Hotel discount strategies on consumer responses: the role of involvement

This paper aims to examine the impact of hotel discount strategies on consumers’ emotional and behavioral responses in the presence of differential levels of involvement in discount acquisition.

Discount strategies and the high- and low-involvement variables were fully cross-examined, yielding a 2 × 2 factorial quasi experimental design. In all, 120 surveys were collected, and multivariate analysis of variance was used for data analysis.

The results suggest that fenced discounts that require consumers to accept restrictions to receive a discount generated more positive emotion and stronger behavioral intention. Moreover, an interaction effect was found between consumer’s involvement and discounts on emotional and behavioral responses toward discount-acquiring experience. Highly involved consumers resulted in more positive emotional and stronger behavioral responses (e.g. pride, gratitude, word-of-mouth and retention) from obtaining a fenced discount that requires consumers’ efforts or sacrifices. On contrary, consumers with low involvement tend to appreciate more of a fixed discount given to anyone without restrictions.

Hotels should implement a fenced discount when they design discounts targeting at high-involvement consumers. For low-involvement consumers, a fixed discount appears to generate more positive emotion and stronger behavioral intention.

The study enhances the theoretical understanding of consumers’ emotional and behavioral responses toward discount-acquiring experience with different levels of involvement.