This document presents research on the managerial response strategies to online customer compliments between indigenous-owned and international brand hotels in China. The research collected 360 management responses to positive customer comments from 30 upscale hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou over 12 months. The findings show that both hotel types primarily used acceptance and reinforcement response strategies, but indigenous hotels responded more promptly, used longer responses with local cultural references, while international brands used standardized formats and identification of staff. The research concludes there are differences in response strategies between the hotel types and provides implications for improving online response practices.

1. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 1
Managerial Response Strategy to Online
Customer Compliments: a Comparative
Analysis of Indigenous-owned and
International Brand Hotels in China
Chang Ma and Norman Au
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
emailaddress@author.org
http://www.institutionsiteorotherrelevantsite.org

2. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 2

3. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 3
Background (1)
• The trend of travelers searching peer evaluation
on online review hotel websites (especially with
their mobile devices) before their decision making
is continuing to grow (Tripadvisor, 2013).
• Several prior studies indicates there are large
differences in hotel performance ratings online
between customers from different cultural
backgrounds, especially between Chinese and
non-Chinese (Au, Buhalis & Law, 2014; Au et al.,
2016)

4. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 4
Background (2)
• For most hotels the question is not whether to
monitor and respond to online reviews – this is
unavoidable – but how.
• Compared to complaints, compliments response
attract relatively less attention from hospitality
industry and researchers.
• Appropriate management responses to
compliments on the internet can intensify
customer future bookings and consumer trust.

5. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 5
Background (3)
• Rapid growth of hotel industry in China which
attracts many international investors.
• The strategies of indigenous owned and foreign
hotels perform differently in China (Okoroafo,
2009).
• Compliment is an expression of praise, which is
also endowed with cultural connation (Zhu,
2012).

6. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 6
Background (4)
• Prior studies on compliment response strategy:
– Holmes (1986) -> Acceptance, deflection & rejection
– Yuan (2002) -> Invitation & suggestion
– Zhu (2012) -> Reason acceptance, praise downgrade &
false question
• In western culture, appreciation and praise appear to be
daily communication context and is very common. In
Asian countries, people are more conservative/modest to
make/respond to a compliment (Seldom use “I” to give
compliment). Sometimes they may have different
interpretation to praise given to them (Zhu, 2012).

7. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 7
Background (5)
• Arabic, German and English are all towards the Accepting
end of the continuum in responding to compliments;
Persian and Thai appears to be in the middle; and
Chinese, Turkish, Korean and Japanese are at the rejecting
end (Farghal and Haggan, 2006; Golato, 2002; Sharifian,
2008, Daikuhara, 1986).
• Herbert (1990) finds that compliments delivered by
American males are twice likely to be accepted than those
delivered by females and females are twice likely to
accept compliments than the males.

8. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 8
Background (6)
• Distinct challenges of online response:
– Expect short response time
– Response will be seen by other customers (in
black and white record)
– Needs to be open, honest, fair and authentic

9. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 9
Research Objectives
• To understand how hotel managers in
Mainland China respond the online
compliments;
• To examine if there is significant
differences between response strategy
adopted between indigenous owned hotels
and international brands in Mainland China

10. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 10
Methodology
• Data was collected from Ctrip, the Chinese
customer-generated review website over a period
of 12 months.
• A total of 30 upscale hotels (5 indigenous hotels
and 5 international brands) are selected from
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
• To reduce the effects of seasonality, for each
hotel, one positive comment with response is
selected within each month. A total of 360
management responses have been collected.

11. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 11
Findings and Discussion (1)
Comment Areas
Response
Strategy
Location Service Room Environmen
t
F & B Others General
Total 65 62 52 42 14 2 202
Acceptance 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Reinforcement 46% 45% 29% 55% 36% 50% 24%
Promotion 14% 5% 6% 7% 7% 0% 6%
Specific aspects of compliments & response strategies

12. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 12
Findings and Discussion (2)
Response Strategies Characteristics
Common
Characteristic
Total Acknowledgement Reinforcement Promotion Apostles*
Single 78 100% 68% 10% 14%
Multiple 81 100% 31% 7% 23%
General 202 100% 24% 6% 11%
Apostle 52 100% 44% 12% 0%
Comment characteristics & compliment response strategies
*Apostle refers to those guests who express the willingness to come back

13. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 13
Findings and Discussion (3)
Reinforcement Promotion Identification Wishes
Indigenous
Hotels
62% 72% 0% 65%
International
Brands
38% 28% 100% 35%
• Indigenous owned hotels respond in a more complex way and longer
sentence.
• Indigenous owned hotels are more like to write down some festival
wishes to the guest by the end of response, fully immersed in local
culture through which may make guests feel more homely.
• International hotels tend to use a standardized format to leave words on
the website, behave more in a western way.
• International hotels will embrace the identification and position of the
respondents of the hotel at the end of the content.
Response Strategy Used

14. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 14
Findings and Discussion (4)
Responding Time (Day)
Hotel
Categories
0-3 4-7 7-15 15+
Indigenous
Hotel
8 3 2 2
% 53% 20% 13% 13%
International
Brands
4 7 1 3
% 27% 47% 7% 20%
• Indigenous hotel has more prompt responses and tend to respond
every comment made by customer online

15. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 15
Conclusion
• Reinforcement strategy is another way to show
agreement and emphasise the selling points from
the hotel perspective.
• Promotion “strategy” is highly recommended to
be employed properly, especially for apostles.
• Cross selling the products and services such as
food feast and other packages will achieve the
marketing effects in a cheaper way.
• International branded hotels should respond
more promptly to maintain the relationship.

16. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 16
Conclusion and Implications
• Wishes and identification are two different ways
presenting respect and care to the guests and
should be adopted when appropriately especially
in the Chinese market.
• Organization is strongly suggested to designate
someone taking care of all comments online to
show the fairness.
• Future studies can expand the sample size and
examine different social media sites with different
methodology.

17. ENTER 2017 Research Track Slide Number 17
Thank You!