Hospitality discourse on social media: Evaluating online complaints and service recovery for luxury hotels

Abstract

The number of hotel visitors who post their personal experiences on online hotel review forums after their trips has increased significantly in the digital age. However, there is limited linguistic research that examines 1) how international travelers communicate online to share their negative hotel experiences and 2) how luxury hotel management resolves complaints and regains customer trust. This study examines electronic word-of mouth (eWOM) in the reviews and focuses on posted by international travelers who stayed at Hong Kong's 5-star luxury hotels and e-replies posted by hotel management groups. The data are based on authentic reviews collected from an online travel review forum. The present study employs appraisal analysis (Martin & White, 2005) and specifically the engagement system to investigate heteroglossic voice in 38 sets of complex e-complaints and responses totaling 17,344 words. The findings contribute to the advancement of professional discourse in hospitality service encounters.