Factors of satisfaction and intention to use peer-to-peer accommodation

To better understand the behavioral characteristics of consumers in the sharing economy, this study examines factors that influence guests’ satisfaction with a peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation and their intention to use it again for future trips. Based on an online survey of 644 travelers living in the United States, guest satisfaction was identified as being influenced by factors of enjoyment, monetary benefits (value), and accommodation amenities. Furthermore, it was found that future intention to use P2P accommodation was again determined by enjoyment and value. By differentiating guests based on their chosen types of accommodation, the analysis revealed that social benefits influence guest satisfaction for those staying in a private room that involved cohabitation with hosts, but that this was an insignificant factor for guest satisfaction for those staying in an entire home or apartment. Directions for future research as well as implications for accommodation providers are discussed in this paper.     

A triple lens measurement of host–guest perceptions for sustainable gaze in tourism

This paper investigates perception of self and others by hosts and guests, which may be critical for sustainability of a destination receiving tourists with different cultural backgrounds. Specifically, the study investigates self-perception of hosts and reciprocal perception between hosts and guests on several service personnel characteristics using importance and performance analysis. Thus, a triple lens of hosts’ evaluation of self, hosts’ evaluation of the guests, and hosts’ evaluation by the guests is involved in a multi-cultural tourism experience context. Results report differences between the lenses, hosts’ self-evaluation being harsher than guests’ evaluation of hosts. Suggestions are provided for destination marketing and management organizations to design effective tourism experiences for both hosts and guests for a more sustainable gaze between hosts and guests.     

Service quality and its effect on customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intentions: hotel and ryokan guests in Japan

This study analyzes the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intentions at hotels and ryokan (traditional Japanese inns). In this empirical research, questionnaires were sent to guests at seven sites: three hotels and four ryokan. Service quality, as perceived by guests, affected customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intention. Results from this empirical study show strong evidence of service quality as perceived by guests being influenced by the type of accommodation. Also, among service quality factors, “physical aspect” had the most powerful impact on customer satisfaction and customer behavioral intention. “Creativeness” ranked second, followed by “unexpected service” and “encounter performance”. The prominence of physical aspects probably reflects the distinctiveness of the service of offering a one-night stay. However, as a certain level of physical facilities is taken for granted at lodging facilities above a certain price, “creativeness”, the second most powerful factor, becomes decisively important.     

Justice perceptions and drives of hotel employee social loafing behavior

Justice perceptions, justice-related satisfaction, employee commitment, and turnover intention are several positive or negative factors influencing employee social loafing behavior. This study analyzed the relationships between these variables in the context of China's hotel industry. A total of 585 valid responses were collected from employees within different departments at 43 hotels in mainland China. Lisrel 8.80 software was used to test structural equation models and hypotheses in this study. Results show that employee commitment is an important mediator, while turnover intention is the main drive of employee social loafing behavior, and justice-related satisfaction significantly influences employee commitment. Findings of this study can be instructive to hotel managers to improve service quality and guests’ satisfaction with hotels.     

A quarantined lodging stay: The buffering effect of service quality

How do guests feel during their stay at quarantine lodging? This study draws on terror management theory and social exclusion theory to synthesize a model that highlights guests’ perceptions about their experience under enforced isolation. The model articulates guests’ feeling of anxiety and loneliness, whereas quality of service presents warmth and care that activates an anxiety buffer mechanism that mitigates the effect of anxiety. In turn guests’ level of anxiety is further explained by an interaction between their health status and the length of stay. Results point to a conduit for studying the dark side of hospitality, opening up research avenues that could help assess broader social behavioral changes during the global pandemic, while offering operators revelations for lodging management during a crisis.     

