The Effects on Consumer Behavior of Hotel Related Comments on the TripAdvisor Website: An Istanbul Case

n parallel with the major developments witnessed in information technologies, social media, supported by its broad area of usage, is gaining significance in every field, with the tourism sector being no exception in this regard. The transfer of changing marketing strategies via digital channels into social media has transformed the way customers interact with the tourism sector, having now the ability to access the comments of other consumers via social media, and adjusting their preferences accordingly. In this study, the impact of the content analysis on the star rating given to hotels is examined with a “Panel Data Analysis” of all the hotels in Istanbul that have received a maximum of 25 reviews on the TripAdvisor website, with a total of 12,000 comments assessed. It was found that the location of the hotel, the access to transport facilities, the food and beverage concept, the quality of staff/service, and the cleanliness of the facilities all affected the star ratings given to hotels; while the architectural structure and the recommendations of other guests had a lesser effect. It was further noted that entertainment-animation programs had little effect on guest preferences.