Living the Experience Before You Go . . . but Did It Meet Expectations? The Role of Virtual Reality during Hotel Bookings

Virtual reality (VR) is considered an important technological development to impact the tourism industry. Hotels are constantly attempting to overcome the challenges they face in the presentation of their facilities in the virtual environment. This research has made one of the first attempts to unde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of travel research 2022-07, Vol.61 (6), p.1233-1251
Main Authors: McLean, Graeme, Barhorst, Jennifer B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Hotels & motels
Tourism
Virtual reality
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Summary:Virtual reality (VR) is considered an important technological development to impact the tourism industry. Hotels are constantly attempting to overcome the challenges they face in the presentation of their facilities in the virtual environment. This research has made one of the first attempts to understand VR’s ability to influence tourism consumers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions during the prepurchase phase and postpurchase phase of their purchase journey across three hotel preview styles, namely, (1) VR immersive headsets, (2) 360° VR tour, and (3) a static image website. Through a lab-based experiment with 270-participants, study 1 outlined the positive role of VR on learning about the hotel and visit intentions. Through a questionnaire with 409 actual tourism consumers following a hotel stay, study 2 detailed that VR plays a significant role in managing tourism consumers’ expectations through providing an authentic experience and stimulating the development of detailed mental imagery prior to their visit.
ISSN:0047-2875
1552-6763
DOI:10.1177/00472875211028313