Chapter 4. Results and Analysis
4.1. Booking.com Japanese and Chinese Reviews
4.1.4. Analysis of the Outliers
Breakfast”, “Perfect Hotel”. Negative comments are mainly related to “Fridge and Hair Dryer not working well”.
As reported in Tsang and Ap (2007), Asians preferred the basic and practical aspects of the service, giving high ratings for variables such as, “staff understanding one’s problems and needs”, “dependable service” and responding effectively”. These conclusions are even more evident in the outcome of our content analysis of the Japanese reviews, which revealed they greatly appreciate fast problem solving and helpful staff.
The results of the study by Resinger and Turner (1999), confirming that respect for others in service relates to good manners, as do punctuality, giving feedback, quickly solving problems, reducing waiting times and compensating waiting time with a gift or entertainment, are also in line with the results of our study, even though the two studies were conducted over a decade apart,
Some outliers were detected in the analysis, as detailed in 4.1.4. These outliers mainly highlight negative comments made by both the Japanese and Chinese.
An exploratory study of Portuguese luxury hotel management strategy
96 Table 4.7: Japanese Outliers Rating and Summary of Comments
# Review
Customer Hotel Name Star Rating Positive Comments Negative Comments
17 Novotel Lisboa 4 3.3 No comments in writing No comments in writing 81
Tryp Lisboa
Aeroporto 4 4.0 Location (airport walking distance
Attribution bedroom (requested wedding bed, attributed twin bed).
Room Dusty, not well cleaned.
and bus). Breakfast (can be taken earlier)
161
VIP Executive Arts
4
4.2 No comments in writing No comments in writing 338 Hotel Mundial 4 3.8 Location.
Not a 4-star hotel. Not clean (bathtub, slimy railing). Sheets not changed. Few plugs. Value for money.
413
Figueira
Beautique 4 3.8 No comments in writing
Booking request to have 2 rooms next to each other not fulfilled.
Breakfast.
535
Hotel Santa
Justa 4 3.3
Room size. Free Minibar. Welcome offers.
No lobby. Taxis cannot stop at entrance. View. Bathtub dirty (did not use). Safe hole.
115 Sheraton Lisboa 5 5.0 No comments in writing
Staff (questions from staff colleagues at same time staff is talking with customer)
224 Avenida Palace 5 5.0 No comments in writing Soundproofing (thin walls, could not sleep well).
230 Avenida Palace 5 5.0 No comments in writing No comments in writing 252
Hotel Real Palácio
5
3.3 No comments in writing No comments in writing 253
Hotel Real Palácio
5
2.9 No comments in writing No comments in writing
97 Some outliers were also identified in the Chinese Rating Reviews: twelve customer reviews of 4-star hotels, and five customer reviews of 5-star hotels. There was one severe outlier, as can be seen in Figure 4.6 and detailed in Table 4.8.
Figure 4.6: Chinese Reviews of 4 and 5- star Hotels - Outliers
Stars
Source: SPSS26 output
An exploratory study of Portuguese luxury hotel management strategy
98 Table 4.8: Chinese Outliers Rating and Summary of Comments
# Review
Customer Hotel Name Stars Rating Positive Comments Negative Comments
129
Tryp Lisboa
Oriente 4 4.6 No comments in writing No comments in writing
182 Lisboa Marriott 4 3.8 No comments in writing Unprofessional or impatient staff. Poor Hygiene (cockroaches).
222 Sana Evolution 4 2.5 No comments in writing Poor hotel, very poor cost performance.
223 Sana Evolution 4 2.9 No comments in writing Value for money. Small room. Not 4-star standard.
295 Sana Malhoa 4 2.5 No comments in writing Very bad service.
393 Holiday Inn Lisbon 4 3.8 No comments in writing Bland Breakfast, it should be richer, more varied.
401 Holiday Inn Lisbon 4 2.5 No comments in writing No comments in writing
444 Ramada Lisboa 4 3.3 No comments in writing Not 4-star hotel. No slippers, toothbrush, toothpaste, tea bags. Uncomfortable
blanket. Location (far from old town). Shampoo (3 in 1). Door can´t close (light).
552 Hotel Mundial 4 3.8 Breakfast. Outdated Room. Bathroom (too cramped). Shower partition (leaking).
563 Hotel Mundial 4 4.5 No comments in writing Bad decor. Too noisy.
591 Hotel Mundial 4 2.9 No comments in writing No comments in writing 738
Turim Av.
Liberdade
4
2.5 No comments in writing Elevator hard to find. No helpful and no enthusiastic staff. Small room, bathroom.
Bad bed (back pain). Not 4 stars.
344 VIP Executive Arts 4 1.0 No comments in writing Health.
174 Sheraton Lisboa 5 3.3 No comments in writing Check-in delay. Staff arrogant. Noisy air conditioning (cannot control it). Old.
No 5 starts comparing with China.
175 Sheraton Lisboa 5 3.8 None Everything
206 Epic Sana Lisboa 5 4.6 Large Room. Service not adequate. Park price. Check-in (13h:30m) 280 Myriad 5 3.8 No comments in writing No comments in writing
319 VIP Grand Lisboa 5
3.3
Large corridor. Large
room. Hygiene. Soundproof.
