Exploring booking intentions through price elasticity of demand in tourism accommodations using large-scale data analytics

• Elizabeth del Carmen Pérez-Ricardo ^[1] ; Josefa García-Mestanza ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Málaga

     Universidad de Málaga

     Málaga, España

     
• Localización: European Research on Management and Business Economics, ISSN 2444-8834, Vol. 31, Nº. 1, 2025, págs. 91-103
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1016/j.iedeen.2025.100271
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • The study aims to explore tourists’ booking intentions by analyzing the price elasticity of demand in tourist accommodations. This analysis should reveal how changes in price affect booking behavior across different customer segments, using online booking records. A dataset was compiled from 106 hotels in Malaga, Spain, comprising 27,910 online bookings sourced exclusively from hotel websites. To understand the price elasticity of demand, a simple log-log regression was applied, segmenting the data based on key revenue-related variables. Subsequently, a cluster segmentation was performed using the Elbow method and K-means algorithm to identify distinct market segments. The findings highlighted that Family Travelers and Short Stay Travelers segments exhibited elastic demand, indicating higher sensitivity to price fluctuations. In contrast, Early Bookers and Mid- Season Long Stayers demonstrated inelastic demand, with lower responsiveness to changes in tourist accommodation prices. The number of variables analyzed in this study, along with the cluster analysis, represent a novelty and contribute to the existing literature on market segmentation and price elasticity of demand. This integration enriches both fields of research, offering mutual benefits and deeper insights that enhance the understanding of booking intention and pricing strategies.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Abrate, G., Fraquelli, G., & Viglia, G. (2012). Dynamic pricing strategies: Evidence from European hotels. International Journal of Hospitality...
  • Abrate, G., Nicolau, J. L., & Viglia, G. (2019). The impact of dynamic price variability on revenue maximization. Tourism Management,...
  • Abrate, G., & Viglia, G. (2016). Strategic and tactical price decisions in hotel revenue management. Tourism Management, 55, 123–132....
  • Ahani, A., Nilashi, M., Ibrahim, O., Sanzogni, L., & Weaven, S. (2019). Market segmentation and travel choice prediction in Spa hotels...
  • Alegre, J., & Pou, L. (2006). The length of stay in the demand for tourism. Tourism Management, 27(6), 1343–1355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.06.012
  • Alrawabdeh, W. (2022). Seasonal balancing of revenue and demand in hotel industry: The case of Dubai City. Journal of Revenue and Pricing...
  • Andersson, D. E. (2010). Hotel attributes and hedonic prices: An analysis of internet- based transactions in Singapore’s market for hotel...
  • Assaker, G., & O’Connor, P. (2023). The importance of green certification labels/badges in online hotel booking choice: A conjoint investigation...
  • Barbosa, J. W. Q. (2024). Segmentaçao turística: conceitos e realidades. Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo, 18. https://doi.org/10.7784/rbtur.v18.2826
  • Barros, C. P., & Machado, L. P. (2010). The length of stay in tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(3), 692–706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2009.12.005
  • Bavik, A., Correia, A., & Kozak, M. (2021). What makes our stay longer or shorter? A study on Macau. Journal of China Tourism Research,...
  • Beerli-Palacio, A., Martin-Santana, J. D., & Roman-Montoya, C. (2020). Complementary services at hotels in accordance with their pricing...
  • Benoit, K. (2011). Linear regression models with logarithmic transformations. London School of Economics, 22(1), 23–36.
  • Bholowalia, P., & Kumar, A. (2014). EBK-means: A clustering technique based on elbow method and k-means in WSN. International Journal...
  • Bojanic, D. C. (2007). Customer profile of the “carryout” segment for restaurants. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,...
  • Canina, L., & Carvell, S. (2005). Lodging demand for urban hotels in major metropolitan markets. 29(3), 291–311. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348004272174.
  • Caridad Lopez del Río, L., Caridad, J., & García, M. d. l. B. (2020). Modelos Econométricos y Series Temporales con EViews.
