Case Analysis

For this assignment, read the case study, “Never Stay Here! The Power of Negative Online Reviews” on page 537 of your textbook. Once you have read and reviewed the case scenario, respond to the following questions, with thorough explanations and well-supported rationale.

1. Explain why consumer ratings are so very important to consumers today. The reality of it is that consumers are willing to take the word of a perfect stranger over that of a credible company. Aside from the profit motives of the company, why is this perfect stranger more credible?

2. What steps do you recommend a hotel take when dealing with a negative online review? Do you think that consumers will “understand” marketers’ reactions to these negative reviews?

3. Apply the consumer decision-making process to a recent online purchase that you were contemplating, assuming that you found a negative review during the process. How impactful was the review in the process? Explain.

4. Have you ever written a positive or negative review? What motivated you to write the review or de-motivated you to not write the review? Explain thinking about the product, price of product, industry, and other factors that might allow you to draw conclusions about your review-writing habits.

Your response should be a minimum of three pages, double-spaced, excluding the cover and reference pages.

All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations, and cited per

APA guidelines.