The Impact and Influence of Customers Reviews in The Consumer's Decision Making Process When Choosing a Hotel in London

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My thanks go out to all who have helped me complete this study and with whom this project may have not been possible. In particular, my gratitude goes out to friends, facilitator and family for extensive and helpful comments on early drafts. I am also deeply indebted to the authors who have shared my interest and preceded me. Their works provided me with a host of information to learn from and build upon, also served as examples to emulate.

DECLARATION

I, (Your name), would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with the university.

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ABSTRACT

The research explores the concept and importance of customer review and the role played by customer reviews in decision making process. Reviews provided on social networks, internet blogs, official websites, etc, affect the decision making of people. eWOM i.e. electronic word of mouth which can be analysed as websites, blogs, social networking sites etc. There has been many researches some in this field but has not given a complied analysis of eWOM effect in social media. The research provides a description about the hotel industry and impact of customer reviews in attracting more and more customers in the tourism industry. Furthermore, the research analyses the importance and impact of customer through a questionnaire survey. It explains how negative and positive reviews provided online regarding a hotel can affect the customer's decision in choosing hotels in London.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Aims and Objectives2

Research Questions2

Significance of the Study2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Online Customer Reviews4

Online Review System5

Online Reviews and Electronic Word of Mouth6

Electronic Word of Mouth7

Electronic Word of Mouth through Social Networks12

Customers Decision Making Process through Customer Reviews:13

Impact of Customer reviews on Customer's Decision Making13

Social Media and Consumer Decisions14

The Tourism and Hospitality Industry Overview15

Inbound United Kingdom16

Hotel Industry in London17

The Importance of Customer Reviews for Tourism & Hospitality Services17

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY19

Research Methodology19

Data Collection Procedure20

Sampling22

Validity22

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS23

Results23

Discussion41

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION42

REFERENCES43

APPENDIX46

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Information is the property in our age. But unlike physical property, information has the ability to be easily shared. Widely seen as important in efficient decision-making, searching for vital information can be challenging, depending on the situation (Smith & Brynjolfsson, 2001, 541). Specialty companies producing huge budgets to promote their products through different media, from newspapers and magazines, through radio, satellite channels and Internet sites. We can not deny that online communication has had an impact on consumer choice of products even before the advent of social networking through forums, where used to its customers to consult with others about products or places they would like to experience the social networks, said a review of the participants through voicing the experience of products or services ...