Exploring the Hotel Experience in a Cultural City through a UGC Analysis

Abstract

A large amount of information is generated on social platforms linked to tourism activity. It is necessary to explore this information using analysis techniques based on Big Data since the result greatly values decision-making. This paper aims to evaluate the titles of the reviews published on Tripadvisor about 3 and 4-star hotels of a World Heritage City (Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain) to outline the attributes most valued by tourists. Content analysis was performed using the user-generated content (UGC) in Tripadvisor, together with techniques that facilitated the processing of the data to discover the most important characteristics assessed by clients during their stays. The analysis shows a positive evaluation of the hotels in the city of Cáceres, highlighting the hotel stay, location, service, and value for money as the most outstanding elements. Based on the results obtained, a recommendation for hotel managers is to focus their communication strategies on location, quality, and price factors. It is worth noting the importance that the implementation of Big Data techniques of analysis has for the sector, allowing for better knowledge of clients and helping to maintain a competitive position in the market.