Use of dynamic pricing strategies by Airbnb hosts

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Gibbs ◽  
Daniel Guttentag ◽  
Ulrike Gretzel ◽  
Lan Yao ◽  
Jym Morton
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Pricing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Host Factors ◽  
Pricing Strategies ◽  
High Demand ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Markets ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of dynamic pricing by Airbnb hosts. Design/methodology/approach This study uses attribute and sales information from 39,837 Airbnb listings and hotel data from 1,025 hotels across five markets to test different hypotheses which explore the extent to which Airbnb hosts use dynamic pricing and how their pricing strategies compare to those of hotels. Findings Airbnb is a unique and complex platform in terms of dynamic pricing where hosts make limited use of dynamic pricing strategies, especially as compared to hotels. Notwithstanding their limited use, hosts who own listings in high-demand leisure markets, manage entire places, manage more listings and have more experience vary prices the most. Practical implications This study identified a great need for Airbnb to encourage dynamic pricing among its hosts, but also warned of the potential perils of dynamic pricing in the sharing economy context. The findings also demonstrated challenges for hotel managers interested in actionable information related to Airbnb as a competitor. Originality/value This is the first Airbnb study to use a comprehensive set of data over a continuous period in multiple markets to look at a number of listing and host factors and determine their relation with dynamic pricing strategies.

scholarly journals Estimating the price range and the effect of price bundling strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio Dominique-Ferreira ◽  
Cristina Antunes
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Price Sensitivity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Price Range ◽  
Price Bundling ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the price sensitivity of consumers of three- and five-star hotels and to determine the impact of bundling strategies on consumers’ price sensitivity. Design/methodology/approach To calculate price sensitivity, authors apply the van Westendorp’s price sensitivity meter (PSM). To understand the impact of bundling strategies, univariate and bivariate techniques are applied. Findings PSM results reveal the optimal prices and the range of acceptable prices for three- and five-star hotel. The bundling strategy results reveal that five-star customers are less sensitive to mixed-leader bundling. Regarding mixed-joint bundling, managers could improve sales through bundling strategies if they selected an attractive service (e.g. restaurants). Practical implications Findings assist hotel managers to understand the different price sensitivities, according to the hotel typology. Managers can manage prices without the risk of losing market share or revenue. The results help managers in deciding which bundling strategies they can create, as well as the services to be included to achieve highest profitability. Originality/value No research to date to the best of the authors’ knowledge has attempted to understand and compare the role of bundling strategies in three- and five-stars hotels. Moreover, no research has attempted to measure and compare customers’ price sensitivity of three- and five-stars hotels.

Cooperation strategies for e-commerce platforms with seller classification

Kybernetes ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1369-1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya’nan Ji ◽  
Xiaoyan Xu ◽  
Yanhong Sun
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Pricing Strategies ◽  
Performance Requirement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pricing Decisions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Strategy I

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the cooperation and pricing strategies for e-commerce platforms when considering seller classification. Design/methodology/approach E-commerce platforms serve to facilitate trade and generate revenue from the participants. By classifying the sellers in the market into two types (the individual sellers vs the professional sellers), the authors examine how the interaction between the two types of sellers affects the platform’s cooperation and pricing decisions. Specifically, the authors compare two cooperation strategies for the platform: cooperating only with the professional sellers (strategy I); and cooperating with both the two types of sellers (strategy II). Findings When the platform attractiveness for the professional sellers is high enough, strategy II is absolutely beneficial than strategy I; whereas when the platform attractiveness for the professional sellers is low and the performance requirement of the individual sellers is relatively high, strategy I will be more beneficial. Practical implications For a platform choosing strategy II, it should make effort to differentiate between the different types of sellers by the product or service quality. Originality/value The paper is among the first to study the cooperation and pricing strategies for the e-commerce platform with seller classification.

Managers’ reactions to customer vs coworker sexual harassment

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 1211-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan M. Madera ◽  
Priyanko Guchait ◽  
Mary Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Organizational Climate ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Hospitality Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how managers react to sexual harassment as a function of the harasser role that includes a customer as a source of harassment and an organization’s climate for sexual harassment. Design/methodology/approach Using an experiment with a 2 (harasser role: coworker or customer) × 2 (organizational climate of sexual harassment: tolerates or does not tolerate) between-subjects design, 162 hotel managers were randomly assigned to read one of four conditions. Findings Both the harasser role and organization’s climate for sexual harassment influenced the managers’ sexual harassment reactions, specifically whether they label the incident as sexual harassment and attribute responsibility to the organization. The managers’ gender was found to moderate these relationships. Practical implications The results underscore the importance of understanding reactions to sexual harassment because, regardless of who harasses (coworker or customer) and the organizational climate (tolerates or does not tolerate sexual harassment), sexual harassment of any form can be harmful for the well-being of hospitality employees. These results also provide educational implications. Originality/value This is the first known experimental study to examine how hospitality managers react to sexual harassment when the harasser role includes a customer versus a coworker. The results illustrate that the same sexually harassing behavior was perceived less negatively – in regard to both the labeling and attribution of organizational responsibility – when it was done by a customer than by a coworker.

