Online reviews and purchase intention: A cosmopolitanism perspective

In recent years, marketing managers have realized that online reviews are an essential element in customer decision-making. However, there has been little valid measure of online reviews and no systematic analysis of their effect on consumer purchase intention. Drawing on the uses and gratification (U&G) and consumer culture (CCT) theories, this study develops a valid measure of online reviews and analyzes their effect on purchase intention. With a sample of 1112 hotel customers from three countries (Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam), this study validates the positive effect of online reviews on purchase intention through the perceived effectiveness of social media platforms (PESMP) and online trust while confirming the moderating role of cosmopolitanism.     

Understanding consumers' motivations to view travel live streaming: Scale development and validation

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, travel live streaming has been increasingly implemented by online travel agents as an effective approach for economic recovery. However, little is known about users' motivations for participating in this activity. This study aims to understand Chinese customers' motivations by developing a measurement scale based on in-depth interviews and surveys. Eight motivators were extracted: socializing & belonging, media engagement, remuneration, product examination, relaxation & escape, entertainment & novelty, self-development, and immersion experience. This study deepens the understanding of China's live-streaming business and the preferences of tourists, inspiring future product design and marketing.     

The effect of online reviews on hotel booking intention: The role of reader-reviewer similarity

Due to the experiential nature of travel-related products, online reviews have become an increasingly popular information source in travel planning and have a profound effect on consumers’ buying decisions, particularly in hotel booking. On the basis of homophily and similarity-attraction theory, we posit that review valence is positively related to consumers’ hotel booking intentions, and expect this relationship to be moderated by surface- (demographic) and deep-level (preference) similarities. The findings from two experiments conducted in Germany and Macau indicate that review valence significantly affects hotel booking intention, and that reader-reviewer demographic similarity moderates this effect. This three-way interaction reveals a substituting moderation effect between demographic similarity and preference similarity. One practical implication is that travel websites should find methods of exposing users to reviews written by those with either similar demographic characteristics or preferences, which facilitate travelers’ decision-making processes.     

The impact of online reviews on hotel booking intentions and perception of trust

A growing reliance on the Internet as an information source when making choices about tourism products raises the need for more research into electronic word of mouth. Within a hotel context, this study explores the role of four key factors that influence perceptions of trust and consumer choice. An experimental design is used to investigate four independent variables: the target of the review (core or interpersonal); overall valence of a set of reviews (positive or negative); framing of reviews (what comes first: negative or positive information); and whether or not a consumer generated numerical rating is provided together with the written text. Consumers seem to be more influenced by early negative information, especially when the overall set of reviews is negative. However, positively framed information together with numerical rating details increases both booking intentions and consumer trust. The results suggest that consumers tend to rely on easy-to-process information, when evaluating a hotel based upon reviews. Higher levels of trust are also evident when a positively framed set of reviews focused on interpersonal service.     

Conceptual model for analysing management development in the hospitality industry: A UK perspective

This paper presents a conceptual, contingent model of hospitality management development (MD). Having explored the dimensions and relationships in the model, it is then applied to the UK hospitality industry through analysing the nature of the hospitality industry for potential influences on MD and evaluating research into its practice. The embryonic model is presented as a vehicle to enhance understanding of the complex influences and contexts of hospitality MD and to distinguish distinctive characteristics of MD in the hospitality industry.     

Responding to negative online reviews: The effects of hotel responses on customer inferences of trust and concern

Our research examines the perceptions and evaluations of prospective customers toward an online negative review and any accompanying hotel response. The study explores two main issues: whether the presence (versus absence) of an organizational response to negative customer reviews affects the inferences potential consumers draw about the target business, and which aspects of responses affect their impressions. We test the effects of four variables associated with a response: source of response, voice of responder, speed of response, and action frame on two outcomes variables (i.e., customer concern and trust inferences). The provision of an online response (versus no response) enhanced inferences that potential consumers draw regarding the business's trustworthiness and the extent to which it cares about its customers. Using a human voice and a timely response yielded favorable customer inferences. Inferences did not vary with response source or action frame. Implications are drawn for effective management of negative online reviews.     