  • Chalupa, S., & Petricek, M. (2022). Understanding customer’s online booking intentions using hotel big data analysis. Journal of Vacation...
  • Chang, Y. W., Hsu, P. Y., & Lan, Y. C. (2019). Cooperation and competition between online travel agencies and hotels. Tourism Management,...
  • Chen, C. C., & Schwartz, Z. (2013). On revenue management and last minute booking dynamics. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality...
  • Chen, C. M., Lin, Y. C., Hung, W. H., & Jih, C. Y. (2022). The effect of Airbnb and business cycle on the price elasticity of demand in...
  • Chen, X. J., Wang, C., Chen, J. L., Yang, H. X., Hsia, C. H., & Huang, S. J. (2021). Optimal pricing based on real-time monitoring of...
  • Choque-Soto, V. M., Sosa-Jauregui, V. D., Villalba, T., & Ibarra, W. (2024). Analysis of the tourism market through data segmentation:...
  • Chua, B. L., Lee, S., Goh, B., & Han, H. (2015). Impacts of cruise service quality and price on vacationers’ cruise experience: Moderating...
  • Colak, O., & Kosan, L. (2021). Price sensitivity measurement: A yield management approach. Istanbul Business Research, 50(1), 47–75. https://doi.org/10.26650/...
  • Croes, R., & Semrad, K. J. (2012a). Discounting works in the hotel industry: A structural approach to understanding why. Tourism Economics,...
  • Croes, R., & Semrad, K. J. (2012b). Does discounting work in the lodging industry? Journal of Travel Research, 51(5), 617–631. https://doi.org/10.1177/...
  • Damonte, L. T., Domke-Damonte, D. J., & Morse, S. P. (1998). The case for using destination-level price elasticity of demand for lodging...
  • Das, S. S., & Tiwari, A. K. (2021). Understanding international and domestic travel intention of Indian travellers during COVID-19 using...
  • Deng, S. D., Prodius, D., Nlebedim, I. C., Huang, A. H., Yih, Y., & Sutherland, J. W. (2021). A dynamic price model based on supply and...
  • Dominique-Ferreira, S., Vasconcelos, H., & Proenca, J. F. (2016). Determinants of customer price sensitivity: An empirical analysis. Journal...
  • Du, F., Yang, F., Liang, L., & Yang, M. M. (2016). Do service providers adopting market segmentation need cooperation with third parties?...
  • Enz, C. A., Canina, L., & Lomanno, M. (2009). Competitive pricing decisions in uncertain times. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 50(3),...
  • Enz, C. A., Canina, L., & Rest, J.-P. I. V. D. (2016). Hotel strategic pricing in Europe: A 10- year exploration of competition. International...
  • Fernandez-Morales, A., & Mayorga-Toledano, M. C. (2008). Seasonal concentration of the hotel demand in Costa del Sol: A decomposition...
  • Fujii, E. T., Khaled, M. A. H., & Mak, J. (1985). The exportability of hotel occupancy and other tourist taxes. National Tax Journal,...
  • Graciola, A. P., De Toni, D., de Lima, V. Z., & Milan, G. S. (2018). Does price sensitivity and price level influence store price image...
  • Guo, X. L., Ling, L. Y., Yang, C. C., Li, Z. Q., & Liang, L. (2013). Optimal pricing strategy based on market segmentation for service...
  • Hajibaba, H., Grun, B., & Dolnicar, S. (2019). Improving the stability of market segmentation analysis. International Journal of Contemporary...
  • Hiemstra, S. J., & Ismail, J. A. (1990). Impacts of room taxes on the lodging industry. Hospitality Research Journal, 14(2), 231–241....
  • Holleran, M., & Notting, M. (2023). Mobility guilt: Digital nomads and COVID-19.Tourism Geographies, 25(5), 1341–1358.
  • Ivanov, S. (2014). Hotel revenue management: from theory to practice. Varna: Zangador.
  • Jackman, M., Lorde, T., Naitram, S., & Greenaway, T. (2020). Distance matters: The impact of physical and relative distance on pleasure...
