Hidden Fees and Firm Reputation: Evidence from the U.S. Hotel Industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (1) ◽  
pp. 14677
Author(s):  
Bennett Stulting Chiles
Keyword(s):  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
The U.S

Shrouded Prices and Firm Reputation: Evidence from the U.S. Hotel Industry

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bennett Chiles
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Firm Characteristics ◽  
Firm Reputation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Online Travel ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The U.S

Firms in many industries engage in price obfuscation—tactics that intentionally make prices more difficult for consumers to discern. Although existing research has focused on the short-term financial gains that motivate firms to obfuscate, reputational concerns may at least partially counteract these incentives if consumers punish deceptive firms via loss of loyalty in future transactions and/or publicly observable negative feedback. This paper addresses the latter possibility, exploring the impact of mandatory shrouded surcharges on firm reputation in the U.S. hotel industry. Using data collected from two major online travel sites, I exploit differences in surcharge disclosure across booking channels to identify the causal effect of hidden “resort fees” on traveler ratings. I find that hidden fees decrease ratings by roughly 0.15 points (on a rating scale ranging from 1 to 5). The magnitude of this effect varies based on firm characteristics, and this variation is consistent with observed heterogeneity in resort fee adoption patterns: when the expected punishment is more severe, firms are substantially less likely to adopt shrouded surcharges. Results shed light on the extent to which reputational mechanisms may act as a check against price obfuscation and other similar practices intended to exploit boundedly rational consumers. This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing.

Stigma Transfer, Social Evaluations, and Category Dynamics in the U.S. Luxury Hotel Industry

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 16437
Author(s):  
Margarita Cruz ◽  
Jan Goldenstein ◽  
Patrick Haack
Keyword(s):  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Luxury Hotel ◽  
The U.S

Quantifying the economic impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. hotel industry: Examination of hotel segments and operational structures

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 100864
Author(s):  
Ozgur Ozdemir ◽  
Tarik Dogru ◽  
Murat Kizildag ◽  
Makarand Mody ◽  
Courtney Suess
Keyword(s):  
Economic Impact ◽  
Hotel Industry ◽  
The U.S
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