The evolution of trust in Airbnb: A case of home rental

Airbnb, a leader of P2P accommodation markets, has acknowledged that “trust is what makes Airbnb work” and has implemented several trust indicators over the years: reputation system, impression formation, and certification. We evaluate the changes in these indicators over time: 1. the modification of the reputation system, 2. the removal of hosts’ photos from the main search screen, and 3. the introduction of the Superhost program. We find that the change of the rating system was associated with a small, yet significant, reduction in ratings, that the removal of the hosts’ photos might have eliminated the price premium of trustworthy images, and that Superhost certification involves a price premium, but does not seem to compensate for established reputation.This article also launches the Annals of Tourism Research Curated Collection on Peer-to-peer accommodation networks, a special selection of research in this field.     

Government and social trust vs. hotel response efficacy: A protection motivation perspective on hotel stay intention during the COVID-19 pandemic

Based on protection motivation theory (PMT), this study conceptualizes a research framework to explain and examine customer intentions regarding hotel stays during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 700 U.S. consumers via a crowdsourcing website in July 2020. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data for testing proposed hypotheses. The analytical results showed that the level of threat perceived by customers significantly reduced their intention to stay at a hotel. On the contrary, individual customer response efficacy significantly enhanced their intention to stay at a hotel. Additionally, both government and social trust, as well as hotel response efficacy, were found to significantly increase hotel stay intention by mediating the effects of threat perception and individual response efficacy. To the best of our knowledge, this study is one of the first attempts to apply PMT to explain customer hotel stay intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Recreation vehicles : A perspective

The growth and popularity of recreation vehicles in the United States and other countries has implications for the travel and tourism industry. Owners of these vehicles require no separate lodging facilities while traveling and rarely patronize hotels or motels. They often perceive that they spend less for their vacations by staying at travel parks and campgrounds, but survey results and comparative cost analysis reveal that they spend more than automobile travelers when total fixed and variable costs are taken into account. Recreation vehicle (RV) preferences by income category suggest alternative modes of recreation travel and a vacation life style which has considerable appeal. This “RV life style” is characterized by a strong desire to experience the outdoors and socialize with other campers while still retaining the comforts and conveniences of a familiar domicile. Limiting characteristics include the provincial nature of recreation vehicle travel and the impact of mandatory fuel conservation measures.     

Museums: A supply-side perspective

The educational and cultural mandates of museums are being transformed as institutions play an increasingly important part in urban economic development and tourism promotion strategies. In contrast to more common demand-side studies, this paper emphasizes the supply-side by focussing on everyday museum operations. It outlines the competitive responses being adopted by museums in Montreal, Canada, including shifts in sources of revenue, new technologies, labor practices and the development of networks. Study findings show that the restructuring of museum operations raises important questions concerning not only the traditional public mandate of museums, but also on its ability to enhance consumption experiences and to contribute to a diversified tourism product.     

Heritage protection and tourism development priorities in Hangzhou, China: A political economy and governance perspective

Government interventions can be important for determining priorities between heritage protection and tourism-related development at heritage sites. This paper uses a political economy approach to examine the government’s role in determining these priorities in China, for two heritage schemes at West Lake in the city of Hangzhou. The study considers policy making for heritage protection and tourism development in the context of broad economic and political circumstances, the power and influence of different actors in the schemes’ governance, strategic selectivity in the policy choices, and whether views about the policies exhibited a uniform hegemony among powerful and less influential groups. Consideration is given to how the relative priority for heritage protection and tourism development in policies reflected the state’s regulation of the economy and maintenance of its political legitimacy. A powerful policy community was found that was beginning to consider other actors’ views, but tourism development remained a prominent driver.     

Contingent effects of close relationships with suppliers upon independent restaurant product development: A social capital perspective

Despite recommendations that the restaurant industry more readily engage suppliers within their operations in order to expand capabilities, associations with restaurant business performance and supplier relationships remain unexplored in today’s current restaurant literature. This study assessed restaurant-supplier relationships from the social capital perspective and evaluated roles social capital played in product enhancement and new product development within the independent restaurant context. Results demonstrated that independent restaurant product enhancement was positively and linearly associated with social capital derived from restaurant-supplier relationships. Results also found that building social capital within restaurant-supplier relationships positively influenced new product development, but when taken to an extreme, it exhibited a negative association through an inverted curvilinear effect. Results provide new insights for future research and practice regarding independent restaurant supply management practices.     

