Karen L. Xie

Progress in Loyalty Program Research: Facts, Debates, and Future Research

For decades, customer loyalty programs have been a distinct avenue to enhance long-term customer relationships. Their efficacy and viability have been widely discussed in the literature. With a focus in the hospitality industry, this article draws on nearly 100 articles on loyalty programs and extant reviews of this research to describe how this field of research has evolved. This article proposes four research themes for classifying this body of work: (a) customer relationship management in loyalty programs, (b) the merits of loyalty programs, (c) the drawbacks of loyalty programs, (d) the advancements in loyalty programs. Using this classification the article identifies areas for future research and formulates unanswered questions. The classification organizes the research for practitioners looking for guidelines for managing loyalty programs.

Effects of managerial response on consumer eWOM and hotel performance: Evidence from TripAdvisor

Purpose n n n n nThis study aims to measures the effects of managerial response on consumer electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and hotel performance. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nA sample of 56,284 consumer reviews and 10,793 managerial responses for 1,045 hotels was retrieved from TripAdvisor, along with 30,232 performance records matched to these hotels on a quarterly basis. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThis study finds that managerial response leads to an average increase of 0.235 stars in the TripAdvisor ratings of the sampled hotels, as well as a 17.3 per cent increase in the volume of subsequent consumer eWOM. Moreover, managerial response moderates the influence of ratings and volume of consumer eWOM on hotel performance. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nThis study offers a practical model that enables hotel managers to orchestrate social media marketing approaches and efforts toward an optimal social media strategy. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis study differs from extant literature that has extensively focused on consumer reviews by providing a new perspective of management intervention in the social media context. By examining the interplay of managerial response and consumer eWOM at the individual hotel level, this study provides empirical evidence of managerial response affecting hotel performance through the increased ratings and volume of consumer eWOM. This study also offers insights into the practical importance of crafting intervention opportunities to cultivate the continued engagement of consumers on social media and increased hotel performance.

The impacts of quality and quantity attributes of Airbnb hosts on listing performance

Purpose n n n n nWith the prevalence of the sharing economy phenomenon, there are an increasing number of hosts on Airbnb who manage more than one listing. Managing more listings likely makes hosts more seasoned in terms of serving guests, but it may undermine host quality due to hosts’ constrained capability. This paper aims to examine the effects of host quality attributes and the number of listings per host on the reservation performance of these listings. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nUsing a large-scale but granular data set of 5,805 active listings of 4,608 Airbnb hosts in Austin, Texas, this study estimates the effects of host attributes (host quality and listing quantity) on the performance of the hosts’ Airbnb listings through a blend of regression models. n n n n nFindings n n n n nThis study evidences that host quality attributes significantly influence listing performance through cue-based trust. In addition, this study finds a “trade-off” between host quality and the quantity of their listings. As the number of listings managed by a host increases, the performance effects of host quality diminish. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThe business implications of this study include the suggestion that sharing economy businesses such as Airbnb should sustain service quality through incentivizing hosts to improve host quality while balancing the quantity of listings managed. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis study contributes to the literature through its meaningful theoretical extension in the sharing economy context and unique data-driven insights enabled by an analytical approach. It addresses the critical but less researched topic of host quality and listing quantity and generates important practical business and policy implications.

Monetizing Managerial Responses on TripAdvisor: Performance Implications Across Hotel Classes

This study assesses the moderating effect of hotel class on managerial responses’ influence on hotel performance through the lens of data analytics. A panel data model was applied to analyze 7,979 managerial responses and 51,801 online reviews on TripAdvisor, which were matched with the financial performance data (revenue per available room [RevPAR]) for 2,652 hotels in 427 cities in Texas over 26 consecutive quarters from 2005 to 2011. The results suggest that even though all hotels will be able to observe an increase of RevPAR as they post more managerial responses to online reviews, above-average and luxury hotels in particular benefit from managerial responses in longer length and provided by frontline managers, whereas full-service, mid-market economy, and budget traveler hotels benefit from executives’ responses. In addition, the speed of responses is important for full-service and above-average hotels, and conciseness of responses is critical to budget traveler hotels. This study provided important yet specific implications on how hotels can benefit from different types of managerial response strategies according to their product characteristics (hotel class). It also adds to hospitality and online review literature with new theoretical perspectives on the varying effect of managerial responses on business performance specific to the lodging industry context.

