Understanding Solo Female Travellers in Canada: A Two-Factor Analysis of Hotel Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Using TripAdvisor Reviews

Abstract

This study aims to understand solo female travellers’ hotel experiences in Canada by analyzing online reviews from TripAdvisor. We employed keywords such as “solo female” and “single female” to identify online reviews, followed by a manual review process to confirm their relevance and eliminate duplicates. The final dataset included 240 reviews from 188 lodging establishments, totalling 49,924 words. Employing Herzberg’s two-factor theory and NVivo, we generated codes and categorized them into 29 satisfiers and 24 dissatisfiers. These were grouped into five key components impacting guests’ experiences: room, staff, hotel facilities and cleanliness, hotel amenities, and others. The top three satisfiers identified in traditional accommodations are safety, staff helpfulness, and location, while room dirtiness, insecurity, and room amenities are the primary dissatisfiers. Conversely, alternative lodgings reveal a distinct pattern, with location, room amenities, and staff friendliness as top satisfiers, and room amenities, neighbourhood, and service unavailability as leading dissatisfiers. The study found that alternative accommodations may offer a broader range of experiences, potentially due to their less-standardized nature and diversity of options. This research enhances understanding of solo female travellers, gender differences in hotel experiences, and customer satisfaction, underscoring the tourism industry’s need to address this demographic’s unique needs and concerns.