A Study on Evaluating Tourists’ Destination Accommodation Experiences

Today, tourists' destination selection processes are directly shaped by the comments and evaluationsshared on digital platforms. Especially potential tourists who are searching for information before theirtravel get a preliminary impression of the destinations they plan to go through these platforms. Thissituation increases the importance of online user comments in terms of the promotion of touristicdestinations and destination marketing. Sinop is one of the important touristic destinations known forits nature and historical texture, located in the north of the Black Sea Region. This study aims to evaluatethe opinions of visitors who visited the Sinop destination and received service from public and privateaccommodation enterprises regarding their accommodation experiences by examining the Googlecomments. By examining the comments made on the Google platform, it will be possible to understandin depth the perceptions, expectations and experiences of tourists towards accommodation enterprises. Inthis way, the strengths and weaknesses of both the accommodation enterprises and the destination theyare a component of are determined, and information that can contribute to Sinop destination tourismstrategies is presented. In this context, comments regarding accommodation enterprises were evaluatedusing the content analysis method. Within the scope of the research, positive visitor comments regardingpublic accommodation enterprises include the concepts of price, proximity to the sea, silence, comfortand ideal holiday destination; in negative visitor comments about public accommodation establishments,the concepts of management indifference, old room equipment, expensive restaurants, no standardbreakfast service and low product variety came to the fore. In positive visitor comments about privateaccommodation establishments, the concepts of magnificent atmosphere, hospitality, quality service, cleanrooms and comfort came to the fore; in negative visitor comments about private accommodationestablishments, the concepts of expensive prices, reservation problems, poorly equipped rooms, parkingproblems and old room equipment came to the fore.