Luxury tourism through private sales websites: Exploration of prestige-seeking consumers’ motivations and managers’ perceptions

Abstract

Luxury consumption through private sales travel websites is an intrinsic paradox because of the antagonism between luxury and discounts. Prior literature emphasizes that discounts are risky and may damage the notion of luxury itself and brand image. We provide a broader and deeper understanding of this paradox by means of a twofold qualitative approach on luxury consumers and hotel managers. By considering both luxury motivations (personal or social) and the importance of price as an indicator of prestige, four types of luxury consumers emerge. Our findings counterintuitively show that some luxury consumers accept discounted prices on luxury, even if they show social luxury consumption motivations. This antagonism makes less sense for consumers who do not consider price as signaling prestige to others. From a managerial perspective, our results can also help create private sales websites with a differentiated approach according to the profiles of consumers and of luxury hotels.