Managerial response to hotel guests' review in Bangkok

Abstract

The service industry is hard to measure due to its characteristics which are perishability, intangibility, inseparability and variability so the service industry like the tourism industry highly relies on the guests’ WOM. This research is aiming to help hotel managers in Bangkok investigate what makes a good response. Since the research is limited to the hotel industry in Bangkok. It is a remarkable way to conduct interviews with managers and tourists to gather data with a qualitative approach. The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with three managers and three tourists to collect data. Dueto Covid-19 pandemic regulation,numbers of interviewees are limited; also, some interviews were conducted online by Zoom and Microsoft team. The researcher analyzed data by the classic content analysis technique. The key findings of the research are: first, the speedy managerial response has a positive impact on guests’ opinion; next, response numbers have a positive effect on guests’ WOM; then the manager should concentrate on both positive and negative responses; finally, relevant managerial response affects guest’ points of view. Based on researcher’s findings, managers should be empathy when response to guests’ reviews. Putting them in the guests’ shoes will make it easier to understand what problem guests have faced.