105

論文

Corpus-based study of hotel overviews on official websites:
Language strategies for self-promotion
KONDO, Yukie(Ritsumeikan University)

1.

Introduction
Websites are an important platform for firms to communicate its service

assurances with their consumers (Chen & Dhillon, 2003). Hotels are no exception andhave their own official websites, where they publish official information and messages,
as well as showcasing their features to attract potential guests. Although third-party
travel agencies are a strong force in the market for finding and booking hotels, thelatest research by the American Hotel & Lodging Association finds that 39% of
travelers most often book their hotel rooms through a third-party website, and 29% of
consumers report that they have been misled by third-party traveler resellers (TheAmerican Hotel & Lodging Association, 2018). Considering this fact, as Som andBlanckaert (2015) argue, official websites can serve as “a primary source of authentic
information” (p. 126) and also a place for hotels to convey messages directly to
consumers. In the case of English-language hotel websites, most websites have an
overview section on the top-level page, where hotels briefly introduce themselves.

Figure 1 shows the top-level page of a 5-star hotel’s official website; an overview
section can be found below a large photo. Hotels are categorized into different gradesby stars and accordingly differ in how they introduce and present themselves topotential guests depending on their grade. However, there have been no major
empirical studies analyzing the overview texts of hotel websites to determine thelanguage strategies hotels use to effectively communicate with potential guests. This
study, therefore, explores the characteristics of the overview texts on the websites andthe ways they differ according to hotel grades. The author complied a corpus of hotel
overview texts taken from websites of hotels located in London; the analysis in thisstudy is based on this corpus. Because websites are not only for advertising andmarketing (McNeil & Riello, 2016) but are also the faces of the brand in digital space(Som & Blanckaert, 2015), analyzing the top-level overview texts will contribute to abetter understanding of finding hotels’ language strategies for promoting themselvesto their potential guests on the web.

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Figure 1. Example top-level page with an overview section from the website
of a 5-star hotel
2. Corpus
The corpus for this study is composed of the texts of 124 overviews on the official
websites of 3-star to 5-star hotels in London1,2, collected between March and April,2017. London was chosen because it was one of the largest cities where hotels in
different grades were located, from affordable 3-star hotels to luxury 5-star hotels.
Overview texts were defined as those texts containing general remarks about the hotelthat were usually posted on the top-level page as shown in Figure 1. Titles or headings
were also analyzed, if present. Table 1 shows the number of hotels and basic statisticsof the tokens according to each grade. A hotel overview contained its hotel name atleast once or more than once in most cases. As hotel names might affect the results ofanalyses, all hotel names in the corpus were replaced with “HOTELNAME.”

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Table 1

Number of hotels and basic statistics of the tokens in the corpus
Hotel grade

Number of

TokenshotelsAverage

Minimum

Maximumtokenstokenstokens5-star47

6289

132.5521348

4-star66

10521

158.2129

458

3-star

11

2414

219.4531659

3. Methods
Keywords for each grade were derived according to the value of log-likelihoodusing CasualConc3 to examine the characteristics of words used in each grade. The
BE06 Corpus4 was used as a reference corpus. Co-occurrence network analysis andcorrespondence analysis were then conducted using KH Coder5 to see how words wererelated to one another, as well as to each grade.
The co-occurrence network command of KH Coder creates a diagram that shows“the words with similar appearance patterns, i.e., with high degrees of co-occurrence,
connected by lines (edges)” (Higuchi, 2017, p. 50). This diagram also shows “theassociation between words and variables/headings, in addition to the associations
between words” (Higuchi, 2017, p. 50). Hotel grades were used as variables to examine
whether words were used more exclusively in a certain grade or were more commonlyused at different grades. To avoid the inclusion of too many words in the diagram, top
sixty edges with strong Jaccard similarity coefficients and also words that occurred ten
or more times in the corpus were used.
Correspondence analysis is “a method of data visualization that is applicable tocross-tabular data” (Greenacre, 2010, p. 613). It takes “the frequency of co-occurringfeatures and converts them to distances” (Glynn, 2010, p. 1). Words are then plotted,
revealing their relationship by their relative distance from each other (Glynn, 2010).
The correspondence analysis command of KH Coder creates “a two-dimensional scatter
diagram” that shows words with “a similar appearance pattern” (Higuchi, 2017, p. 44).
Hotel grades were again used as valuables for this analysis. To avoid the inclusion of
too many words in the diagram, top fifty words as filtered according to their chi-squarevalue6 that also occurred ten or more times in the corpus were used.
For both co-occurrence network analysis and correspondence analysis, words
were drawn in a circle. The more frequently a word occurs, the larger the circle is.
Numbers in the squares represent hotel grades.

