Hotel guests’ intention to stay during the pandemic: A comparison of frequent versus infrequent guests

Abstract

The hospitality industry has been greatly affected by health-related crises due to outbreaks of new diseases. Given the high uncertainty faced in these crises, hoteliers need to understand guests' risk perceptions and how they affect their businesses. By adopting the protection motivation theory, this study explores the differences between frequent and infrequent hotel guests in terms of risk perceptions and intentions to stay at a hotel. Data were collected via an online survey and analyzed employing PLS-SEM. The results indicate that perceived vulnerability negatively influences guests' intentions to stay during a pandemic whereas self-efficacy and hotel's response efficacy show positive effects. The multigroup analysis results show that frequent guests relied on perceived severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy in decision making, while infrequent guests depended on both perceived vulnerability and hotel's response efficacy. These findings provide insights for hotel managers on effective business strategies for both guest groups.