  • Jang, Y. S., Miao, L., & Chen, C. C. (2019). Book now, pay later: The effects of delays in payments and temporal distance on consumers’...
  • Juaneda, C., Raya, J. M., & Sastre, F. (2011). Pricing the time and location of a stay at a hotel or apartment. Tourism Economics, 17(2),...
  • Kazbare, L., van Trijp, H. C. M., & Eskildsen, J. K. (2010). A-priori and post-hoc segmentation in the design of healthy eating campaigns....
  • Kim, E. L., & Tanford, S. (2020). Turning discounts into profits: factors influencing online purchasing decisions for hotel add-on items....
  • Kim, J. M., Ma, H., & Park, S. (2023). Systematic differences in online reviews of hotel services between business and leisure travelers....
  • Kirkos, E. (2022). Airbnb listings performance: Determinants and predictive models. European Journal of Tourism Research, 30.
  • Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2010). Principles of marketing. Pearson Education.
  • Kotler, P., & Gertner, D. (2002). Country as brand, product, and beyond: A place marketing and brand management perspective. Journal of...
  • Ladany, S. P. (1996). Optimal market segmentation of hotel rooms - the non-linear case. Omega-International Journal of Management Science,...
  • Latinopoulos, D. (2018). Using a spatial hedonic analysis to evaluate the effect of sea view on hotel prices. Tourism Management, 65, 87–99....
  • Lee, S. (2011). Study of demand models and price optimization performance. Georgia Institute of Technology.
  • Legoherel, P., Hsu, C. H., & Dauce, B. (2015). Variety-seeking: Using the CHAID segmentation approach in analyzing the international traveler...
  • Lopez-Perez, J. (2019). Elasticities on a mixed integer programming model for revenue optimization. In 20th Congress of International-Association-for-Fuzzy-Set-Management-...
  • Lozano, J., Rey-Maquieira, J., & Sastre, F. (2021). An integrated analysis of tourism seasonality in prices and quantities, with an application...
  • Mak, J., Moncur, J., & Yonamine, D. (1977). Determinants of visitor expenditures and visitor lengths of stay: A cross-section analysis...
  • Mohammed, I., Guillet, B. D., & Law, R. (2019). Modeling dynamic price dispersion of hotel rooms in a spatially agglomerated tourism city...
  • Mohd Suki, N., & Mohd Suki, N. (2017). Flight ticket booking app on mobile devices: Examining the determinants of individual intention...
  • Nguyen, H. Q. (2021). Elasticity of tourism demand by income and price: Evidence from domestic tourism of countries in ASEAN. Cogent Social...
  • Nguyen, Q. H. (2022). Tourism demand elasticities by income and prices of international market regions: Evidence using Vietnam’s data. Economies,...
  • Nicolau, J. L., & Masiero, L. (2013). Relationship between price sensitivity and expenditures in the choice of tourism activities at the...
  • Noone, B. M., Canina, L., & Enz, C. A. (2013). Strategic price positioning for revenue management: The effects of relative price position...
  • Nowacki, M., Chawla, Y., & Kowalczyk-Anioł, J. J. E. (2021). What drives the eco- friendly tourist destination choice? The Indian perspective,...
  • O’Neill, J. W., & Yeon, J. (2021). Hotel room rate discounting during recessionary times: Effects by hotel class. Cornell Hospitality...
  • Oliveira, A. S., Renda, A. I., Correia, M. B., & Antonio, N. (2022). Hotel customer segmentation and sentiment analysis through online...
  • Pan, C.-M. (2007). Market demand variations, room capacity, and optimal hotel room rates. International Journal of Hospitality Management,...
  • Peng, B., Song, H., Crouch, G. I., & Witt, S. F. (2014). A meta-analysis of international tourism demand elasticities. Journal of Travel...
  • Petricek, M., & Chalupa, S. (2020). Price elasticity of demand for accomodation services - empirical application in Prague. Ad Alta-Journal...
