THE IMPACT OF ONLINE REVIEWS ON HOTEL MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS

The rapid proliferation of digital platforms and the near-universal adoption of internet-connected devices have fundamentally restructured the informational landscape within which the global hospitality industry operates. Online consumer reviews, posted on platforms such as TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Google Hotels, Expedia, and Yelp, have emerged as one of the most consequential determinants of hotel demand, pricing power, and competitive positioning. This article undertakes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary review of the existing scholarly literature and empirical evidence pertaining to the impact of online reviews on hotel management practices, consumer decision-making behavior, revenue generation, operational efficiency, and brand reputation dynamics. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks from information economics, signaling theory, social proof psychology, and hospitality management science, the study examines how hotels of varying sizes, star ratings, and geographic contexts respond to, leverage, and are constrained by the volume, valence, and velocity of user-generated content. The findings indicate that online review scores exert a statistically significant and economically meaningful influence on hotel occupancy rates, average daily rates (ADR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR), with a one-point increase in average review score on a five-point scale associated with occupancy rate improvements of between 5.9% and 9.2% across multiple studies. Furthermore, the research reveals that the management response to online reviews, when executed with specificity, timeliness, and authenticity, functions as a powerful signal of service quality and organizational accountability. The article concludes by proposing an integrated strategic framework for online reputation management (ORM) in hotel contexts, and by identifying critical gaps in the literature that warrant future empirical investigation, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence-driven review analysis, cross-cultural review interpretation, and the long-term brand equity effects of sustained reputation management programs.