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Study reinforces online reviews’ impact on hotel bookings

December 05, 2007 | Hospitality Industry

According to a new study, eighty-seven percent of those in search of hotels said reviews played a big part in their choice. What's more, 90 percent of people who trusted consumer-written reviews found the critiques to be accurate.

A new study, conducted in October by comScore and The Kelsey Group, found that online, consumer-created reviews have a big impact on prospective buyers. The researchers said 24 percent of those who eventually pay for local services—such as restaurants, hotels and automotive shops—read online reviews before making a choice.

The study showed consumers were so trusting of online reviews, they were willing to pay at least 20 percent, and up to 99 percent, more if a company was rated excellent or five-star than if a business received a good, or four-star, rating. The study was based on 2,078 survey respondents, including 508 who used online consumer reviews.

Professional critics, and owners of companies that receive less-than-excellent online reviews by laypersons, might question the ability of regular people to adequately judge a service. However, the comScore/Kelsey Group study found that 90 percent of the people who trusted consumer-written reviews found the critiques to be accurate. In fact, noted the researchers, “reviews generated by fellow consumers had a greater influence than those generated by professionals.”

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