Electronic Word of Mouth Activities in the Hotel Industry

Abstract

In this study, we focused on analyzing customers' electronic word of mouth activities in third-party booking websites which consist of detailed reviews, suggestions, and complaints about hotels. It was included to the research Booking.com, TripAdvisor, Trivago, Agoda, Hotels.com, Expedia, and Kayak as third-party booking websites. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationships among electronic word of mouth activities, trust, and loyalty. The field study was conducted with 120 university students chosen by convenience sampling. Data were collected by using online survey in North Cyprus during March, 2019. Data were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. In findings, it was found out that trust has a positive effect on loyalty, loyalty has a positive effect on electronic word of mouth intensity, and electronic word of mouth intensity had a positive effect on positive electronic word of mouth activities. Interestingly, it was not found out a significant relationship between loyalty and positive electronic word of mouth. Implications for booking websites and hotel industry were interpreted, and limitations and further research suggestions were advised.