An Examination of Alignment of Hotel Brand Differentiation and Customer Priorities: A Case Study of Three Unique Destinations

Originality - This research contributes to the literature as it uniquely uses processing and machine learning techniques to compare User-generated Content (UGC) such as online reviews to corporate marketing messaging and brand positioning across three different types of hotels and destinations. Hoteliers and tourism professionals also recognize the impact of online reviews, and they often utilize user-generated content (UGC) to formulate strategies that can ultimately improve service quality, customer satisfaction levels, hotel occupancy rates, and overall profitability (Berezina, et al. 2015; Piramanayagam and Kumar 2020; Hu and Trivedi 2020; Tran et al. 2022). [...]researchers also point out the ability of UGC to influence the information industry professionals to communicate on their websites and via marketing paraphernalia (Casaló, et al. 2015). According to one study, eighty-four percent of Millennials say UGC influences their purchase behavior, and 70% of consumers, in general, say they consult UGC before purchasing a brand (Austen 2018).