Abstract
| The signicance of online User Generated Content (UGC) has been increasing rapidly around the world, inuencing travellers' decision-making when planning trips, as well as businesses' online reputations. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in South Africa, there has been a signicant growth in the accommodation sector, particularly in Johannesburg, due to the development of various tourism subsectors throughout the city. Little research has been conducted which examines the inuence of UGC on hotels and almost none in South Africa. Therefore, this study provides a contribution towards local literature and further understanding of how travellers rate and view the services of hotels, using Johannesburg hotels as a case study. The study was conducted through the use of a desktop analysis of travellers' ratings and reviews of 147 three to ve star hotels in Johannesburg as listed on the TripAdvisor platform. The ndings highlight the prole of these hotels as well as a broad overview of visitor perceptions of hotels within Johannesburg. They then provide an analysis of reviews for each hotel which gives insight into the perceptions of visitors of a variety of hotels. This analysis oers an important perspective into the satisfaction of tourists staying at Johannesburg hotels.