IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/anture/v83y2020ics0160738320300918.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking

Author

Listed:
  • Masiero, Lorenzo
  • Viglia, Giampaolo
  • Nieto-Garcia, Marta

Abstract

This study investigates strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking. Free cancellation policies enable consumers to rebook the hotel room at a later time should the price drop prior to the date of stay. A discrete choice experiment is used to infer consumer preferences for free cancellation and non-refundable rates under different scenarios. The study also examines the moderating role of the risk attitude of consumers. Risk-seeking consumers show preference for a free cancellation rate that increases with the availability of an automatic rebooking service. Although a higher booking window increases the utility of the free cancellation rate, such impact decreases as risk propensity increases. The identification of four distinct consumer segments provides clear implications for industry practitioners.

Suggested Citation

  • Masiero, Lorenzo & Viglia, Giampaolo & Nieto-Garcia, Marta, 2020. "Strategic consumer behavior in online hotel booking," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:83:y:2020:i:c:s0160738320300918
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102947
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738320300918
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102947?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang, Yang & Mueller, Noah J. & Croes, Robertico R., 2016. "Market accessibility and hotel prices in the Caribbean: The moderating effect of quality-signaling factors," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 40-51.
    2. Jin, Liyin & He, Yanqun & Song, Haiyan, 2012. "Service customization: To upgrade or to downgrade? An investigation of how option framing affects tourists’ choice of package-tour services," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 266-275.
    3. Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1992. "Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 297-323, October.
    4. Xuanming Su, 2007. "Intertemporal Pricing with Strategic Customer Behavior," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(5), pages 726-741, May.
    5. Yuri Levin & Jeff McGill & Mikhail Nediak, 2007. "Price Guarantees in Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 55(1), pages 75-97, February.
    6. Dowling, Grahame R & Staelin, Richard, 1994. "A Model of Perceived Risk and Intended Risk-Handling Activity," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 119-134, June.
    7. Alberto A. Gaggero & Claudio A. Piga, 2011. "Airline Market Power and Intertemporal Price Dispersion," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 552-577, December.
    8. Quiggin, John, 1982. "A theory of anticipated utility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 323-343, December.
    9. Guoming Lai & Laurens G. Debo & Katia Sycara, 2010. "Erratum to "Buy Now and Match Later: Impact of Posterior Price Matching on Profit with Strategic Consumers"," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 370-370.
    10. James D. Dana Jr., 1998. "Advance-Purchase Discounts and Price Discrimination in Competitive Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(2), pages 395-422, April.
    11. Guoming Lai & Laurens G. Debo & Katia Sycara, 2010. "Buy Now and Match Later: Impact of Posterior Price Matching on Profit with Strategic Consumers," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 12(1), pages 33-55, December.
    12. Benedicktus, Ray L. & Brady, Michael K. & Darke, Peter R. & Voorhees, Clay M., 2010. "Conveying Trustworthiness to Online Consumers: Reactions to Consensus, Physical Store Presence, Brand Familiarity, and Generalized Suspicion," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 86(4), pages 322-335.
    13. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. David Hensher & William Greene, 2003. "The Mixed Logit model: The state of practice," Transportation, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 133-176, May.
    15. Yossi Aviv & Amit Pazgal, 2008. "Optimal Pricing of Seasonal Products in the Presence of Forward-Looking Consumers," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 10(3), pages 339-359, December.
    16. Hensher, David A. & Greene, William H. & Li, Zheng, 2011. "Embedding risk attitude and decision weights in non-linear logit to accommodate time variability in the value of expected travel time savings," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 45(7), pages 954-972, August.
    17. Kyeongheui Kim & Meng Zhang & Xiuping Li, 2008. "Effects of Temporal and Social Distance on Consumer Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 706-713, August.
    18. Gérard P. Cachon & Robert Swinney, 2011. "The Value of Fast Fashion: Quick Response, Enhanced Design, and Strategic Consumer Behavior," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(4), pages 778-795, April.
    19. Marco Alderighi & Marcella Nicolini & Claudio A. Piga, 2015. "Combined Effects of Capacity and Time on Fares: Insights from the Yield Management of a Low-Cost Airline," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 900-915, October.
    20. Erickson, Gary M & Johansson, Johny K, 1985. "The Role of Price in Multi-attribute Product Evaluations," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 12(2), pages 195-199, September.
    21. Yuri Levin & Jeff McGill & Mikhail Nediak, 2009. "Dynamic Pricing in the Presence of Strategic Consumers and Oligopolistic Competition," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(1), pages 32-46, January.
    22. Park, Sangwon & Nicolau, Juan L., 2015. "Asymmetric effects of online consumer reviews," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 67-83.
