The Influence of Hotel Price on Perceived Service Quality and Value in e-tourism

Table 6

The Moderating Role of Star Rating

Value Rating

Economy Hotels

Midscale Hotels

Luxury Hotels

Log(Price)

−0.079*** (−0.038)

−0.113*** (−0.051)

−0.095*** (−0.060)

Log(Ranking)

−0.049*** (−0.052)

−0.089*** (−0.077)

−0.017*** (−0.026)

TripType

−0.039*** (−0.028)

−0.044*** (−0.028)

−0.012 (−0.007)

QualityIndex

0.601*** (0.672)

0.599*** (0.635)

0.554*** (0.557)

Constant

4.650***

5.111***

4.475***

Number of cases

7,144

6,800

29,777

R

2

0.471

0.433

0.310

F value

1589.51***

1298.74***

3341.72***

Quality Rating

Economy Hotels

Midscale Hotels

Luxury Hotels

Log(Price)

−0.039 (−0.017)

0.050* (0.021)

0.040*** (0.025)

Log(Ranking)

−0.321*** (−0.310)

−0.325*** (−0.267)

−0.235*** (−0.343)

TripType

0.062*** (0.039)

0.082*** (0.048)

0.026*** (0.016)

Constant

1.87***

1.43***

1.04***

Number of cases

7,144

6,800

29,777

R

2

0.100

0.174

0.227

F value

261.14

181.94

1438.30

Note: Standardized coefficients are in parentheses.

*p < .1. **p < .05. ***p < .01.

Table 5

The Impact of Price on Perceived Quality Ratings

Quality Rating

Coefficient

T

p > |t|

Constant

8.238

36.96

.000

ln(Price)

0.029

2.51

.012

ln(Ranking)

−0.328

−57.16

.000

StarRating

0.176

3.31

.001

StarRating × ln(Price)

−0.026

−2.79

.005

TripType

−0.002

−0.37

.708

TripType × ln(Price)

0.008

2.46

.014

Number of cases

43,721

F value

2458.66

Adjusted R

2

0.112

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34    JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH

In Table 2, the coefficients of TripType (p < .1) are not significant, which 

shows that price is taken into consideration by all customers when evaluating 

perceived value  no matter what kind of trip they are taking. Furthermore, 

TripType does not moderate the relationship between price and perceived value, 

since  TripType 

× ln(Price) is also not significant. Thus, Hypothesis 4b is not 

supported by these results. However, the moderating role of TripType can be 

seen by the significant coefficient of TripType 

× ln(Price) and insignificant coef-

ficient of TripType in Table 5. We reran these models for different trip types to 

examine how TripType moderates their relationship. The results of this analysis 

appear in Table 7. In general, customers’ perceptions of quality may be different 

depending on the purpose of their trip. In terms of perceived quality, price does 

not play a significant role for leisure customers; but it does for business travelers. 

So, Hypothesis 4a is supported.

IMPLICATIONS

In terms of theory, this study extends the body of knowledge on the influence 

of price on postpurchase perceptions by enriching its content in the area of hos-

pitality and tourism. Prior studies (Beldona & Kwansa, 2008; Dreze & Nunes, 

2004; Heo & Lee, 2011; Lockyer, 2005; Nusair et al., 2010) on the relationship 

between price and service quality as well as value have already provided a rela-

tively comprehensive pool for assessing it in an online context. This empirical 

research sought to extend our understanding of the influence of price on post-

purchase perceptions using data drawn from online hotel reviews. Similar to the 

results obtained from research conducted in traditional offline environments, 

this study demonstrates the relationship between price and perceived quality 

and value, adding a more specific dimension of online hotel reviews. In contrast 

to previous work, it also shows that the star rating of a hotel and the traveler’s 

trip type can moderate these relationships. These findings could therefore 

stimulate future research on this aspect of e-tourism.