The influence of national culture on the strategic use of salesperson pricing authority: A cross-country study within the hotel industry

At some hotel properties individual catering sales managers are empowered with the authority to make price adjustments, but at other properties they must ascertain the permission before adjusting prices. This research collected and analyzed data from 392 hotels in 28 countries and found that national culture has an influence on the price empowerment decision. Specifically, catering sales managers are more likely to be granted pricing authority in: (1) individualistic societies than in collective societies; (2) low power distance cultures than in high power distance cultures; and (3) low uncertainty avoidance societies than in high uncertainty avoidance societies.     

Exploring consumers’ bidding results based on starting price,number of bidders and promotion programs

Online auctions are a core dynamic pricing mechanism that is now used widely in the tourism market, and consumers enjoy the exciting experience of bidding for products and services. The rapid development of the online auction market has lead scholars to call for more research into the factors that influence the results of such auctions and how they are related to consumers’ online bidding behavior. To this end, the current study designs a lab environment and mainly explores the influences of the start bidding price (US$0.33 versus US$60), the number of bidders and promotion programs (low price versus quality) on the results of online auctions of hotel coupons. The research results indicate the following market dynamics. (1) Regardless of whether there is a low or high start-bidding price, more bidders lead to higher end-prices, especially with high start-bidding prices. (2) When a seller provides a higher start-bidding price, the end-prices will be higher. (3) Different promotion programs result in different end-prices, especially when the product characteristics are integrated effectively with such programs. When hotel coupons are the main auction product, they are associated with high-quality leisure and lifestyle factors, thus indicating that the integration of high accommodation quality with quality promotion programs can attract consumers to join the bidding process and lead to higher end-prices. (4) Regardless of whether there is a low or high start-bidding price, winners will always report higher ratings regarding distributive fairness, procedural fairness and information fairness than will losers. The research results have important theoretical and practical implications, which are discussed in the conclusions.     

Theme park revenue management with a dual admission policy

There are several efforts to increase the revenue of theme parks. One of them is to divide admission policy into normal and express admission. If a certain customer buys express admission ticket with more expensive price, it is possible to reduce the excessive waiting time by using the exclusive waiting line for some or all the attraction’s rides. In this study, decision-making elements such as the price of the express admission ticket, maximum allowed number of express admission ticket per day, and the type of rides which can apply the express admission ticket are investigated to maximize the revenue.     

Do price promotions drive consumer spending on luxury hotel services? The moderating roles of room price and user-generated content

Price promotion, as price information, and user-generated content (UGC), as non-price information, play an important role in generating luxury hotel revenue. This study empirically investigates how price promotion influences actual consumer spending on luxury hotel services except room price, by considering the contingency role of room price and volume and valence of UGC. Combined data of daily settlements and Tripadvisor customer reviews of a regional luxury hotel chain are used for the analyses. The results indicate that, overall, price promotion negatively influences consumer spending on luxury hotel services and its negative effect is strengthened when the room is higher priced or the valence of UGC is high. Furthermore, a larger volume of intrinsic attribute-related UGC–amenity and location–with price promotion leads to more consumer spending than a larger volume of extrinsic attribute-related UGC–food and staff. The findings provide hotel managers with important insights into pricing and UGC management.     

Pricing determinants in the hotel industry: Quantile regression analysis

Due to the skewed distribution of hotel prices, quantile regression provides a more flexible and complete characterization of the determinants of the hotel prices at the higher and lower tail of the distribution. This study applies quantile regression approach to investigate the major determinants of hotel room pricing strategies. The ordinary least square regression is also used for comparative purposes. The data are drawn from 58 international tourist hotels in Taiwan and average room rate (ARR) is used as the proxy of hotel room price. The results of OLS and quantile regression share common characteristics but also have differences in some aspects. The OLS results reveal that number of rooms, hotel age, market conditions and number of housekeeping staff per room are the main attributes of hotel room rate. The quantile regression results further demonstrate that room number and the number of housekeeping staff per guest room do not significantly influence hotel price at the low price quantile. Hotel age and market conditions are only significant determinants in high-price category. Additionally, for the high-priced quantile hotels, the proportion of foreign individual travellers positively and significantly influences room price. The empirical results can help hoteliers in shaping investment and pricing strategies.     

