Fewer reviews, marginally higher scores and increased difficulty scoring five stars are the latest findings of a study by TrustYou and Donna Quadri-Felitti, Ph.D., of New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management that compared user-generated hotel reviews over a year-long period.
The study found that travelers have written 9% fewer reviews compared to this same time last year. Consumer review fatigue may be setting in, which underscores the importance of each review and management’s thoughtful response to them.
In terms of scores for hotels, the study found that guests are being a bit kinder with feedback with a reported 2% increase in overall review scores although reviews giving a perfect score decreased by double digits.
The study was based on a sample of more than 250,000 reviews of U.S. hotels from across 250-plus sources.
The full report can be downloaded here.