As online reviews proliferate and consumer engagement goes digital, it has never been more important for hospitality businesses to understand what motivates consumers to share visual content.
The old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is certainly true of the online review environment, in which a single compelling photo can attract thousands of viewers and make or break a restaurant’s reputation.
Research by Dr Danting Cai, Professor Neil Li, Mr Haipeng Ji and Ms Huicai Gao of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and a co-author offers unprecedented insights into what drives consumers to post more photos with their online reviews. These insights may help businesses tailor their strategies to encourage more visual content sharing, thereby enhancing customer engagement and strengthening their online reputations.
In today’s ever more saturated digital world, no online review feels complete without a photograph or video to showcase the experience – and businesses are profiting from this trend, with 62% of consumers more likely to make a purchase when visuals from other customers are available. “This visual impact is particularly pronounced in tourism and hospitality”, say the researchers, “where experiences are inherently experiential, making photos invaluable for conveying ambiance, decor and sensory richness”.
For example, user-generated photos of restaurants and the food they sell can significantly influence customers’ choice of venue and the meals they order when they arrive. Surprisingly, however, we still know little about what leads customers to share more photos in online reviews. “While there is extensive research on user-generated textual content”, the authors tell us, “the motives behind photo sharing are less understood”. Furthermore, studies have often looked simply at whether photos are present or absent in reviews; they have not considered the factors influencing how many photos users post.
To find out what exactly drives diners to post photos in online reviews, the authors first drew on trait activation theory (TAT). This helped them to hypothesise about situational cues in online review environments that trigger personal traits – such as the desire for social approval or a tendency for conspicuous display – that lead consumers to share visual content. “TAT examines how external situations interact with internal traits to drive behaviour”, the researchers explain. For example, review platforms might encourage users to include photos (a task-level cue), and having a large social network can also trigger consumers to add a visual touch to their reviews (a social-level cue).
Based on TAT, the authors hypothesised that the number of photos shared in an online restaurant review depends on several key situational cues. The first is restaurant price. “In hospitality, prices signal social status”, the researchers remind us. By sharing photos of luxurious restaurant experiences online, diners can highlight their status and thus boost their self-esteem. Therefore, users who have visited an expensive restaurant are likely to include more photos with their reviews.
Second, the authors expected users with larger social networks to share more photos of their restaurant experiences. “The need for approval drives users to post content, such as reviews and photos, seeking positive feedback”, they explain. “Larger social networks amplify this effect, as a broader audience increases the chances of receiving approval”. Third, users with the reputation of “influencers” are more likely to share photos. “High-status users may add photos to their reviews to provide a comprehensive view and uphold their reputation”, the authors tell us.
The researchers also expected the positive effects of restaurant price, social network size and user reputation on photo sharing to be moderated by factors like the user’s dining experience and how far they travelled to get there. “A good user experience may prompt conspicuous display”, the authors tell us, “to showcase social status”. Meanwhile, as “the effort and resources required for long-distance travel enhance the perceived value of experiences”, tourists may share more photos than locals do.
To uncover key triggers, the researchers first analysed a large dataset of restaurant reviews to pinpoint factors affecting photo-sharing. “Subsequent online experiments examined the motivations for this behaviour,” they report. Specifically, they collected reviews of a diverse sample of Las Vegas restaurants – chosen for their culinary appeal – from Yelp.com and used rigorous statistical techniques to test how restaurant price, social network size and user reputation influenced the number of photos shared.
The findings largely supported the researchers’ initial ideas. “More photos are shared for higher-priced restaurants”, the researchers report. A clear link also emerged for user status: those with an “elite” reputation tended to share a larger number of photos. “Similarly, users with larger social networks tend to share more photos”, the researchers add.
As expected, a satisfying dining experience played an important role. When diners were happy with their experience, factors like restaurant price, the size of their social network, or their online reputation had an even stronger influence on their likelihood of sharing more photos. Interestingly, one factor did not play out as expected: how far a diner had travelled to the restaurant did not seem to change photo-sharing habits in the way that the researchers had predicted.
Discovering what people do is only half of the picture. The researchers were keen to understand why. What psychological buttons are being pushed? This curiosity led them to conduct three carefully designed online experiments. They recruited real consumers, placing them in simulated scenarios: reviewing a high-priced (or moderately priced) restaurant, having a large (or small) social network, or holding “influencer” (or standard user) status. After writing a mock review, the participants indicated how likely they were to add photos.
These experiments powerfully echoed the Yelp findings: higher prices, bigger networks and elite status did indeed spur more photo sharing. Crucially, they also illuminated the underlying motivations. The results showed that the desire to make a conspicuous display (showcasing a high-status experience), the need for social approval from their peers, and the drive to uphold or enhance their reputation were the primary psychological drivers compelling diners to share more visual details.
These findings offer more than just academic insights. Beyond advancing theories of consumer behaviour in the digital age, the study offers clear, actionable guidance for the industry. For instance, to tap into the status-signalling motive, high-end restaurants can “create a visually appealing presentation and ambiance that naturally encourage photo-taking”. Furthermore, by reposting customers’ photos on their official social media channels, these establishments can validate diners’ efforts, fostering a cycle of more visual content sharing.
“For users with elite status and wide social networks”, the researchers suggest, “businesses could implement tiered incentives, such as exclusive discounts or event invitations, to motivate photo sharing”. Review platforms can also contribute by spotlighting content generated by these key users, granting them greater visibility. Another avenue is for businesses to launch online referral and brand ambassador programmes, specifically targeting users with large networks to further leverage their influential power.
The authors conclude with an important lesson for all hospitality businesses in the digital age. “Considering that user experience influences photo-sharing behaviour, businesses should strive for exceptional service”, they say – as memorable experiences are far more likely to be captured and shared.
Danting Cai, Hengyun Li, Rob Law, Haipeng Ji and Huicai Gao (2024). What Drives Consumers to Post More Photos in Online Reviews? A Trait Activation Theory Perspective. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 36, No. 12, pp. 3989–4010.
About PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management
For more than four decades, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has refined a distinctive vision of hospitality and tourism education and become a world-leading hotel and tourism school. Ranked No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality and Tourism Management” category in ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2025 for the ninth consecutive year; placed No. 1 globally in the “Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services” category in the University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2024/2025 for eight years in a row; rated No. 1 in the world in the “Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism” subject area by the CWUR Rankings by Subject 2017; and ranked No. 2 in the world among university-based programmes in the “Hospitality and Leisure Management” subject area in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025 for the ninth consecutive year, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field, exemplifying its motto of Leading Hospitality and Tourism.
The School is driven by the need to serve its industry and academic communities through the advancement of education and dissemination of knowledge. With a strong international team of over 90 faculty members from 21 countries and regions around the world, the SHTM offers programmes at levels ranging from undergraduate to doctoral degrees. Through Hotel ICON, the School’s groundbreaking teaching and research hotel and a vital aspect of its paradigm-shifting approach to hospitality and tourism education, the SHTM is advancing teaching, learning and research, and inspiring a new generation of passionate, pioneering professionals to take their positions as leaders in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Press contact: Ms Tiffany Chan, Marketing Manager, School of Hotel and Tourism Management
tiffany-sm.chan@polyu.edu.hk / https://www.polyu.edu.hk/shtm