Compliance with eWOM: The influence of hotel reviews on booking intention from the perspective of consumer conformity

This study conducted two experiments to determine the influence of review valence, review quantity, and the interaction effects between the two among consumers designated as conformist and non-conformist.⁴ The results show that positive reviews are more effective than negative reviews in enhancing booking intentions and increasing the number of reviews can magnify the influence of review valence on booking intentions. Our analysis of valence indicated that reading positive reviews can have a stronger effect on booking intentions among individuals who are strongly inclined toward conformity. In addition, a greater number of reviews proved to be more persuasive among individuals displaying a low degree of conformity. Finally, the interaction effects among the three independent variables revealed that a larger number of negative reviews can be more damaging to the booking intentions of conformist individuals. In contrast, a larger number of positive reviews were shown to have a greater impact on non-conformists.     

Evolving roles for local government in tourism development: a political economy perspective

This paper interrogates the changing role of local government in tourism development. It does so through the examination of the Hurunui District, a rural district in New Zealand which has experienced significant transformation in the tourism sector and a concomitant increase in public sector input over the past 25 years. By situating this interrogation within an evolving neoliberal public policy context, this paper explores the tensions at play between tourism stakeholders and decision-makers, and it critiques the way in which local government involvement in the sector is manifested as regulation, promotion, and ownership of key tourism resources in the District. The significance of this paper is that it extends our understanding of the role of the state in tourism and of the influence of public policy on tourism development, potentially including sustainable tourism development. Specifically, it draws our attention to the rationality, roles and activities of public sector engagement in the tourism sector, particularly at local government level. We conclude that the nature and extent of debate evident in the case study, and verified in the literature, indicates that the boundary of government activity and intervention in the tourism market is, and will continue to be, socially contested and mediated.     

A thematic analysis of crisis management in tourism: A theoretical perspective

The hospitality and tourism industry for a variety of reasons is vulnerable to crises of various origins and scope. Thereby, research regarding crises in this industry has received significant attention among scholars. This study presents the results of a qualitative thematic analysis (TA) of the literature concerning crisis management in hospitality and tourism. A total of 207 research publications from 1986 to 2019 were analyzed. The findings revealed eight major themes that emerged in the literature over time. We critically discuss these themes with suggestions and directions for future research in this area. The study also identifies a shortage of scholarly attempt to conceptualize crisis management and thus explores the sensemaking perspective to shed further light on explaining the themes that emerged in the analysis.     

Scale development of perceived eTrust in the hotel industry: The perspective of Internet users

This study aims to discuss online consumer trust (eTrust) in the hotel industry from the perspective of Chinese web users. Based on literature review and results of interviews with and focus group discussions among Internet users, hotel practitioners, and academic experts, a measurement scale was formulated. With two phases of data collection, this research found Chinese web users moderately trusted hotels’ own websites while doubted their intentions to fulfill promises delivered on the websites. Statistical analysis confirmed the suggestion that eTrust was a triple-dimensional construct which consisted of integrity, benevolence, and ability. Notably, the dimension of integrity which refers to honesty and promise fulfilling was regarded the most important by Chinese Internet users. The proposed eTrust scale revealed statistically satisfactory validity and reliability, indicating its soundness in guiding future similar studies. Based on the findings, theoretical implications as well as suggestions for Chinese hoteliers were offered.     

Existentially understanding tourism in locale: A dwelling perspective

This study draws heavily on Heidegger's post turn thinking of dwelling to provide a philosophically informed approach to comprehend host perceptions of tourism. The philosophical premise of dwelling, including (to) poetically dwell and the fourfold, existentially conceptualizes the host community and destination site as a oneness where host perceptions are formed and tourism-created consequences occur. A hermeneutic-phenomenological investigation of a village-based tourism initiative in China demonstrates that guanxi as the manner of dwelling fundamentally frames how a local destination community perceives tourism; in turn, the ongoing tourism development has profoundly influenced the hosts' existential condition (i.e., the fourfold), leading them to unpoetically dwell.     

Mindful tourist experiences: A Buddhist perspective

This paper distinguishes between the concepts of socio-cognitive mindfulness applied in a number of tourism studies and meditative mindfulness derived from a Buddhist philosophy. An operational definition of meditative mindful tourist experiences is proposed based on forty-three semi-structured interviews involving 77 episodes of meditative mindful experiences. The paper also proposes a framework of meditative mindfulness in tourism. The framework identifies a number of antecedents to meditative mindful experience episodes and reveals several psychological and physical benefits including mental ease and response flexibility. This is the first paper to examine meditative mindful tourist experiences in tourism contexts and to explore their antecedents and consequences.