Host-Guest Dating

ABSTRACT

This article argues for the potential use of lifestyle segmentation in order to achieve psychographic matching between hosts and guests in Bed and Breakfast and homestay accommodation. The discussion draws on research conducted in home-hosted accommodation in New Zealand and Scotland that highlighted the central role that the host-guest interaction plays in guest experience and satisfaction. The idea is then developed as to the potential for tourism boards and other promotional bodies to conduct psychographic profiling on homestay hosts so that potential guests might match themselves for potential com-patibility with hosts. Whilst points of caution are noted, it is argued that such profiling could increase the possibilities of successful host-guest interaction and thus the quality of experience of both guests and hosts.     

The effect of hotel lobby design on booking intentions: An intergenerational examination

This paper aims to understand what elements of the hotel lobby design influence guest booking intentions. Lobbies are the first point of face-to-face communication between guests and staff upon arrival, impacting the initial guest perception of the property as well as playing an essential role in creating first impressions. Building on the Stimulus-Organism-Response framework, the study investigates preferences of millennial and non-millennial travelers towards hotel lobby design concerning style (contemporary vs. traditional) and biophilic elements (present vs. absent). This quantitative study is designed as an online, virtual, scenario-based experiment. The hypotheses were tested using MANOVA, ANOVA, and linear regression. The findings of the study reveal that the lobby interior design style has a significant impact on booking intention across different generations. Moreover, millennials are more impacted by the design style of the hotel lobby than non-millennials. Biophilic design has also been found to impact the satisfaction and emotions of guests across different generations.     

Testing the Moderation Effect of Hotel Ambience on the Relationships Among Social Comparison,Affect, Satisfaction,and Behavioral Intentions

This study incorporated the social service environment in the hotel guest affect–satisfaction–behavioral intention model in order to elucidate the effect of social comparison on consumption-based affect by factoring in the moderation effect of hotel ambience on relationships. Structural equation modeling of survey data from hotel guests revealed that social comparison significantly influences hotel guests’ affect, and that affect has a critical role in inducing satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Hotel ambience moderates the model’s relationships – high ambience strengthens the relationships more so than low ambience. Results affirm the inclusion of social environments in predicting hotel guest experiences and shed light on managerial implications for bettering service provision.     

Web reviews influence on expectations and purchasing intentions of hotel potential customers

The objective of the paper is to study the impact that hotel guests reviews posted on consumer-generated websites have on the consumer decision-making process and service expectations.An experimental study has been conducted to test the hypotheses and the research question. 349 young adults were involved in an online survey that asked to imagine searching for a hotel and reading other customers’ reviews of a hypothetical chosen hotel. Three scenarios were created by studying a few comments posted by customers on the main websites used by tourists.Results show a positive correlation between both hotel purchasing intention and expectations of the customers and valence of the review. On the contrary, the presence of hotel managers’ responses to guests’ reviews has a negative impact on purchasing intentions.The study enriches the stream of research on word-of-mouth in the hospitality industry and analyses a new operational problem for lodging managers. Hotels should reply to online customer reviews or not?     

The role of language in the online evaluation of hospitality service encounters: An empirical study

In an increasingly global travel market, hospitality services encounters involve growing interactions between providers and customers often belonging to different nationalities and cultures and speaking different languages. Extant hospitality management literature has explored the influence of language on service evaluations mostly in offline settings. This study innovatively captures the effect of the language used in online hotel reviews on online consumer ratings in two distinctively different destinations located in culturally different countries: Italy and Russia. Based on almost half a million Booking.com online reviews written by hotel guests in Moscow and Rome, we illuminate if and to what extent domestic vs. foreign language use affects online customer satisfaction. We find that the use of domestic language exerts a positive impact on online ratings in both countries. Implications for hospitality practitioners and managers, developers and managers of online review platforms, and customers of hotel services are discussed.     

