US, Oct. 15 -- For travellers, a cheaper room can look like an easy saving. For hotel owners, cutting back on comfort can look like an easy way to protect margins.

The evidence points the other way. Comfort shapes what guests say about a stay, and what guests say shapes what a hotel can charge.

Why Comfort Pays for Hotels Reviews Move Rates Research from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, published in 2012, put numbers on this link.

Using Travelocity data, it found that a one-point rise on a five-point review scale let hotels raise prices by 11.2% while keeping the same occupancy or market share.

Reputation Lifts Every Key Metric The study also matched ReviewPro reputation scores with STR performance data. A 1% rise...