An analysis of asymmetry in dynamic pricing of hospitality industry

The paper analyzes the influence of changing tourist arrival on various hotel performance measures related to prices, such as price charges per room, revenue per available room, occupancy rate, and total revenue using price dynamics of Oslo as a case. It also measured whether there is an asymmetric relation between the above performance measures in response to the increase and decrease of tourist arrival. While the presence of a significant long-run relationship between tourist arrival and revenue per available room, capacity utilization, and total revenue has been confirmed, it was found that the price per room does not have such a relationship, and it suggests that the price adjustments are made only on short-run considerations. Another interesting observation is that the magnitude of asymmetric influence is high for revenue per available room and occupancy rate when tourist arrival declines, compared to the corresponding magnitude when tourist arrival increases. These findings indicate that there lies a scope to improve the dynamic pricing model currently being followed.     

If you,tourist, behave irrationally,I’ll find you!

When departures from rational behavior can potentially be expected, modeling should allow for their identification and their quantification. In this regard, prices in tourism might have effects that may not be as apparent as economic theory predicts. This article incorporates the sticker shock formulation into the mixed logit model without imposing consistency with consumer theory to accommodate any possible positive or negative price effects. By allowing the parameters of “price” and “sticker shock term” to take any value – negative or positive – we detect abnormal behaviors in the tourist demand: not only is the negative relationship between price and demand inverted for some people but also some tourists might be willing to accept higher-than-expected prices. The “non-well-behaved” groups' shares are estimated.     

Tourists’ willingness to pay for an accommodation: The effect of eWOM and internal reference price

Understanding the determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) is an important challenge especially for practitioners. This study evaluates the effect of external information (eWOM valence and volume) and internal information (internal reference price) on consumers’ WTP for an accommodation. The results of an online experiment (n = 766) show a direct effect of valence on WTP which is strengthened by both volume and the internal reference price. Consumers with high reference prices are more sensitive to the effect of an increase in valence. Moreover, internal reference price has a non-linear influence on WTP. The findings suggest the relevant role of eWOM as well as internal reference price in determining consumers’ WTP. The inclusion of these two variables in dynamic pricing strategies could lead to greater benefits for hospitality managers.     

Low-cost pricing strategies in leisure markets

The practice of dynamic pricing typical of low-cost carriers is generally regarded as a form of price discrimination between “leisure” and “business” travellers on a single flight or route. The same may not be true across different routes because of the different incidence of business travellers. If price increases in the 15 days prior to departure are meant to discriminate business demand, leisure demand should account for earlier price variations. In the present study, we used a database containing the daily fare over the 3 months prior to each flight operated by easyJet during 2009. For each route, we defined the “leisure index” as the difference between the price rates of change during the 90 days and 15 days prior to departure. Overall, “business” routes had lower average prices per km, while “leisure” routes showed less dynamic price behaviour, with higher minimum and lower maximum prices per km.     

How does hotel pricing influence guest satisfaction by the moderating influence of room occupancy?

Whether the product price increases customer satisfaction or rather decreases it has been actively debated for some time. A non-linear correlation between the hotel price and guest satisfaction, explored empirically in this paper, implies that the two phenomena are actually not inconsistent with one another At the low price level, room price and food and beverage (F&B) price leads to an increase in guest satisfaction whereas the high price level could have just the opposite effect The results suggests an inverse U shaped relationship between price level and guest satisfaction On the other hand, the room price guest satisfaction link could be affected by the moderating influence of room occupancy to be a U shaped function This paper reports results from a study on the influence of hotel pricing on guest satisfaction in the context of room products and F&B products in Taiwanese international tourist satisfaction It is found that the hotel pricing has a quadratic effect on guest satisfaction     

