Among the various forms of electronic word-of-mouth, online reviews are often labelled as the most prominent and successful in influencing consumers’ purchase decision. In February 2024, Statista reported that the number of reviews on TripAdvisor has grown substantially and already exceeded the one billion mark in 2021.

While online reviews are commonly used, there were significant differences in how different generational cohorts utilize them. However, there is limited research on cross-generational consumer behaviors in the hospitality industry, despite the acknowledgement that such knowledge is beneficial.

Thus, this study explored the impact of TripAdvisor reviews on hotel bookings across the three generational cohorts of Millennials, Generation X and Baby Boomers.

Attributes of Online Reviews

Past research has found that when evaluating online reviews, consumers rely on four common attributes of usefulness, valence, volume and timeliness.

Usefulness

Usefulness refers to the perceived reliability and the ability to build consumers' confidence. The usefulness of online reviews could be determined through:

  • Number of helpful votes;
  • Numerical ratings;
  • Word count; and
  • Disclosure of the reviewer's identity, especially the real name.

Valence

Valence is related to the substance of reviews. It can be based on either qualitative content or quantitative parameters such as:

  • The use of descriptions to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction;
  • Number of negative reviews; and
  • Ratio of positive to negative reviews.

Volume

While the quantity of reviews does provide certain assurance to buyers, there have been occasional refutations on the importance of volume. The criticism points out that individuals rarely go beyond two pages of reviews. However, it is more commonly agreed that there is a direct relationship between the number of reviews and the popularity of a product (which then instils confidence in consumers).

Timeliness

The timeliness of online reviews refers to the extent to which the content is current and appropriately prompt. Past research has established that consumers do find recent information to be relatively more valuable.

Characteristics of the Different Generational Cohorts

A generational cohort is defined as individuals born within a set duration of 20 to 25 years. Individuals within a generational cohort undergo a similar set of historic events which shaped their unique values, beliefs, expectations and behaviors.

Millennials

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1988) are digital natives who experienced economic growth and the emergence of communication technologies, particularly social media. Their common traits are that they tend to be opinionated and globally connected.

Generation X

Generation X (born from 1961 to 1980) are generally self-sufficient, adaptable and multi-cultural. As they are mostly still in the workforce unlike the Baby Boomers, and they have worked longer as compared to the Millennials, they would spend a huge amount of their disposable income on traveling.

Baby Boomers

These individuals (born from 1946 to 1960) grew up during the economic boom. They are deemed to be independent, with a strong sense of self-fulfillment and personal growth. As many of them are either retired or close to retirement, they have more free time to travel and are more willing to spend on higher quality services. However, as Baby Boomers are late adopters of technology, they are the least technologically savvy generation.

Research Results

An online questionnaire was disseminated for five weeks. Among the initial 245 respondents, 86.1% (n = 211) indicated that they have referred to TripAdvisor reviews, and that their hotel booking intentions have been influenced by the reviews.

These 211 respondents comprised Millennials (37.9%), Generation X (31.3%) and Baby Boomers (30.8%). Their usual chosen hotel categories and review usage are reflected in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Overview of Respondents

— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

Ranked Importance of Review Attributes Across the Generational Cohorts

A ranking scale (1 = ‘least important’, 4 = ‘most important’) was used to understand the importance level of online review attributes on these 211 respondents’ hotel booking intentions. The results are illustrated in Table 2 below:

Table 2: Overall Ranked Importance of Review Attributes

— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

A closer inspection of the results revealed differences in how the review attributes influence the different generational cohorts, as summarized in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Summary of Survey Results

— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)
— Source: Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)

Managerial Implications

The survey results led to a few recommendations that may be considered for implementation:

Encourage Guests to Write Reviews Promptly

Hotels could encourage guests to share their positive experience as soon as possible. If guests are willing to state their real names, that may heighten the perceived usefulness of the reviews, especially for Generation X. (P/S: do refer to TripAdvisor for the guidelines regarding the posting of reviews).

Customize Post-Stay Communication

Hotels could be more pro-active to note guests’ touchpoints during their stay, e.g., their patronage of F&B outlets so as to have more personalized follow-up communication. Such customization could remind guests about their stay and induce them to share their experiences in more detailed (and informative) reviews.

Expedite Service Recovery During the Stay

Hotel employees could inquire about guests’ experiences during the stay so that service recovery could be expedited before check-out. In this way, guests might be more likely to write a balanced and lengthy review if there were earlier constructive interventions. This recommendation aims to convert any potentially negative reviews into positive ones to enhance the hotel’s ranking. 

Concluding Remarks

Online reviews have become a key source of information that impact hotel booking intentions. The different generational cohorts are affected by the review attributes in varied ways. It is thus beneficial to capitalize on this knowledge and use online reviews even more effectively to influence the different age groups of consumers. 

Co-authors (research team) in alphabetical order: Joanne Jia-Min Sim, Muhammad Nurakif Bin Sanuan, Muhammad Syafiq Bin Nazri, R K Nithya, Yi-Ling Teo, Singapore Institute of Technology