Date of Award

January 2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Hospitality and Tourism Management

First Advisor

Sandra Sydnor

Committee Member 1

Chun-Hung (Hugo) Tang

Committee Member 2

Howard Adler

Committee Member 3

Carl A. Boger

Abstract

This dissertation consists of three essays on the topic of consumers’ response to hotel room rates increases due to external events (hedonic and utilitarian situations). External events such as sporting games, local festivals, or weather-related events (e.g., floods, snowstorms) frame consumers’ motivation to stay in a hotel room (hedonic vs. utilitarian motivations), increasing hotel room demand and resulting in higher room rates. The dynamic changes of hotel room rates during the high demand periods may cause consumers to perceive high room rates as unfair, restricting their intentions or enhancing their desires to book a hotel room before room rates increase even higher. Thus, it is vital to understand the impact of external event characteristics as well as the level of involvement on consumers’ responses to hotel room rate increases. These three papers examine the contextual impact of external events and individual level of involvement on the relationship among price increases, consumers’ perceived fairness and unfairness and their booking intentions.

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