Upselling by Default: The Effect of Default Options on Travelers’ Board and Lodging Choices

Abstract

Pre-set options, referred to as default options, have been found to influence consumer choices in various settings. In this paper, we investigate the effect of default options on the chosen categories of board and lodging in travel packages. The results of two field experiments indicate that guests traveling as couples are more likely to book a superior room and additional meals if the high-grade option—instead of on the low-grade option—is set as the default. This effect is particularly strong for board choices. In contrast, solo travelers are not affected by high-grade defaults. Solo travelers show strong and stable preferences for high-grade board categories and low-grade room categories. These findings provide practical implications for how travel companies can benefit from default options to promote the sale of higher-graded—and thus higher-priced—travel packages.