A study of a popular website that posts ratings and reviews from vacation home stays found that the bulk of the reviews are strongly positive. However, as detailed in a report from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR), the second highest category is strongly negative reviews, with few in the middle. The study "Unscrambling the Puzzling Matter of Online Consumer Ratings: An Exploratory Study," by Pradeep Racherla, Daniel Connolly, and Natasa Christodoulidou, is available from the CHR at no charge at http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-15759.html.

"We examined nearly 3,200 reviews from a popular site which posts reviews of vacation rental properties across the USA," said Racherla, who is at West Texas A&M University. "Not only did we find a vast number of favorable reviews, but the odd thing we noticed was that the "star" ratings didn't always match the consumers' assessments of the homes' specific features, such as value, cleanliness, and location. A "five-star review" might award an average rating of 3 on the home's features."

Connolly is on the faculty of the University of Denver, and Christodoulidou is at California State University.

The authors suggest that review sites should develop better methods to aggregate, synthesize, and publish the review contents, particularly the numerical ratings, and the sites should provide more information to help the consumers get the information they desire about prospective rentals.

Thanks to the support of the CHR partners listed below, all publications posted on the center's website are available free of charge, at www.chr.cornell.edu.

About the Center for Hospitality Research

The purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.

Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Revinate • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel Group

Jane Henion
607.255.9780
CHR

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