Purpose This paper aims to identify a wide array of utility-based attributes of Airbnb listings and measures the effects of these attributes on consumers’ valuation of Airbnb listings. Design/methodology/approach A hedonic price model was developed to test the effects of a group of utility-based attributes on the price of Airbnb listings, including the characteristics of Airbnb listings, attributes of hosts, reputation of listings and market competition. The authors examined attributes as they relate to the price of Airbnb listings and, therefore, estimated consumers’ willingness to pay for the specific attributes. The model was tested by using a dataset of 5,779 Airbnb listings managed by 4,602 hosts in 41 census tracts of Austin, Texas in the USA over a period from Airbnb’s launch in Texas up until November 2015. Findings The authors found that the functional characteristics of Airbnb listings were significantly associated to the price of the listings, and that three of five behavioral attributes of hosts were statistically significant. However, the effect of reputation of listings on the price of Airbnb listings was weak. Originality/value This study inspires what they call a factor-endowment valuation of Airbnb listings. It shows that the intrinsic attributes that an Airbnb listing endows are the primary source of consumer utilities, and thus consumer valuation of the listing is grounded on its functionality as an accommodation. This conclusion can shed light on the examination of competition between Airbnb and hotel accommodations that are built on the same or similar intrinsic attributes.

This study aims to explain tourist happiness by examining a specific destination in which happiness is generated for tourists via their travel behavior at the destination. Building upon the spillover theory of happiness, we developed a destination-based model of tourist happiness, which is shaped by destination image and service quality and mediated by tourist satisfaction and life satisfaction. This model was tested using data from 1,048 inbound tourists in Switzerland in 2015. We found that destination image is positively associated with life satisfaction, eudaimonia, and positive and negative affect; no evidence indicated the effect of service quality on life satisfaction and negative affect. In particular, life satisfaction can largely predict eudaimonia and positive and negative affect. We also discovered that negative affect is poorly explained by its antecedents in the tourism context, suggesting that tourists are reluctant to link their travel experiences to negative affect.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of the loyalty program members’ satisfaction toward the hotel loyalty program benefits and the customer management relationship initiatives of individual hotels on the brand relationship quality (BRQ), i.e. their relationship quality with the hotel brand, and its outcomes. The moderating impact of membership level on the hypothesized relationships was also investigated. Design/methodology/approach A usable sample of 920 active members of a hotel loyalty program was obtained. Structural equation modeling with partial least squares method was used to estimate the structural relationships and to investigate the moderating effect of membership level. Findings Employee’s customer orientation, membership communication and hotel stay-related benefits are determinants of the loyalty program members’ BRQ. BRQ is also confirmed as a higher-order construct of three latent variables which include trust, satisfaction and commitment. Moderating effects of the membership were partially supported in this study. The strongest effect of BRQ is on members’ word of mouth followed by shares of purchase. BRQ is found to have negative relationship with members’ willingness to serve as marketing resource, but the impact was small. Research limitations/implications This is a cross-sectional study with a population of active loyalty program members of only one luxury hotel group. The sample size of the top-tier members is also smaller in comparison to the other two groups. Practical implications This study contributes to the understanding of the antecedents and consequences of BRQ and the body of knowledge about loyalty program for hotel industry. Originality/value This is one of the few studies investigating the effectiveness of hotel loyalty programs from the active members’ perspective and the moderating effect of membership level on the relationships among BRQ, its antecedents and its outcomes.

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