The threat of social media blackmailing in the hospitality industry : when customers misuse their power

Nowadays customer ratings are among the most decision-relevant information on the Internet. Reviews are particularly valued for their credibility compared to mass media advertising and are increasingly used by customers to make purchase decision. Due to the high relevance of the review sites there is a growing concern for the repercussion negative reviews can have on a businesses reputation. The high relevance of customer reviews on market leaders such as TripAdvisor or HolidayCheck is especially of concern in the hospitality industry. In the past years a growing number of cases where reported where clients are trying to extort hotels by threatening with a bad review, unless demands like refunds and upgrades are fulfilled, this phenomenon has become known as social media blackmailing. This research was performed in order to set this new arising type of online reputation threat in the context of online reputation attacks, in order to provide a clearer picture about the kind of attacker who engages in social media blackmailing and its underlying motivations.