The influence of electronic word of mouth (e-wom) and user-generated content (ugc) on reservation intention at koral restaurant, bali

Abstract

Digital transformation has accelerated consumers' reliance on peer-generated reviews (Electronic Word of Mouth/e-WOM) and organic visual content (User Generated Content/UGC) as primary references prior to booking reservations at luxury restaurants. This study examines the partial and simultaneous effects of e-WOM and UGC on Reservation Intention at Koral Restaurant, an exclusive underwater dining destination in Bali. A causal associative quantitative method was applied, with purposive sampling used to select 170 domestic tourists who are active Instagram users. The research instrument, a Likert-scale questionnaire, was subjected to validity and reliability testing prior to full distribution. Data were analyzed through multiple linear regression, preceded by classical assumption tests covering normality, multicollinearity, and heteroscedasticity. Partial hypothesis testing confirmed that both e-WOM (β = 0.293; t = 5.185; p < 0.001) and UGC (β = 0.217; t = 4.972; p < 0.001) positively and significantly influence Reservation Intention. The simultaneous test yielded F = 88.121 (p < 0.001) with R² = 0.513, indicating that both predictors account for 51.3% of the variance in reservation intention. These findings reinforce the paradigm that Instagram's user-generated content ecosystem functions as digital social validation, effectively converting consumer interest into concrete reservation commitments within Bali's fine dining segment.