Hoteliers’ service design for mobile-based value co-creation

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 4338-4356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sut Ieng Lei ◽  
Dan Wang ◽  
Rob Law
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Structure And Design

Purpose This study aims to investigate how hoteliers leverage mobile technologies to shape services that allow customers to create their own unique and personalized experiences. Design/methodology/approach Guided by service-dominant logic and sociomateriality, this study analyzes hoteliers’ reasoning behind the design of mobile-based services through qualitative research. Data were collected from interviews with hotel managers representing best-practice companies in the industry. Findings The findings provide a rich description of mobile-based value co-creation in the hotel context. They delineate hoteliers’ understanding of mobile technologies as a means to co-create value, their strategic considerations and the forms in which value is expected to be co-created. Research limitations/implications This study unearths the new roles of hoteliers, unique forms of value co-creation and their underlying structures in the specific context of mobile-based value co-creation. Practical implications based on industry best practices are provided for hospitality companies seeking to innovate by co-creating value with customers using mobile technologies. Originality/value This research paper contributes to the hospitality literature on IT-enabled service innovation and value co-creation by comprehensively explaining the underlying structure and design of co-created experiences facilitated by mobile-based services.

How should Canadian tourism embrace the disruption caused by the sharing economy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Altaf Sovani ◽  
Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Mutual Benefit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
Major Industry ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Industry Conference

Purpose This paper aims to answer two questions: What is the sharing economy? and How is the sharing economy affecting tourism in Canada? Design/methodology/approach The foundation of this paper was laid during a major industry event held in Ottawa in 2016 – the Ontario Tourism Summit, an annual industry conference organized by the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), attended by 650 industry participants. This paper is based on presentations made at the summit. The article provides key information on Airbnb and the role of TIAO in the context of shared economy. Findings Companies such as Airbnb, Uber and Turo have made the concept of sharing economies an everyday concept. As sharing economy is considered as a phenomenon that is here to stay, Canadian tourism and hospitality industries should embrace the disruption caused by it and ensure that this is done for mutual benefit of all stakeholders. Five key suggestions are made by the authors in their conclusions. Practical implications As this paper is mainly based on the authors’ viewpoints, prior to implementing their recommendations, further dialogue with all relevant stakeholders is needed. Originality/value This paper draws upon the authors’ experience working with Canadian tourism companies and incorporates their thoughts for practical solutions.

Transitioning loyalty programs

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T Bowen ◽  
Shiang-Lih Chen McCain
Keyword(s):  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Loyalty Programs ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to reflect on Bowen and Chen’s study and provide insight for researchers to help them build loyalty models that will fit the consumer behavior of Millennials and managers as they build customer loyalty with Millennials. In 2001, Bowen and Chen developed and implemented a research framework for hotel managers to identify attributes that will increase customer loyalty. Since 2001, a major shift has taken place: demographically, as Baby Boomers retire and pass on, Millennials will become the dominant generational segment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a review of literature to accomplish its purpose. Findings – The authors argue that the loyalty models developed for Boomers will not be a good fit for Millennials. Three propositions are presented in the paper to help researchers develop models that will explain the customer loyalty of Millennials. Research limitations/implications – Implications are presented for researchers wishing to investigate the antecedents and consequences of loyalty for Millennials. Practical implications – The transition from Boomers to Millennials creates a number of opportunities and challenges for managers, which are discussed in the paper. Originality/value – There has been a dearth of empirical research on customer loyalty models developed for Millennials. This paper is a commentary on past models developed for Boomers and the transition needed to develop models for Millennials. It is hoped this dialogue will spawn research that develops loyalty models for Millennials.

Sharing economy in geotag: what are the travelers’ goals sharing their locations by using geotags in social network sites during the tour?

