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Article
Publication date: 17 February 2021

Apostolos Ampountolas and Mark P. Legg

This study aims to predict hotel demand through text analysis by investigating keyword series to increase demand predictions’ precision. To do so, this paper presents a framework…

1231

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to predict hotel demand through text analysis by investigating keyword series to increase demand predictions’ precision. To do so, this paper presents a framework for modeling hotel demand that incorporates machine learning techniques.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical forecasting is conducted by introducing a segmented machine learning approach of leveraging hierarchical clustering tied to machine learning and deep learning techniques. These features allow the model to yield more precise estimates. This study evaluates an extensive range of social media–derived words with the most significant probability of gradually establishing an understanding of an optimal outcome. Analyzes were performed on a major hotel chain in an urban market setting within the USA.

Findings

The findings indicate that while traditional methods, being the naïve approach and ARIMA models, struggled with forecasting accuracy, segmented boosting methods (XGBoost) leveraging social media predict hotel occupancy with greater precision for all examined time horizons. Additionally, the segmented learning approach improved the forecasts’ stability and robustness while mitigating common overfitting issues within a highly dimensional data set.

Research limitations/implications

Incorporating social media into a segmented learning framework can augment the current generation of forecasting methods’ accuracy. Moreover, the segmented learning approach mitigates the negative effects of market shifts (e.g. COVID-19) that can reduce in-production forecasts’ life-cycles. The ability to be more robust to market deviations will allow hospitality firms to minimize development time.

Originality/value

The results are expected to generate insights by providing revenue managers with an instrument for predicting demand.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 29 November 2018

Apostolos Ampountolas

The online travel environment continues to expand as the numerous peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces that comprise the “sharing economy” have also multiplied and expanded, resulting…

2185

Abstract

Purpose

The online travel environment continues to expand as the numerous peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces that comprise the “sharing economy” have also multiplied and expanded, resulting in a move from the traditional hospitality industry to a new digital ecosystem. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different antecedents and the relationships between benefit factors. It does so by simulating the behavior that leads to consumer loyalty and repurchase intentions within a P2P marketplace transaction.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on survey data from 456 respondents located in different regions, collected via a web-based survey questionnaire. A two-step approach employing confirmatory factor analysis, followed by structural equation modeling, was conducted to evaluate the measurement and structural models, as recommended by Anderson and Gerbing.

Findings

The findings of this study partially confirm the relationship between benefit factors (monetary, hedonic and location benefits) and consumer repurchase intentions. The benefit factors display a positive influence on consumer satisfaction, which mediates the relationship between loyalty and repurchase intentions. Hence, the study contributes to scholarly efforts to better understand why consumers choose to purchase through P2P platforms.

Practical implications

The findings of this study can provide P2P intermediaries and hosts with the empirical evidence of consumer behavioral changes. Nowadays, in practice, consumers have the ability to compare products and offers. As such, for a consumer to remain loyal to a particular supplier, the offer must satisfy the service and experience that the consumer has in mind, as many alternative offers exist.

Originality/value

This study seeks to identify the behavioral factors that cause even loyal consumers to move from the traditional hospitality industries to P2P platforms, despite the probability of losing any loyalty benefits gained in the traditional industries.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2019

Apostolos Ampountolas, Gareth Shaw and Simon James

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how using social media (SM) as a tool to influence demand motivates the distribution of different price promotion strategies to…

3343

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how using social media (SM) as a tool to influence demand motivates the distribution of different price promotion strategies to encourage consumers to utilize direct bookings, along with how this impacts revenue strategies and profitability.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveyed hotel executives who hold managerial positions and revenue managers with a direct influence on pricing decisions and developed multiple regression analysis models for various pricing approaches.

Findings

This study confirms the relationship between distribution channels and dynamic pricing strategies, although the same is not true with respect to traditional pricing techniques. The authors found that the adoption of SM as a strategic tool provides a platform to promote tactical revenue management strategies and to practice differential pricing motives.

Originality/value

The findings of the study will help hotel revenue managers to take into account a new way of thinking – namely, an interactive response to consumers’ preferences to improve profitability, based on different pricing methods distributed through SM. In this context, SM has elevated pricing strategies to a new and particularly challenging level.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9792

Keywords

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