Responsive and Responsible: Customizing Management Responses to Online Traveler Reviews

The helpfulness of online reviews greatly facilitates travelers’ information searches, and helpful reviews can popularize travel service providers within a virtual environment. This study examines how the helpfulness of travel reviews is influenced by customized management responses from a linguistic perspective. Based on TripAdvisor data for 946 hotels in the state of Texas, we apply an econometric model to understand which management response style most effectively promotes customers’ perceived helpfulness of the corresponding review. Empirical results show that a matched linguistic style and low similarity in management responses can motivate consumers to leave a “helpfulness” vote to the corresponding review; the review rating, hotel class, and respondent’s job title are found to significantly moderate these effects. Lastly, pertinent managerial implications are provided.