Effect of sentiment and length on ratings

Online ratings constitute an element of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) that tourists consider when making their hotel booking decisions. Using a sample of negative online textual reviews of hotels, this study examines the impact of negative sentiment and review length on reviewers’ hotel ratings, as well as the functions of the COVID-19 pandemic and hotel quality as moderators of the relationships between negative sentiment and ratings and review length and ratings. The sample covers a two-year period (2019 and 2021) and comprises a total of 19,441 online textual reviews of Spanish people lodged in 121 4-star hotels located in the Canary Islands. Analyses were undertaken using NVivo 14 and SPSS 28. The results confirm that both negative sentiment and review length negatively affect hotel ratings. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the effect of sentiment on ratings, and hotel quality reduces the negative effects of both sentiment and review length.