  • Petricek, M., Chalupa, S., & Chadt, K. (2020). Identification of consumer behavior based on price elasticity: A case study of the Prague...
  • Petrick, J. F. (2005). Segmenting cruise passengers with price sensitivity. Tourism Management, 26(5), 753–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2004.03.015 Phillips,...
  • Qu, H., Xu, P., & Tan, A. (2002). A simultaneous equations model of the hotel room supply and demand in Hong Kong. International Journal...
  • Ramirez, E., & Goldsmith, R. E. (2009). Some antecedents of price sensitivity. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 17(3), 199–214....
  • Riasi, A., Schwartz, Z., Liu, X., & Li, S. (2017). Revenue management and length-of-stay- based room pricing. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly,...
  • Sanchez-Lozano, G., Pereira, L. N., & Chavez-Miranda, E. (2021). Big data hedonic pricing: Econometric insights into room rates determinants...
  • Santoso, T., Darmawan, A., Sari, N., Syadza, M. A. F., Himawan, E. C. B., & Rahman, W. A. (2023). Clusterization of agroforestry farmers...
  • Scanlan, L., & McPhaill, J. (2000). Forming service relationships with hotel business travelers: The critical attributes to improve retention....
  • Schamel, G. (2012). Weekend vs. midweek stays: Modelling hotel room rates in a small market. International Journal of Hospitality Management,...
  • Schwartz, Z. (2008). Time, price, and advanced booking of hotel rooms. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration,...
  • Seetaram, N., Forsyth, P., & Dwyer, L. (2016). Measuring price elasticities of demand for outbound tourism using competitiveness indices....
  • Singh, A., & Corsun, D. L. (2023). Price elasticity of demand and its impact on hotel revenue performance during the COVID-19 pandemic....
  • Slaba, M. (2020). Multiple regression model of the consumers’ price sensitivity. Economic Annals-XXI, 183(5–6), 60–65. https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V183-06 Slaba,...
  • Sojern. (2014). U.S. Q4-2014 travel trends. Retrieved 12/02/2023 from http://www.soje rn.com/travel-insights/download/2013-Q4-Global-Travel-Insights-Report-Sojern-...
  • Toanoglou, M., & Chemli, S. (2020). Disloyalty of upscale hotels in Seoul: E-opinion mining 13th annual conference of the Euromed academy...
  • Tran, X. V. (2015). Effects of economic factors on demand for luxury hotel rooms in the U.S [effects of economic factors on demand for luxury...
  • Tripathi, S., Bhardwaj, A., & Eswaran, P. (2018). Approaches to clustering in customer segmentation. International Journal of Engineering...
  • Van der Rest, J.-P. I., & Harris, P. J. (2008). Optimal imperfect pricing decision-making: Modifying and applying Nash’s rule in a service...
  • Verma, A., Sardana, N., & Lal, S. (2020). Developer recommendation for stack exchange software engineering Q&A website based on K-means...
  • Vives, A., & Jacob, M. (2020). Dynamic pricing for online hotel demand: The case of resort hotels in Majorca. Journal of Vacation Marketing,...
  • Vives, A., & Jacob, M. (2023). Sources of price elasticity of demand variability among Spanish resort hotels: A managerial insight. Journal...
  • Vives, A., Jacob, M., & Aguilo, E. (2019). Online hotel demand model and own-price elasticities: An empirical application in a mature...
  • Vives, A., Jacob, M., & Payeras, M. (2018). Revenue management and price optimization techniques in the hotel sector: A critical literature...
  • Walker, T. M. (2009). Re-examining the discount question. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, 8(5), 469–473. https://doi.org/10.1057/rpm.2009.26 Wang,...
  • Wang, X. R., Sun, J. X., & Wen, H. Z. (2019). Tourism seasonality, online user rating and hotel price: A quantitative approach based on...
  • Weaver, A. (2019). Terms and conditions apply: Fine print and the selling of tourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 25(2), 193–206.
  • Wedel, M., & Kamakura, W. A. (2012). Market segmentation: conceptual and methodological foundations. Springer Science & Business Media...