Travelers’ preferences for peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodations and hotels

Purpose n n n n nThe purpose of this study was to investigate travelers’ preferences for peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodations or hotels when traveling for leisure or business purposes given the rise of P2P accommodations in the form of Airbnb, Vacation Rentals by Owners (VRBO) One Fine Stay, etc. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nVRBO hosts in Denver, Colorado, USA provided contact information for 788 travelers who stayed with them over the prior three years. These travelers received an email survey and the opportunity to be entered in a drawing for one of three US

The Effects of Reviewer Expertise On Future Reputation, Popularity, and Financial Performance of Hotels: Insights From Data-Analytics

250 gift cards. n n n n nFindings n n n n nP2P usage was driven by leisure travel. The most influential factors in the choice of P2P over hotel were price, location, party size, dwelling size and trip length. When choosing a hotel for business travel, the influential factors were location, safety and security, price and knowing what one will receive in the way of facility and services. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThe external validity of the findings is limited as the study was conducted in one US city using travelers of only one P2P accommodations platform. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nHotels may want to leverage their loyalty programs and stress the importance of safety and security when traveling as a means of competing with P2P accommodations. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nGiven limited empirical research on P2P accommodations, this study provides an informative first look at the preferences and behaviors of travelers using P2P accommodations and points to a growing loyalty to P2P accommodations versus hotels in the leisure segment.

The influence of incidental affect and mood-changing price on online booking intention

Although the impacts of reviews provided by reviewers with expertise are well documented, the literature lacks empirical research on how such reviews are longitudinally linked to performance indicators and whether management responses to such reviews lead to differential impacts on these indicators. This study investigates the effects of reviewer expertise on hotels’ online reputation, online popularity, and financial performance. Using a large data set of management responses and online reviews from 730 hotels over 26 quarters, matched with quarterly financial performance data, the authors found that the effects of average ratings and the number of reviews on hotels’ subsequent financial performance are attenuated when reviewer expertise increases. The study also demonstrates that business benefits are enhanced if hotels target reviewers of higher expertise when providing management responses to online reviews. Results suggest that when managing electronic word-of-mouth, practitioners should take strategic approaches that leverage the influence of reviewer expertise.

The business value of online consumer reviews and management response to hotel performance

Purpose n n n n nThis paper aims to examine the joint influence of incidental affect and mood-changing prices on consumers’ hotel booking intention in an online purchase context. n n n n nDesign/methodology/approach n n n n nBased on the integrative framework of affect evaluation and affect regulation, a 3 × 2 full factorial between-subject online experiment in an online booking scenario is developed to investigate how consumers’ booking intentions change by mood inductions (happy, neutral and sad) and price levels (below versus above reference price). n n n n nFindings n n n n nResults showed that when the observed price was a mood-threatening cue, participants who were induced to feel either happy or sad by a commercial had a higher booking intention than those who were induced to feel neutral. However, there were no significant differences in participants’ booking intentions across pre-purchase affective states when the observed price was a mood-lifting cue. n n n n nResearch limitations/implications n n n n nThe current study contributes to a better understanding and prediction of consumers’ action tendencies resulting from the interactions between specific incidental affects and mood-changing opportunities in an online hotel reservation environment. n n n n nPractical implications n n n n nOnline booking companies and online travel agencies in general may wish to incorporate mood-changing components into their booking web pages to enhance potential bookers’ purchase intentions at any given price. n n n n nOriginality/value n n n n nThis research is one of the first empirical studies to instantiate the integrative affective mechanism in an online purchase setting. As e-commerce and online marketplaces are taking the place of traditional brick-and-mortar retailing, it is critical for hospitality industry marketers to fully understand how consumers’ pre-purchase emotions influence their purchase decisions.