Composing responses to negative hotel reviews: A genre analysis

Figures & data

Table 1. Move structure of RNRs

Move	Step
1. Salutation
2. Acknowledging feedback	a. Expressing gratitude
	b. Valuing feedback
	c. Expressing regret/concern/apology
3. Brand positioning	a. Stating hotel’s commitment
	b. Confirming hotel’s standard
4. Dealing with complaints	a. Explaining causes of the incident
	b. Reporting action taken
	c. Admitting mistakes
5. Concluding remarks	a. Expressing gratitude (2)
	b. Expressing regret/concern/apology (2)
	c. Asking for a return visit
	d. Soliciting direct contact
	e. Promising to improve service
6. Closing	a. Sign off
	b. Signature
	c. Job title
	d. Contact information
	e. Affiliation

Table 2. Frequency of move

Move	Frequency
Salutation (M1)	41 (56.9%)
Acknowledging feedback (M2)	70 (97.2%)
Brand positioning (M3)	42 (58.3%)
Dealing with complaints (M4)	65 (90.2%)
Concluding remarks (M5)	70 (97.2%)
Closing (M6)	59 (82%)

Figure 1. Frequency of steps.

Table 3. Categorization of moves

Typicality	Cut-off point (%)
Obligatory	90.00% and above
Conventional	70.00%—89.99%
Optional	0.01%—69.99%

Table 4. Size of sub-corpora

Sub-corpora	Tokens
M1	92
M2Sa	679
M2Sb	277
M2Sc	1,242
M3Sa	471
M3Sb	364
M4Sa	983
M4Sb	1,076
M4Sc	625
M5Sa	71
M5Sb	90
M5Sc	728
M5Sd	819
M5Se	280
M6Sa	116
M6Sb	127
M6Sc	91
M6Sd	8
M6Se	10
Total	8,037

Table 5. RWCs of RNRs

Step	Recurrent Word Combination	Frequency
Salutation (M1)	-	-
Expressing gratitude (M2Sa)	thank you for	44
	taking the time	25
	the time to	25
	for taking the	24
	you for taking	21
Valuing feedback (M2Sb)	assure you that	4
	of utmost importance	3
	improve our service	2
	important to us	2
	guest feedback is	2
Expressing regret/concern/apology (M2Sc)	I am sorry	11
	stay with us	8
	sorry to read	7
	you did not	7
	disappointed to read	6
Stating hotel’s commitment (M3Sa)	aim to provide	2
	all our guests	2
	comfortable and relaxing	2
	with the most	2
	to provide guests	2
Confirming hotel’s standard (M3Sb)	assure you that	3
	can assure you	2
	certainly not the	2
	expect to deliver	2
	level of service	2
Explaining causes of the incident (M4Sa)	we do not	3
	I understand you	3
	did not have	2
	at the time	2
	we have a	2
Reporting action taken/result of investigation (M4Sb)	in order to	3
	we are currently	3
	we have taken	3
	are currently working	2
	I would like	2
Admitting mistakes (M4Sc)	please accept our	4
	sorry that we	3
	the lack of	3
	I am sorry	2
	deepest apologies for	2
Expressing gratitude (2) (M5Sa)	thank you for	4
	thank you again	3
	again for taking	2
	taking the time	2
	for your feedback	2
Expressing regret/concern/apology (2) (M5Sb)	again please accept	2
	and once again	2
	Once again I	2
	please accept our	2
Asking for a return visit (M5Sc)	to welcome you	17
	welcome you back	17
	you back to	13
	the opportunity to	11
	in the future	8
Soliciting direct contact (M5Sd)	look forward to	7
	to discuss this	7
	in more detail	6
	the opportunity to	6
	contact me directly	5
Promising to improve service (M5Se)	-	-
Sign off (M6Sa)	Kind regards	22
	Warm regards	8
	Best regards	5
	Yours sincerely	4
	Best wishes	3
Signature (M6Sb)	-	-
Job title (M6Sc)	-	-
Contact information (M6Sd)	-	-
Affiliation (M6Se)	-	-

Table

Move	Step	Expression		Example
Salutation (M1) *	-	Dear + reviewer’s name		“Dear … … .,”
Acknowledging feedback (M2) ***	Expressing gratitude (M2Sa)	Thank you for (taking the time to write/share) your feedback/comment/review/experience		“Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us”
	Valuing feedback (M2Sb)	All guest feedback is important/valuable		“All feedback we receive is of utmost importance to us and only through your words we can learn to improve.”
	Expressing regret/concern/apology (M2Sc)	I am sorry/disappointed to hear/read that [Expressing regret/concern]	+ customer’s overall experience	“I am sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your last stay.”
		I would like to apologize for [Expressing an apology]		“I would like to apologise for any inconvenience”
Positioning hotel brands (M3) *	Stating hotel’s commitment (M3Sa)	We aim to	+ hotel’s commitment	“We strive to provide excellent an exclusive service experience for every guest”
		We strive to/for
	Confirming hotel’s standard (M3Sb)	The level of service you experienced	+ defamiliarize the incident	“ … .the level of service you experienced during your recent stay is not indicative of high standards at our hotel … .”
		I can assure you that your experience
Dealing with complaints (M4) ***	Explaining causes of the incident (M4Sa)	Regarding + topic of complaint	+ We (do not) have + policy [Policy enforcement]	“Our hotel has ‘joiner free’ policy but the maximum occupancy must not exceed the room limitation.”
			+ providing related information [Explaining causes]	“We recently changed over to a new website during April … .”
	Reporting action taken/result of investigation (M4Sb)	We have taken	+ action taken [Reporting action taken]	“We have taken your comment regarding the noise from the corridor very seriously and we are currently working on solutions to resolve this noise issue.”
		We are currently
		Please be assured that
		In regard to + result of investigation		“In regards to your room, according to our records, you booked your room through TripAdvisor and did not request a non-smoking room.”
	Admitting mistakes (M4Sc)	I would like to apologize for	+ topic of complaint	“There is no excuse for the arrogance your enquiry was met with and for that I would like to apologise”
		Please accept my deepest apologies for
		There is no excuse for
Concluding remarks (M5) ***	Expressing gratitude (2) (M5Sa)	Again, thank you for (taking the time to write/share)	+ your feedback/comment/review/experience	“Again, thank you for sharing your experience with us … .”
			+ staying with us
	Expressing regret/concern/apology (2) (M5Sb)	Again, I am sorry that	+ customer’s overall experience	“Again, please accept my sincere apologies for the issues you experience during your stay”
		Again, please accept our apologies for
	Asking for a return visit (M5Sc)	It would be our pleasure to	+ welcome you back to + hotel’s name	“We hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back to (hotel’s name)”
		We hope to have the opportunity to
	Soliciting direct contact (M5Sd)	I would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you further [Calling for an opportunity]		“I would very much welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you further and invite you to contact me via the Executive Office.”
		Please contact me directly at	+ writer’s direct contact information [Giving direct contact]
	Promising to improve service (M5Se)	I can assure/ensure that	+ promising to improve	“ … . I can assure that we are doing our utmost to eliminate these challenges for the future.”
Closing (M6) **	Sign off (M6Sa)	Kind/Warm/Warmest/Best regards		“Kind regards,”
		(Yours) sincerely
	Signature (M6Sb)	Writer’s name		-
	Job title (M6Sc)	Writer’s job title		-
	Contact information (M6Sd)	Writer’s direct contact information		-
	Affiliation (M6Se)	Writer’s affiliation		-