Identifying valuable reviews for review users: The value of tag systems on hotel booking platforms

Abstract

In the era of big data, hotel booking platforms are inundated with an overwhelming volume of consumer reviews, which hinders review users from identifying valuable reviews. This study examines how review tags—a simple yet powerful heuristic—highlight valuable reviews and influence potential consumers and hotel managers. Using a dataset of 190,939 consumer reviews, we find that tagged reviews are more likely to be exerted more posting effort and receive more attention from review users. However, these relationships follow an inverted U curve, which suggests that the overuse of tags may counteract the intended benefits. We extend the theory of planned behavior by showing tags shape reviewers’ posting effort via attitudes and subjective norms, while dual-process theory reveals the heuristic role of tags for review users. Our findings provide insights for platforms to improve review systems and offer reviewers strategic ways to enhance their review's impact.