    23. Wedad Elmaghraby & P{i}nar Keskinocak, 2003. "Dynamic Pricing in the Presence of Inventory Considerations: Research Overview, Current Practices, and Future Directions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(10), pages 1287-1309, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shuqair, Saleh & Costa Pinto, Diego & Cruz-Jesus, Frederico & Mattila, Anna S. & da Fonseca Guerreiro, Patricia & Kam Fung So, Kevin, 2022. "Can customer relationships backfire? How relationship norms shape moral obligation in cancelation behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 463-472.
    2. Pantano, Eleonora & Dennis, Charles & De Pietro, Michela, 2021. "Shopping centers revisited: The interplay between consumers’ spontaneous online communications and retail planning," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Martin Petricek & Stepan Chalupa & David Melas, 2021. "Model of Price Optimization as a Part of Hotel Revenue Management—Stochastic Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(13), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Yisak Jang & Li Miao & Chih-Chien Chen, 2023. "Book now, pay later: the effects of delays in payments and temporal distance on consumers’ perceptions and purchase intention," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(5), pages 374-384, October.
    5. Martin Petricek & Stepan Chalupa & Karel Chadt, 2020. "Identification of Consumer Behavior Based on Price Elasticity: A Case Study of the Prague Market of Accommodation Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Alderighi, Marco & Nava, Consuelo R. & Calabrese, Matteo & Christille, Jean-Marc & Salvemini, Chiara B., 2022. "Consumer perception of price fairness and dynamic pricing: Evidence from Booking.com," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 769-783.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alderighi, Marco & Gaggero, Alberto A. & Piga, Claudio A., 2022. "Hidden prices with fixed inventory: Evidence from the airline industry," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 42-61.
    2. Cuihong Li & Fuqiang Zhang, 2013. "Advance Demand Information, Price Discrimination, and Preorder Strategies," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 15(1), pages 57-71, September.
    3. Yossi Aviv & Mike Mingcheng Wei & Fuqiang Zhang, 2019. "Responsive Pricing of Fashion Products: The Effects of Demand Learning and Strategic Consumer Behavior," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 2982-3000, July.
    4. Chang Hwan Lee & Tsan‐Ming Choi & T.C.E. Cheng, 2015. "Selling to strategic and loss‐averse consumers: Stocking, procurement, and product design policies," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 62(6), pages 435-453, September.
    5. Arian Aflaki & Pnina Feldman & Robert Swinney, 2019. "Becoming Strategic: Endogenous Consumer Time Preferences and Multiperiod Pricing," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 68(4), pages 1116-1131, July.
    6. Chen Tian & Tiaojun Xiao, 2017. "Profit of a Supply Chain versus its Decentralization in the Presence of Strategic Customers," International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making (IJITDM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(06), pages 1647-1670, November.
    7. Dong, Junfeng & Wu, Desheng Dash, 2019. "Two-period pricing and quick response with strategic customers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 165-173.
    8. Mehmet Sekip Altug & Tolga Aydinliyim, 2016. "Counteracting Strategic Purchase Deferrals: The Impact of Online Retailers’ Return Policy Decisions," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 18(3), pages 376-392, July.
    9. Yen-Ting Lin & Ali K. Parlaktürk & Jayashankar M. Swaminathan, 2018. "Are Strategic Customers Bad for a Supply Chain?," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 481-497, July.
    10. Liu, Jingchen & Zhai, Xin & Chen, Lihua, 2018. "The interaction between product rollover strategy and pricing scheme," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 116-135.
    11. Özalp Özer & Yanchong Zheng, 2016. "Markdown or Everyday Low Price? The Role of Behavioral Motives," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(2), pages 326-346, February.
    12. Chen, Junlin & Zhao, Yingshuai, 2020. "High price or low price? An experimental study on a markdown pricing policy," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(1), pages 240-254.
    13. Ningyuan Chen & Guillermo Gallego, 2019. "Welfare Analysis of Dynamic Pricing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 139-151, January.
    14. Shining Wu & Qian Liu & Rachel Q. Zhang, 2015. "The Reference Effects on a Retailer’s Dynamic Pricing and Inventory Strategies with Strategic Consumers," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 63(6), pages 1320-1335, December.
    15. Ji Quan & Xiaofeng Wang & Xianjia Wang & De Xia & Jian-Bo Yang, 2022. "Performance optimization of supply chain based on cooperative contract with disappointment-aversion strategic consumers," Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 408-428, June.
    16. Tingliang Huang & Zhe Yin & Ying-Ju Chen, 2017. "Managing Posterior Price Matching: The Role of Customer Boundedly Rational Expectations," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 385-402, July.
    17. Khouja, Moutaz & Liu, Xin, 2021. "A price adjustment policy for maximizing revenue and countering strategic consumer behavior," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    18. Liu, Jingchen & Zhai, Xin & Chen, Lihua, 2019. "Optimal pricing strategy under trade-in program in the presence of strategic consumers," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1-17.
    19. Khouja, Moutaz & Liu, Xin & Zhou, Jing, 2020. "To sell or not to sell to an off-price retailer in the presence of strategic consumers," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Weaver, Robert D. & Moon, Yongma, 2011. "Pricing Perishables," 2011 International European Forum, February 14-18, 2011, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 122007, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:83:y:2020:i:c:s0160738320300918. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-tourism-research/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.