Marketing decisions, customer reviews, and business performance: The use of the Toprural website by Spanish rural lodging establishments

Jannine Nieto, Rosa M. Hernández-Maestro and Pablo Muñoz-Gallego ()

Tourism Management, 2014, vol. 45, issue C, 115-123

Abstract: Modern travelers often rely on reviews provided by other consumers online, or electronic word of mouth (eWOM), to choose their accommodations. This study considers the effects of marketing decisions by rural lodging establishment owners (i.e., price and advertising expenditures) on eWOM (i.e., ratings and number of reviews), as well as the effects of eWOM on business performance. The results rely on marketing data and customer reviews obtained from a leading rural tourism infomediary website, related to 202 Spanish rural lodging establishments. A complementary survey also provided information about the lodging establishments' performance. The study thus reveals that price and advertising expenditures affect eWOM; in turn, eWOM affects business performance. Moreover, owners' experience with the infomediary slightly moderates the link between eWOM and performance.

Keywords: Marketing decisions; eWOM; Customer reviews; Performance; Rural tourism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:touman:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:115-123

DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.009

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