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namho Chung ◽  
Hyunae Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Extrinsic Reward ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Sharing Behavior ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate what triggers tourist’s use of geotag as an information sharing tool in social media. Design/methodology/approach – This study divided tourists’ goals into task-involved goals (enjoyment of geotags and altruism) and ego-involved goals (anticipated extrinsic reward and desire for attention), and then examined the influences of these goals on their geotag satisfaction and information-sharing behavior by using PLS-Graph 3.0. Findings – Whereas the anticipated extrinsic rewards, altruism, and enjoyment of geotags were found to influence their geotag satisfaction, desire for attention was not. Enjoyment of geotags was found to be the strongest predictor of tourists’ geotag satisfaction, which in turn affected their information-sharing behaviors. Based on these findings, the authors present theoretical and practical implications with suggestions for future research. Research limitations/implications – Geotag services are not identical in all social media, so study participants might have perceived the characteristics of geotags differently depending on which social media they use. Originality/value – The enjoyment of geotags, altruism, and anticipated reward were found to influence geotag satisfaction; however, desire for attention was not. The results imply that enjoyment of geotags and anticipated reward strongly predict geotag satisfaction.

scholarly journals The perceived effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels in Italy

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1598-1617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Cassia ◽  
Francesca Magno ◽  
Marta Ugolini
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Brand Awareness ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Behavioral Loyalty ◽  
Marketing Resources ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
Hotel Managers ◽  
Demand Seasonality ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels. In particular, the perceived effectiveness related to four specific objectives is explored (acquiring and retaining new customers, building brand awareness, balancing seasonality and stimulating demand among existing customers). Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was conducted that involved 108 hotels, each of which has run at least one social couponing campaign through Groupon in Italy. The importance-performance approach was applied to analyze the data. Findings – Overall, the perceived effectiveness of social couponing for hotels is quite low. Social couponing is useful to increase brand awareness but does not encourage customer behavioral loyalty. Larger hotels can successfully use this marketing tool to balance demand seasonality. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is limited but includes approximately one-fourth of all Italian hotels that have run social coupon campaigns through Groupon. Only social couponing campaigns run through one daily deal site (Groupon) in one country (Italy) were considered. Practical implications – Social couponing is not perceived as equally effective for all hotels. This study provides hotel managers with suggestions for deciding whether to allocate a share of their marketing resources to social couponing. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to present field data to complement the available theoretical knowledge on social couponing for hotels.

A pricing approach for service companies: service blueprint as a tool of demand-based pricing

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 906-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Calabrese ◽  
Federico De Francesco
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Pricing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Value ◽  
Service Companies ◽  
Service Pricing ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Service Blueprint

Purpose – Demand-based pricing fixes price according to customers’ perceptions of service value and to their resulting willingness to pay. This pricing approach enables service companies to align their prices to customers’ preferences and to their expenditure propensity. Accordingly, it can generate higher margins than other pricing approaches. Nevertheless, this approach is difficult to implement operationally. Consequently, in order to overcome these implementation difficulties, the purpose of this paper is to provide a demand-based pricing approach based on the user-friendly technique of service blueprint (SB). Design/methodology/approach – The methodology relies on the design science leads. Design science deals with creating artefacts or models for supporting human or organizational purposes; such artefacts have to be assessed against criteria of utility or value for users. Accordingly, an experimental action research is performed for both implementing and testing the proposed pricing approach. Findings – Starting from the main difficulties hindering implementation of demand-based pricing, SB is proved to enable companies to overcome such difficulties and to support its implementation. Moreover, by employing SB, an innovative approach for fixing service prices is provided. Practical implications – The proposed approach enables managers of service companies to overcome difficulties of demand-based pricing and to employ pricing strategies according to demand-based drivers. Originality/value – In line with a recent call for research on service pricing, this paper develops a new pricing approach, which is able to promote demand-based pricing.

Airbnb – an exploration of value co-creation experiences in Jamaica

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 2361-2376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbie-Gayle Johnson ◽  
Barbara Neuhofer
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Drawing upon the theoretical framework of the service-dominant (S-D) logic, value co-creation and social practices, this paper aims to investigate how value is co-created among guests, hosts and the wider local community in the sharing economy context of Airbnb. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative enquiry through an online content analysis was applied to thematically analyse Airbnb online guest reviews to explore the value-co-creation practices in local tourist experiences in Jamaica. Findings Based on Airbnb guest and host engagements, a theoretical framework emerges, depicting integrated operant and operand resources, host–guest value co-creation practices embedded in the destination’s authentic culture and specific value outcomes. Research limitations/implications Being grounded in the geographical and cultural context of Airbnbs in Jamaica, the findings are transferable to similar platforms of the sharing economy, tourism contexts and destinations. Practical implications Critical implications unfold for Airbnb accommodation providers, destination stakeholders and policymakers by revealing a specific set of nuanced social practices that need to occur for local authentic experiences and value to be co-created among guests, hosts and the wider local community. Originality/value The paper makes an original contribution to knowledge by being one of the first studies to apply a S-D logic lens to the Airbnb sharing economy. It breaks down resource integration, host – guest value co-creation practices and value outcomes that occur for experiences and value to emerge in an Airbnb hospitality context.

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