Intentions to Use the TripAdvisor Review Website and Purchase Behavior After Reading Reviews

Abstract

TripAdvisor is a popular online review website mostly used for rating hotels. We study variables associated with intention to use TripAdvisor and also behavior of use of a service or purchase of a product after reading TripAdvisor reviews. College students (n = 620) were surveyed about demographics, trust, knowledge about online review fraud, and Internet/online travel review website experience. Increased search engine optimization trust for published online consumer reviews and correct knowledge of review fraud about positive online reviews posted about branded-chains were associated with increased intentions. Increased agreement for typically read online review-based websites and previously wrote a TripAdvisor review were each associated with both increased intentions and behavior. No association for either intentions or behavior was found for demographics of age, sex, race/ethnicity, and born in the United States. We recommend that hotel managers post responses to negative reviews as this may reassure those reading reviews to have trust about the hotel. As non-branded chain hotel reviews are considered possibly fraudulent, managers of non-branded chain hotels should respond with content even for positive reviews to reassure the reader that these positive reviews are genuine.