Dr Krystin Zigan from the Kent Business School at the University of Kent comments on the power of online reviews, after a fake restaurant becomes top rated on TripAdvisor.
‘This incident shows that, especially in the tourism and hospitality industry, consumers are highly influenced by the opinions and experiences of other people, and that online reviews are highly relevant for users in their decision-making process.
‘Online reviews have a powerful impact on consumers’ information search, evaluation and subsequent decision- making. This impact is even higher when the credibility of the source is high. Thus, the fact that the online reviews are posted on TripAdvisor may influence consumers even more when they perceive this website as trustworthy, useful and reliable.
‘However, the credibility of the review is not only influenced by the reputation and trustworthiness of the source, but also the plausibility of the message. Consumers usually look for cues such as message content, style, extremity and valence to assess the credibility.
‘Since the practice of writing fake reviews seems rather widespread, tourism and hospitality managers must report this and TripAdvisor should act immediately – also in their own interest in order to maintain their reputation.
‘Consumers, however, should cross-check reviews from different websites to validate online reviews.’
Colleagues who would like to engage with the media or learn more about media training or the University in the news should contact the Press Office on 3985 or pressoffice@kent.ac.uk