Examining the impact of tourists’ hope, knowledge and perceived value on online hotel booking intentions

Research has previously established that tourists assess “attributes’ to appraise the value a hotel may offer before booking online. However, this rational approach overlooks the role emotions may play in the decision-making process. This research examines the positive emotion of hope. Study 1 involved an experiment of 259 North American tourists, confirming the causal relationship between “hope” and “perceived value”. Study 2 involved an online survey of 418 North American hotel guests, demonstrating “brand knowledge” moderates the relationship between hope and guests’ perceived value, leading to booking intentions. These findings contribute new knowledge for tourism practitioners and researchers.