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108

4. Results
4.1 Keywords
Keywords are shown in Table 2. The top three keywords for both the 5-star andthe 4-star hotels included “HOTELNAME,” “hotel,” and “London;” the top keywords forthe 3-star hotels, however, included “Wembley” before “HOTELNAME.” “Stadium” alsocame before “London,” followed by “arena.” Some of the 3-star hotels emphasized theirlocation near “Wembley Stadium” and “Wembley Arena,” which resulted in theprevalence of the keywords “stadium” and “arena.” It is evident that while for the
5-star and the 4-star hotels, their hotel names and the hotels themselves were
important elements, for the 3-star hotels, the landmarks near the hotels were perhaps
more important than the hotels as such. The fourth-ranked keyword for the 5-star
hotels was “luxury,” and this was not included among the 4-star and the 3-star hotels’
high-ranked keywords. Words keyed to more specific locations than simply “London”
appeared for all hotel grades; “Mayfair” was common for the 5-star hotels, ‘Kensington”
for the 4-star hotels, and “Wembley,” “stadium,” and “arena” for the 3-star hotels. The
keyword “locate” only appeared for the 4-star and the 3-star hotels, which suggeststhat location is a more important element for hotels in these grades. In short,higher-grade hotels tended to emphasize their grade and facilities (e.g., 5-star, 4-star,suite, and restaurant), while lower-grade hotels tended to place greater importance on
their location.
Table 2

Keywords according to hotel grades
5-star

4-star

3-star

Keywords

Log-likelihood Keywords

Log-likelihood Keywords

Log-likelihood

1

hotelname1249.06

hotelname1291.28

wembley722.242

hotel

727.20hotel

1161.94

hotelname450.883

london533.44london810.84

hotel

294.45

4

luxury521.98

restaurant

325.93

stadium

210.055suite

359.86guest

274.53london180.306

mayfair

270.10locate244.41

arena

108.06

7

5-star

227.10room

243.87our101.248

guest

195.30kensington

233.00locate

83.89

9

spa

164.99our

196.36

guest

80.10

10

room

140.374-star

190.64

room

73.65

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4.2 Co-occurrence network

Figure 2 shows the co-occurrence network diagram of the words used in hotel
overviews. Thirty-nine words and sixty edges were drawn in the diagram, which
revealed that there were clusters of words particular to a certain grade and also
clusters that were associated with different grades.

Figure 2. Co-occurrence network diagram of the words used in hotel overviews
The eight circles located in the middle are connected to all the grades with edges
because they were used similarly in all the grades. The words in the circles include“HOTELNAME,” “be,” “London,” “offer,” “room,” “you,” “we,” and “hotel.” These words
are considered to be the fundamental elements for London hotel overviews. Puttingthese words together creates a sentence, such as (1), containing the fundamental
information that hotel overviews express.

KONDO, Yukie

110(1) We/HOTELNAME offer you hotel/room [in] London.
Of course, this is rather an intuitive conclusion, and the actual sentences used in hotel
overviews were wider in variety, for example, in terms of what they offer, as in (2), (3),and (4). These are example sentences in which the word “offer” occurred. In (2) and (3),a particular service (free cancellation) or features (guestrooms and event spaces) are“offered,” while in (4), an abstract expression (a fashionable and timeless base) is used.
(2) On many of our rooms we offer free cancellation, so a change of plan is no problem
as your booking can be cancelled or amended free of charge. (3-star)(3) […] and 4-star deluxe HOTELNAME offer a total of 281 guest rooms and various
versatile event spaces, featuring state-of-the-art facilities and stylish decor.
(4-star)(4) With world-famous restaurants and a stunning spa, we offer a fashionable andtimeless base in the centre of the British capital. (5-star)
The common words between the 3-star and the 4-star hotels included “locate,”
while those common between the 4-star and the 5-star were “enjoy,” “guest,” and “bar.”Thus, “locate” appears to be characteristic of lower-grade hotels, while the latter, of
higher-grade hotels. This supports the idea that lower-grade hotels appeal to theirguests by mentioning the location. Circles that are only connected to the 3-star hotels
included specific destinations, such as “Wembly,” “Heathrow,” and “arena.” They areplaces that can be conveniently reached from/to the hotel. On the contrary,higher-grade hotels appear to appeal to their guests through emphasizing the hotel’sfacilities, such as the bar.
“Have” is the only words connected to the 3-star and also the 5-star hotels. (5)and (6) are the example sentences using the word “have.”(5) …our newly renovated guest suites and 5-star amenities will ensure that you haveeverything you need for a one-of-a-kind experience. (5-star)(6) Whether you’re here on business or pleasure we have all of the necessary
amenities to provide you an enjoyable experience. (3-star)
Both of these sentences from the 3-star and the 5-star overviews mention what isneeded/necessary; however, the sentence for the 5-star hotel stimulates the reader’s
imagination, using open-ended, non-specific phrases such as “everything you need” or“one-of-a-kind experience,” which of course will vary depending on who reads it. The
sentence from the 3-star hotel, on the contrary, while referring to necessary amenities,

