Meeting planners' online reviews of destination hotels: A twofold content analysis approach

Abstract

This study employed a combined approach of automated and manual content analysis to provide an understanding of online meeting planners' reviews. The dual analysis with 696 online reviews of 173 hotels located in multiple destinations identified both quantitative and qualitative aspects of text data. Identified themes, text characteristics, online review dimensions, positive and negative areas, and newly emerged attributes provide practical implications for hoteliers and meeting destination marketers. The proposed framework offers insights to understand and respond to meeting planners' online reviews, as well as the basis for hotel evaluation criteria. Overall results expand our understanding of meeting planners' destination hotel experience and fill gaps in our knowledge of online guest reviews by differentiating those of meeting planners from those of general travelers.