99 The outliers are in the bottom range of classifications, with all of them having a negative rating equal to or below 5 points. One Chinese customer, comment number 344, gave a rating of 1 on a scale 1 to 10 (1 is bad and 10 is wonderful) making it the worst classification (isolated), and just one negative word “health”. While the majority of positive Japanese comments concern Location, Room Size, Free Minibar and Welcome Gifts, the negative Japanese comments are mostly to do with rude Staff, poor service regarding room attribution (receiving something different from what was requested), Cleanliness, Value for Money, Room Soundproofing and Room Safety. Positive Chinese comments focus on Large Hall or Room and Breakfast. Their negative wording is more detailed than Japanese, and focuses on Service, arrogant or unprofessional Staff, (check-in delay), Cleaning, Lack of Amenities, Room Soundproofing, Comfort, Decor (outdated or old facilities/room), Value for Money (not a 4- or 5-star hotel), which means that the hotel did not meet customer expectations. The Chinese also use more words to complain than the Japanese do. There was one Chinese comment about Hotel Mundial that was not accepted as it was deleted by booking.com for not complying with their code of ethics
The Chinese consider location, room features, and facilities more important than the Japanese, and the Japanese put more emphasis on service items, clear processes, and on getting exactly what was requested, since keeping a promise is very important in Japanese culture, with one’s word being as binding as a signed contract). In the case of outliers, cleaning and service are highlighted by both the Japanese and Chinese.
The differences and similarities of Hotel Attributes are summarised as follows: Differences between Japanese and Chinese Customers (Table 4.9.) and Similarities (Table 4.10.).
An exploratory study of Portuguese luxury hotel management strategy
100 Table 4.9: Hotel Attributes - Differences between Japanese and Chinese Customers
Japanese Chinese
Location Hotel location far from shops, restaurants, and supermarkets. Hotel location far from tourist attractions.
(Highest frequency of negative wording: 38%) (Highest frequency of negative wording: 30%)
Facilities Restaurant, Bar, Lobby (27% of positive wording) Restaurant, Bar, Lobby (only 11% of positive wording)
Historical design and furniture hotels appreciated. Historical design and furniture hotels seen as old and outdated.
Room Room features (Comfort, Size, Bed) less important to Room features (Comfort, Size, Bed) less important to Japanese than Chinese (34% versus 59% of positive wording) Japanese than Chinese (34% versus 59% of positive wording) The room design for the Japanese appears as one Room design as a negative general comment or mainly associated of the most negative comments, mainly because of bathroom- with words like old, outdated.
room integration (lack of privacy), lack of natural light or view.
Existence of bathtub is relevant for Japanese and mentioned Existence of bathtub of no relevance for Chinese.
as positive and negative (no bathtub)
Hot Water more important for Japanese than Chinese Hot Water more important for Japanese than Chinese in the negative and positive comments. Connected with in the negative and positive comments.
bathtub (Japanese need hot water to have a relaxing bath).
Room Equipment easy to use, important to Japanese. Room Equipment easy to use, not relevant to Chinese.
Breakfast Japanese need vegetables at breakfast. Existence of vegetables at breakfast not relevant to Chinese.
However, some Chinese food was mentioned as a plus.
Staff Unhelpful or not pro-active staff and no clear procedures or bad information are the most negative comments.
(No help or misinformation about what to do, existence of restaurants nearby, transports or breakfast timetable).
Enthusiastic, smiling Staff is important to Chinese (not
smiling means that staff are not enjoying what they are doing). No relevance for Japanese.
Front office is one of the main negative Chinese comments.
Price Price and Value for money is less relevant for Japanese than Chinese.
Price and Value for money is less relevant for Japanese
than Chinese. Chinese mentioned several times that “it is not a 4- or 5-star hotel.”
Source: Own Elaboration
Table 4.10: Hotel Attributes - Similarities between Japanese and Chinese Customers
Japanese and Chinese Similarities
Location Importance of Hotel being near public transport (more than 38% of positive wording for both)
Facilities Importance of new, renovated, modern facilities.
Elevator, Hardware, Software outdated or not working well one of the most negative comments.
Room Room equipment not working properly (24% and 21% of negative comments Japanese versus Chinese).
Existence of Kettle. (Tea is very important for Asians, mainly for old people.) Appreciated Quiet and Soundproofed Room.
Appreciated and expect Amenities in the room (such as, slippers, toothbrush, and toothpaste, …) Appreciated Cleaning mentioned in positive, negative comments.
Breakfast Need of diverse, rich breakfast, not bland (Japanese or Chinese dishes appreciated).
Appreciate tasty and good breakfast (Portuguese egg pie mentioned several times) Appreciate early availability (early check-outs).
Staff Appreciate nice, kind, friendly, helpful and pro-active Staff.
Appreciate clear processes and information given by the staff, if not, it is seen as unprofessional attitude.
For the Japanese a lack of apology and explanation is also seen as rude behaviour and a sign of unprofessional service.
Price Not clear payment and invoice processes led to relevant negative comments from both.
Source: Own Elaboration
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