Memorable for the wrong reasons: a text mining analysis of negative memorable guest experiences in the hospitality sector

While the Memorable Tourism Experience paradigm has traditionally emphasized positive episodes, this study introduces the concept of Negative Memorable Guest Experience (NMGE) to address a critical gap in tourism literature. Through text mining analysis of 1.2 million Booking.com reviews from Mediterranean destinations using LIWC-22 and Leximancer, we compare NMGE with ordinary negative reviews to identify distinctive characteristics. NMGE reviews are substantially longer (119 vs. 38 words) and demonstrate significantly higher analytical thinking, authenticity, and authoritative tone. They show lower ratings and garner more helpful votes, confirming greater influence on booking decisions. Emotional analysis reveals predominant sadness, suggesting deeper emotional wounds manifesting as reflective disappointment. Thematic analysis identifies room conditions and hotel operations as dominant concerns, followed by staff rudeness and cleanliness failures as primary memorability drivers. These service failures violate core hospitality expectations, triggering intense cognitive-emotional processing consistent with negativity bias theory. The study extends the MTE paradigm beyond its positive focus, demonstrating that memorable negative experiences undergo distinctive narrative processing characterized by analytical depth and emotional complexity. For practitioners, findings underscore that preventing memorable negative experiences requires prioritizing fundamental service quality over luxury amenities.