Visual Influence: Unveiling the Role of User-Generated Photos in Boosting Review Helpfulness
(A2024-118753)

AUTHORS

Miriam Alzate, Universidad Publica de Navarra; Marta Arce Urriza, Universidad Publica de Navarra; Jose Enrique Armendariz, Public University of Navarre; Paula Vidaurreta, Universidad Pública de Navarra

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this research is to analyze the impact that service quality dimensions shown in user generated photos have on review helpfulness in the hospitality industry. Specifically, the study posits two research questions: RQ1) What are the most common dimensions of service quality displayed in user generated photos? And RQ2: What dimensions of service quality displayed in user generated photos make the review more helpful? To do so, we automatically describe the content of photos with an image-to-caption algorithm and then, we extract topics from these descriptions using BERTopic. Preliminary results show that some service quality dimensions shown in photos, such as “Food& Drinks”, “Room”, “Leisure” and “Hotel outdoor” affect the helpfulness of reviews. The results may be of interest for hotels who are willing to understand which type of visuals make information more helpful for actual and prospective consumers.