Predicting Critical Factors Impacting Hotel Online Ratings: A Comparison of Religious and Commercial Destinations in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

User-generated online ratings have become a prominent tool for hotels to enhance overall customer satisfaction. Prior research on online ratings has mainly considered commercial destinations, whereas research on religious destinations is limited. This study uses the IPA technique and beta regression analysis to investigate the destination’s (commercial and religious) varying effects on the relationship between hotel service quality attributes and customer satisfaction. In total, data from 338 hotels representing 82,704 customer reviews in two Saudi Arabian cities (Alkhobar and Makkah) were collected from Booking.com and analyzed. Makkah was selected as a key religious heritage destination, whereas Alkhobar was chosen as a commercial destination as it hosts major sea resorts, recreational parks, and shopping destinations. The results indicate that commercial and religious destination tourists do not have similar perceptions of the selected eight hotel service quality attributes. While comfort, facilities, and value-for-money service quality attributes were considered important for commercial destination tourists, religious destination tourists viewed location, cleanliness, and breakfast as important. Since effective management of customer satisfaction is essential for hotels’ profitability and sustainability, therefore it is imperative to identify and prioritize service quality attributes related to each group of customers. This will enable the efficient application of limited resources.