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 ecomplaints and responses totaling 17,344 words. The findings contribute to the advancement of professional discourse in hospitality service encounters.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 364-373 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of Language Teaching and Research |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 20 Feb 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2024 |
Keywords
- appraisal analysis
- e-complaints and e-responses
- electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)
- hospitality discourse
- reviews on online travel forum
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language