The Festival in My Hometown: The Relationships Among Performance Quality,Satisfaction, and Behavioral Intentions

Despite the high volume of research on festivals in Western cultures and the incredible growth of festivals over recent decades, little empirical research has been conducted on festivals in Thailand, many of which have existed more than 100 years. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations that drive people to attend the Tenth Month Merit-Making Festival (TMMF) in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a province in southern Thailand, what they thought of products and services provided at the festival, what their level of satisfaction was, and whether or not they would recommend the festival to others or attend it again in the future. There were 324 respondents participating in the study. Friend—family togetherness, festival novelty, excitement, and escape were the leading motivations for attending the festival. Respondents were most satisfied with arts and crafts, entertainment, ticket price, displays and exhibitions, and the festival's duration. The activity–culture factor was the best performer. Those who were satisfied with the festival would encourage others to attend the festival, but they might not attend again in the future themselves.     

You’re the Only One,or Simply the Best. Hotels differentiation,competition, agglomeration,and pricing

Drawing on competition, signalling and agglomeration perspectives, we investigate how vertical and horizontal differentiation influence price, and how hotel competition and agglomeration may moderate any such effects. We argue that vertical differentiation should include online reputation to complement category, and that hotel clustering can provide benefits for incumbents. Hypotheses are tested using quantile regression on a sample of 1870 hotels. In order to account for any service dimensions, an index of differentiation is estimated. We found that local competition and agglomeration moderates the relationship between differentiation and pricing. Furthermore, online reputation effects are more intense for low priced hotels. Indeed, when competition is intense, the positive effect of horizontal differentiation is lower for low priced hotels. Similarly, hotel clustering reinforces the impact of category on price, but it reduces the benefits of offering more services.     

Exploring effective price presentation format to reduce decision difficulty and increase decision satisfaction

Variable pricing is frequently employed by service firms that adopt revenue management practices. This strategy is effective in stimulating and increasing revenue by appealing to customers with different levels of price sensitivity. However, by providing excessive price options, a company may cause choice overload for customers. Within the framework of behavioral economics, this study explores an effective price presentation strategy to mitigate choice overload due to a large assortment size of price options in the context of hotels. The findings of the experimental design study suggest that the number of categories that distinguish and organize price options positively affects consumers' perceived decision difficulty and consequent decision satisfaction when a large assortment size of price options is provided. This research extends the understanding of the effect of variable pricing on consumers' responses and provides marketers with guidance on how to manage variable pricing and its price presentation format.     

How a crowded restaurant affects consumers’ attribution behavior

This study finds that when consumers perceive a restaurant as very crowded, they would attribute the high level of crowdedness to high food quality, good reputation and low food price that draw people to the restaurant. On the contrary, in the case of a quiet restaurant, the customer would associate the quietness with low food quality, high food price and poor reputation. The implication for restaurant managers is that they can manipulate the level of crowdedness in their restaurant to create a favorable impression of high food quality, low food price and good reputation.     

Choice of non-monetary incentives and coupon redemption intention: Monetary saving and price consciousness as moderators

Coupon promotion is widespread in the fast casual restaurant sector. As monetary saving offered in the coupons is costly to suppliers, this study examines: (1) if the provision of choice of non-monetary incentive can substitute high monetary saving in their positive influences on consumers’ redemption intention; and (2) if the substitution effect is contingent on consumers’ level of price consciousness. Drawing from three experimental studies, the results consistently showed that offering choice of non-monetary incentive was effective in increasing consumers’ redemption intention through enhancing their attitude towards the coupon promotion. The effect of offering choice of non-monetary incentive substituted that of high monetary saving, but the substitution effect was merely salient among low price-conscious consumers while the floodlight analysis revealed the point that bifurcates high (versus low) level of price consciousness. The findings add knowledge to the sales promotion and hospitality literature. Meaningful implications are recommended for fast casual restauranteurs.     