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also reminds readers of specific items or activities, such as business or pleasure.
4.3 Correspondence analysis
The scatter diagram drawn by correspondence analysis is shown in Figure 3.
Factor 1 on the horizontal axis accounts for 68.88% of the variance, and factor 2 on thevertical axis, for 31.12%. Factor 1 is the primary factor explaining the characteristicsof the corpus, and from the left, words for the 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star overviews are

Factor 2

observed. This suggests that the texts do exhibit tendencies according to hotel grades.

Factor 1

Figure 3. Scatter diagram of the correspondence analysis for words used in hotel
overviews
Factor 1 can be considered as the quality that hotels have. At the extreme for the
5-star and the 4-star hotels, specific words indicating their star rating (e.g., five-star,four-star) are observed. For the 5-star hotels, in particular, there are also clusters ofwords indicating qualities such as “luxury,” “luxurious,” “award-winning,” “finest,”

KONDO, Yukie

112“personal,” and “private.” For the 3-star hotels, there are no words indicating the hotel
grade, but the word “value” does appear.
Factor 2 can be considered as the features using which hotels promote
themselves to their potential guests. Clustered around the 5-star hotels are words
referring to luxury features such as “spa” and “suite.” Surrounding the 4-star hotels
are words indicating location and transportation such as “link,” “station,” and “airport”
as well as words referring to purposes such as “leisure” and “business.” Between the
4-star and the 3-star hotels are words indicating location such as “parking,” “tube,” and“Heathrow.” Those closer to the 3-star area include facilities convenient from/to thehotel such as “[Wembley] stadium” and “[Wembley] arena.”
In summary, the words associated with the 5-star and the 3-star hotels had themost distance between them, while those associated with the 4-star hotels fell in the
middle. For the 4-star and the 5-star hotels, the hotel grade was an important quality
for marketing, while for the 3-star hotels, “value” took that role. For words associatedwith features, the 5-star and the 3-star hotels were closer together, while the 4-star
hotels were distant. Facilities were an important factor for the 3-star and the 5-star
hotels, but there was a difference: the 5-star hotels emphasized their own facilities,
while the 3-star hotels mentioned the convenient facilities outside the hotel. For the
4-star hotels, facilities outside the hotels such as an airport and a station were
important, but the focus was more on transportation.
5. Discussion
Hotel overviews briefly introduce the hotel on the top-level page and reach out topotential guests. Interestingly, the 5-star hotels describe themselves using words
related to quality and mentioning their own facilities, while the 3-star hotels make an
appeal by mentioning facilities convenient from/to the hotel. The 4-star hotels are in

