she can control the way photos appear, she can test the effectiveness of different styles of rating systems, and she can experiment with the way businesses communicate and promote factors like sustainability, reputation, location, and price.

 

Having previously worked as a manager in the casino industry and a senior analyst in travel distribution marketing, Tanford knows the stakes are particularly high in the self-conscious world of hospitality.

 

“There’s a thing called the negativity bias,” says Tanford, whose work is heavily rooted in social psychology theory. “Even a single negative review in a series of positive reviews can cause someone to choose a different hotel or restaurant.”

 

Positive reviews, on the other hand, have a measurable effect when it comes to price: “People are actually willing to pay more for a resort with positive reviews while remaining hesitant to book a negatively reviewed resort, even at a steep discount.”

 

So why, in light of your friend’s glowing endorsement of the beachside resort, do you still feel the need to seek the opinions of strangers?

 

It is our affinity for “word-of-mouth” interaction, which Tanford calls one of the most persuasive forms of communication according to research. “Even though these reviewers are strangers, we think of them as just regular people like you and me," Tanford says. "Their word-of-mouth advice is viewed as more objective than advertisers or professional travel experts.”

 

Ultimately the online review is just one of many powerful tools in the arsenal of decision making, says Tanford, who notes that consumers sometimes fall into the trap of blindly following the pack.

 

“The bottom line is consumers should consider their specific needs when making travel choices,” she says. “Online reviews are just one piece of the puzzle.”

 

After all, this is your trip … not theirs.

 

A well-known expert in the area of hospitality consumer behavior, Dr. Sarah Tanford’s research has been featured in several top tier hospitality journals, at major hospitality conferences, and in news outlets such as the New York Times. As part of her ongoing work with doctoral students, Tanford recently received support for a fully funded three-year graduate research assistantship through UNLV.