This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Choi, S. Articles by Mattila, A. S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Impact of Information on Customer Fairness Perceptions of Hotel Revenue Management

School of Business at Yonsei University, sc128{at}psu.edu

Anna S. Mattila

School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University, asm6{at}psu.edu

Despite the prospective benefits of a revenue management (RM) program, some hotel managers remain concerned that customers perceive RM as being unfair. Studies have shown that offering customers information on a hotel’s pricing practices can enhance their perceptions of fairness. To determine how much and what type of information hotels should provide in this context, researchers administered a scenario-based survey to 120 travelers. The study found that giving would-be guests relatively complete information about how a hotel’s RM policies operate increases their perception of RM’s fairness. The study found that merely letting travelers know that the hotel’s rates vary was not enough to improve customers’ perceptions of fairness (even with a favorable rate). When respondents were also told that rates varied according to day of the week (with weekend rates being lower), length of stay, and how far in advance the reservation was made, their perceptions of fairness improved significantly.

Key Words: revenue management • pricing • perceived fairness • information • hotels

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Choi and A. S. Mattila The Role of Disclosure in Variable Hotel Pricing: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Customers' Fairness Perceptions Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, February 1, 2006; 47(1): 27 - 35. [Abstract] [PDF]