Reducing Unrealistic Optimism: The Effects of Product Scarcity Cues on Early Hotel Booking Intentions
研究发现酒店消费者的不切实际乐观导致他们推迟预订，而通过稀缺性线索（如人气或供应不足）可以有效促使他们提前预订，对酒店营销策略有重要启示。
Hotel consumers’ unrealistic optimism leads them to postpone their bookings until the last minute, expecting a better price. However, the frequent use of last-minute deals can impact a hotel’s profitability, and little is known about how to reduce consumers’ unrealistic optimism to encourage earlier bookings. This research examines strategies to reduce hotel bookers’ unrealistic optimism to promote early bookings using three experimental designs. Study 1 demonstrates that hotel consumers’ price change predictions are nearly identical to predictions based on best-case situations. The findings of Study 2 indicate that popularity cues motivate consumers to book early, but only if they have the option to pay later. Study 3 suggests that when a hotel’s price is relatively high, supply-driven scarcity cues are more effective than demand-driven cues in convincing consumers not to postpone bookings. Taken together, these findings provide important insights into developing an operational marketing strategy to encourage advance bookings.