Towards constructing the meaning of “aggressive hospitality”

ABSTRACT

“Aggressive hospitality” is an emergent phenomenon that is yet to be understood in the tourism field. This phenomenon involves social interaction between hosts and guests that imitates a hospitable encounter, but at the same time fails to demonstrate some characteristic(s) inherent to hospitable behavior. The underlying forces of the phenomenon are traced back to imperialism, high tourism dependence of the developing regions, staged authenticity, and the mutual gaze. The study focuses on two cruise destinations in the Caribbean region and utilizes over 1200 online reviews to construct the meaning of the phenomenon. Theoretical insights and practical implications are provided based on the findings.     

Sustainability Management of Hotels: How Do Customers Respond in Online Reviews?

The purpose of this study was to investigate how guests respond to the sustainability efforts of sustainably managed hotels by discussing them in reviews posted online. Thus, an exploratory research design and the content analysis method were chosen for this study. The content analysis technique was used to analyze User Generated Content and to explore what attributes of sustainability are perceived as the most important by hotel guests in online reviews and whether they generate positive or negative feelings. An analysis of the reviews showed that hotel guests perceive sustainability positively: most indicators were discussed in a positive context, and reviews that contained sustainability attributes had higher guest ratings than other reviews. Explicit references to sustainability were found in only 6.8% of all customer comments. The most frequently encountered indicators in guest reviews were biodiversity, education and sustainable products. Customers mainly discuss attributes that have direct impacts on their experience or are observable at the hotel. Customers are likely to realize that a hotel’s commitment to sustainability can excuse the hotel for a suffered inconvenience. This finding implies that hoteliers should educate guests on their sustainability measures, as higher awareness may increase customer satisfaction.     

Guest-to-guest interaction on board cruise ships: Exploring social dynamics and the role of situational factors

Cruise ships are increasing in size, itineraries are becoming more standardised, and new customer segments are emerging. These factors induce a new social reality and represent a potential differentiator for the production and offering of cruise experiences. In this light, the study of guest-to-guest interactions will expectedly gain importance over time for cruise planning and operations. This explorative-interpretative study is divided into two phases. First, a survey of 173 randomly-selected respondents aimed at comparing the significance of social interaction on board, with that of other cruise product features. Social interaction emerged as a secondary issue and no significant differences were identified between customer categories. However, a deeper exploration of the collected data questioned this finding. Subsequently, the analysis of 76 semi-structured interviews resulted to a tentative model of factors affecting satisfaction with the interaction between guests on board. Finally, suggestions for further research and practical implications are discussed.     

Satisfaction and positive emotions: A comparison of the influence of hotel guests’ beliefs and attitudes on their satisfaction and emotions

This research provides a comparative study of two comprehensive servicescape models to explore the underlying influence of various hotel elements on guests’ satisfaction with, and emotional responses to, their hotel stays. Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research sought to identify the differences in guests’ beliefs and attitudes about the elements of hotels’ public areas, rooms, ambiance, social, and green practices in determining their satisfaction and emotions. Two structural models were developed illustrating the theorized interrelationships between identified constructs. Data collected through an online survey from 310 guests stayed in upscale hotels with four-star ratings were used for the analysis. Results from two structural models revealed that the model with attitudes is a better predictor of guest satisfaction and emotions than the model with beliefs. Further, emotionally attached guests engage more in WOM than did satisfied guests. Hotel managers need to offer experiences that consist of elements that matter to customers since customers’ attitude towards various service elements determine their satisfaction and emotional attachment with hotels. Additionally, in order to get brand promoters through WOM recommendations, hotels need to focus on emotionally attached customers than satisfied customers.     

Sustainable hotel practices and nationality: The impact on guest satisfaction and guest intention to return

The purpose of this study is to identify how sustainable hotel practices impact the satisfaction and intention to return of hotel guests from different nationalities. Surveys were completed by hotel guests in a popular tourist destination in Mexico. Multiple regression and multinomial logistic regression were applied to test the hypotheses. Results of this study supported the research hypotheses that indicate green practices overall do have a positive relationship on guests’ satisfaction levels and return intentions for Mexicans, Americans and other nationalities. Additionally, it was shown that the relative importance of green practices differs according to the nationality of the guest.     