Demand elasticity estimates for New Zealand tourism

Demand elasticities for New Zealand tourism are estimated for 16 different international visitor segments. Segments are differentiated by origin, purpose of visit, and travel style. Elasticities for both international visitor arrivals and on-the-ground expenditure per arrival are estimated for each segment using time-series data. In general, on-the-ground consumption per arrival is more price sensitive than number of arrivals, and Asian market segments are found to be more price sensitive, both in terms of arrivals and on-the-ground expenditure, compared to international visitors from other regions. An application of the results is presented giving the total effect of exchange rate changes on expenditure by international visitors in New Zealand, and management implications are discussed.     

产品外部属性对跨境购物意愿的影响

最近几年, 中国人跨境购物的热情持续高涨, 但国内却鲜有学者关注跨境购物这一现象。文章采用情景实验的方法, 以广东消费者为研究对象, 探讨在粤港两地不同购买地市场环境下, 产品外部属性对购买意愿的影响。研究结果表明, 购买地这一因素对于消费者购买搜索和体验产品的决策影响十分有限, 消费者并没有对粤港两地市场产生明显偏好。对于体验产品而言, 消费者对西方外国品牌的购买意愿高于国内品牌, 且这种偏好不会受到价格和购买地的影响。对于搜索产品而言, 价格与品牌原产国会对消费者的购买意愿产生交互作用。     

Price premiums for organic menus at restaurants: What is an acceptable level?

This study identifies acceptable premium price levels that customers would be willing to pay for organic menu items at restaurants in the United States. Previous literature indicates that health-related and socio-demographic characteristics significantly influence consumers’ intentions to purchase organic food. To advance our understanding of how different consumers respond to changes in organic food prices, this study examines the moderating effects of the level of health consciousness (high versus low), gender (male versus female), and age (young versus old) on the relationship between premium price levels and purchasing intentions. In addition, this study further investigates acceptable premium price levels for different consumer segments at two types of restaurants (casual dining versus fine dining). The results of this study provide guidelines for menu design and strategies for restaurateurs to devise effective price premiums for organic menu options.     

Determinants of revenue per available room: Influential roles of average daily rate,demand, seasonality and yearly trend

Determining price per room to be charged to customers is an important decision to be taken by hotel management. Hotels frequently change their room rates based on the demand of room, occupancy rate, seasonal pattern, and strategies undertaken by other hotels on pricing. We formulated four models to analyse how various influencing variables, such as hotel price, demand, yearly trend and monthly seasonality influence hotel revenue per available room (RevPar). To analyse a case, we used monthly accommodation statistics for Sweden taken for Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and Statistics from January 2008 to July 2017. We carried out data analysis using both multiple regression and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) model and found that application of MARS can help establishing a nonlinear relationship of RevPar with other determining variables in a superior way. We also proposed the possibility of developing a better forecasting model using MARS.     

重大事件游客感知价值维度模型及实证研究——以2010上海世博会国内游客为例

文章采用SPSS18.0和AMOS17.0数据分析软件对上海世博会国内游客调研数据进行分析与处理,构建重大事件国内游客感知价值的测量维度模型,并进行测度研究,结果显示：①上海世博会国内游客感知价值包括服务价值、美感价值、效用价值、愉悦价值、感知价格、方便价值等6个测量维度。②上海世博会游客感知价值在服务价值、美感价值、效用价值、愉悦价值等维度上测量均值较高,整体感知价值达到满意水平;相对而言,感知价格、方便价值等维度均值偏低,需求刚性、不规则性和市场供求关系是主因。③感知价值与各测量维度之间存在多元线性关系,其相关性强弱依次是效用价值、愉悦价值、美感价值、服务价值、感知价格、便利价值。该研究结论推进了游客感知价值理论和测度方法的实证应用,对世博会等同类国际性重大事件的可持续发展具有一定的理论和现实意义。