Figure 4. Diagram showing how hotels promote themselves in overview texts

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between them and mention what guests can do or where guests can go. The
relationship between the different hotel grades and basic keywords are shown as adiagram in Figure 4.
The characteristics found from these corpus analyses indicate that the language
strategies to promote a hotel on the websites differ depending on the hotel grades.
Higher-grade hotels subjectively promote themselves by referring to their own
facilities and qualities, while lower-grade hotels objectively promote themselves
through reference to other entities; that is, by mentioning facilities outside the hotel or
how it is convenient to get to the hotel through a stated means of transportation.
This method of self-promotion using social references can be applied to the“looking-glass self” proposed by Cooley (1902). Cooley (1902) observed that thelooking-glass self, or social self, had the following three elements: first, “theimagination of our appearance to the other person,” second, “the imagination of his
judgment of that appearance,” and third, “some sort of self-feeling, such as pride or
mortification” (p. 189). Applying this to hotel overviews, hotels also imagine how
guests view the hotels and imagine what the guests expect the hotels have to offer.
Lower-grade hotels tend to fulfill the first two elements by describing their amenities
as people might reasonably expect to find them. Higher-grade hotels, meanwhile, alsosatisfy the third element by imagining the judgment and expressing pride through useof elite words to describe themselves such as “luxury,” “luxurious,” “award-winning,”“finest,” “personal,” or “private.”
Extending Cooley’s theory, Mead (1934) proposed “I” and “me” perspectives of thesocial self. According to these perspectives, “me” stands for “the organized set of
attitudes of others which one himself assumes” (p. 258), whereas “I” stands for“something responding to a social situation” (p. 261) and “the answer that theindividual makes to the attitude that others take toward him when he assumes anattitude toward them” (p. 261). If one is applied to the hotel overviews, lower-grade
hotels put themselves in society and talk about themselves by indicating where they
are socially and geographically located from the “me” perspective, while higher-grade
hotels focus on expectations and respond to them from the “I” perspective.
Below is an example overview of a 5-star hotel, which is also shown in Figure 1.
Brown’s Hotel is not only London’s first hotel, but also one of the most illustrious
in the British capital. Since opening on Albemarle Street in 1837, ourdistinguished hotel has hosted esteemed guests, from royals and presidents toworld-famous authors. Add your name to the guest book and revel in the historyof this iconic London hotel. Here, you can unwind in our serene spa, dine onaward-winning cuisine and have a nightcap in the stylish Donovan Bar.

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114(5-star hotel, see also Figure 1.)
This overview uses social references to its history, location, distinguished visitors,
and facilities such as the spa and the bar, and, at the same time, the description
proudly responds to them. The hotel describes itself as “London’s first” and also “one of
the most illustrious.” It boasts that “royals and presidents” and “world-famous authors”
have stayed there, and therefore, it is a “distinguished” and “iconic” hotel. It has
unique facilities such as a “serene spa” and the “Donovan Bar,” which make it a place
for guests to “unwind.” This shows one way that a hotel can judge itself from the “me”
perspective using social references, and simultaneously responds to the judgment fromthe “I” perspective. This appears to be a common strategy used by higher-grade hotels
when introducing and promoting themselves in the overview text.
6. Conclusion
This study investigated how hotels use language strategically to promote
themselves on their official websites. Three corpus analyses—keywords, co-occurrence
network analysis, and correspondence analysis—demonstrated how the words adopted
by each hotel grade varied. These differences were further discussed in light of Cooley’s“looking-glass self” theory (1902) and Mead’s “I” and “me” perspectives (1934). As aresult, it was suggested that luxury hotels tend to speak from the “I” perspective
responding to social expectations, while lower-grade hotels, the “me” perspective usingsocial references to express themselves. Although these socio-psychological concepts
were originally developed to discuss the development of children’s selfhood and might
not necessarily match how hotels express themselves on the web; they do shed somelight on the hotels’ language strategies. Further research needs to be carried out toinvestigate whether there are other factors than hotel grades that affect the language
strategies. Nevertheless, the results obtained from this study will be meaningful forthe luxury industries to learn how to promote themselves to their potential customers
in a limited space on their websites. As the corpus used for this study was small,further studies with larger corpora are necessary to investigate whether the results
obtained in this study can be generalized. It would also be beneficial to analyze similar
texts from the websites in other luxury industries to investigate if there are any
similarities in their language strategies.
Notes
The AA Hotel Guide 2016 (AA Publishing, 2015) was used to find hotels according tohotel grades.
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This study did not use 1-star and 2-star hotels as the number of hotels was limited:zero hotel for 1-star and one hotel for 2-star. The number of hotels ranked from 3-starto 5- star was 128, but 4 hotels were excluded because their websites did not have aclear overview section.
3 CasualConc is a freeware concordance program for Macintosh OS X created by Dr.
Yasuhiro Imao of Osaka University. The program can be downloaded fromhttps://sites.google.com/site/casualconc/
4 The BE06 Corpus is “a one-million-word reference corpus of general written British
English that was designed to be comparable to the Brown family of corpora” (Baker,2009). https://doi.org/10.1075/ijcl.14.3.02bak
5 KH Coder is a free software for quantitative content analysis or text mining createdby Dr. Koichi Higuchi of Ritsumeikan University. This study used KH Coder Version. 3
Alpha. The software can be downloaded from http://khc.sourceforge.net/en/
6 This can be done by selecting the “Filter words by chi-square value” option.
2

Acknowledgments
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all the professors and colleagues who
supported, encouraged, and inspired me to improve an earlier version of thismanuscript.
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