Mimicking menu choices: Menu choice failure and blame attribution of Korean customer

Although behavioral mimicry occurs when customers make decisions, researchers have paid little attention to how behavioral mimicry might affect food choices and subsequent behavioral intentions, especially in social networking. Therefore, this study examined how menu choice failure after using menu referrals from online social networks affect blame attribution and subsequent behavioral intention. This study considered how uncertainty about menu, task importance and tie-strength with an online social network referral affects blame attribution and behavioral intention (customer satisfaction and revisit intention). 2 (Uncertainty; high versus low) × 2 (Task importance; high versus low) × 2 (Tie-strength; strong versus weak) between-subjects experimental design was utilized. This research provided evidence that people are less likely to blame a social media friend for the failure of menu choice when the consumers have low uncertainty about the menu, when the menu choice is less important to them, and when they have strong ties.     

An Investigation of Gen-Y's Online Hotel Information Search: The Case of Hong Kong

The Internet has made searching for hotel room information and making online reservations common practices among hotel guests. Despite constantly changing consumer behavior and widespread application of online hotel information sources, limited studies have been conducted to examine the online sources used frequently by customers and the related attributes of such sources. As such, drawing from an online questionnaire survey with 205 respondents, findings in this study indicate that there are no socio-demographic effects on future purchase intention of Generation (Gen) Y travelers. Moreover, websites of suppliers (e.g. official websites of hotels), travel intermediaries (e.g. Hotels.com), and social media (e.g. TripAdvisor) are the three major types of websites used by Gen Y hotel guests. Travel intermediary websites are often used to search for hotel information, whereas social media websites are used to make reservations. Based on these findings, implications for hotel managers are discussed.     

Peer-to-peer accommodation experience and guest actual recommendations: A novel mixed-method approach

Obtaining recommendations from guests is critical for Airbnb hosts to thrive in the peer-to-peer accommodation business. By extracting the dominant aspects of the Airbnb experience and the guests' sentiment ratings in online comments, this study examines the impact of the aspects and sentiment on guest actual recommendations. A novel mixed-method was adopted to analyse the online reviews of Airbnb guests in Los Angeles, USA. The text-mining results reveal that hosts, location, and amenities are the dominant aspects of the guests' Airbnb experience. Results show that the guests' sentiment ratings for hosts and amenities have significant impacts on the guests' recommendations, while location only influences the private-room guests' recommendations. This study contributes to the extant literature by offering an innovative methodological approach to building the link between experience aspects and guest actual recommendations.     

Examining the influencing factors of intention to share accommodations in online hospitality exchange networks

ABSTRACT

CouchSurfing is a free social-network-based online hospitality exchange network, aptly representing a new sharing economy phenomenon. Based on social capital theory and previous literature, this study attempts to answer why hosts help strangers without any expected economic benefit within online hospitality exchange networks. An empirical study based on a Web survey conducted with CouchSurfing hosts reveals that the most identified antecedents (enjoy helping, shared narratives, desire to make friends, and reciprocity) are significantly related to hosts’ intention to share accommodations. Interestingly, the overshadowing effect of trust in CouchSurfing on the intention to share accommodations is also found.     

网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的影响——信任的中介作用探讨

网络点评是影响民宿顾客住宿意愿的重要因素。本研究以信任理论为基础,从顾客需求视角探讨民宿顾客对网络平台的信任和对民宿主人的信任在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间的作用。研究发现:(1)网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的直接影响效应显著;(2)顾客信任的二维度(对网络平台的信任和对民宿主人的信任)在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间起串联中介作用,但是顾客信任的两个维度不能单独在网络点评和民宿顾客住宿意愿之间起中介作用。本研究揭示了网络点评对民宿顾客住宿意愿的作用路径,为民宿营销提供了新视角。