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RESEARCH PAPER 1
Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on
Booking.com
Glo ia Sánchez-Lozano1*, Luis Nob e Pe ei a2 and Es he Chá ez-Mi anda 3
1
Facul ad de Ciencias Económicas y Emp esa iales, Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Di ección de
Ope aciones, Uni e sidad de Se illa, Campus de Ramón y Cajal, 41018 Se illa, Spain; Email: [email p o ec ed].
2 Resea ch Cen e o Tou ism, Sus ainabili y and Well-being (CinTu s) & Escola Supe io de Ges ão, Ho ela ia e
Tu ismo, Uni e sidade do Alga e, Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Fa o, Po ugal; Email: [email p o ec ed]
3 Facul ad de Ciencias Económicas y Emp esa iales, Depa amen o de Economía Financie a y Di ección de
Ope aciones, Uni e sidad de Se illa, Campus de Ramón y Cajal, 41018 Se illa, Spain; Email: e enu[email p o ec ed]; Phone:
+34 954551606
* Co esponding au ho
Abs ac
The online ma ke enables ho els o enhance hei isibili y and d i e up hei e enue. This s udy analysed bo h
he a e age oom p ice and p ice coun (i.e. he sum o he numbe o p ices ha ho els o e ) on Booking.com o
a pe iod o 300 days p io o check-in, wi h da a classi ied by o icial ho el ca ego y. Ho els’ numbe o ooms, day
o he week, oom ype, oom capaci y (i.e. maximum numbe o gues s pe oom) and leng h o s ay we e also
acked. This esea ch was based on a s a i ied sample o ho els ga he ed by using andom sampling and
p opo ional alloca ion, as well as de ining he s a a by ho el ca ego ies. The da ase included 1,353,751 eco ds.
The esul s e eal ha channel managemen ac i i ies a e an impo an a ea o ho els’ ope a ions, which gene a e
a conside able wo kload in e ms o he ime de o ed o upda ing da a and o he ela ed asks. Howe e , ho els’
pa icipa ion in online channels does no always ma ch hei impo ance in he ma ke as measu ed by hei ela i e
numbe o ooms. Mos o he a iables unde s udy ha e a signi ican posi i e impac on p ices, excep o ho els’
numbe o ooms, which ailed o ollow any disce nible pa e n o in luence.
Keywo ds: p icing, online dis ibu ion channel, channel managemen , booking ho izon, e enue managemen ,
ho el
Ci a ion: Sánchez-Lozano, G., Nob e Pe ei a, L. & Chá ez-Mi anda, E. (2020). Explo ing online p ices wi h an
ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com. Eu opean Jou nal o Tou ism Resea ch 26, 2606
Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com
2
In oduc ion
Implemen ing e enue managemen in he ho el indus y equi es manage s o de e mine ‘ he igh
p ice o he igh p oduc o he igh cus ome ’ (Smi h, Leimkuhle & Da ow, 1992) ‘a he igh
momen ’ (C oss, 1997; Kimes, 1989; Kimes, Chase, Choi, Lee & Ngonzi, 1998; Kimes & Singh, 2008) and
h ough he igh dis ibu ion channel. When co ec ly o mula ed, his decision mix gene a es he
maximum possible e enue and, whe e possible, ex ac s he g ea es p o i om ho els’ pe ishable
asse s o a ailable esou ces (Bake & Collie , 2003; Donaghy, McMahon & McDowell, 1995; Guadix,
Onie a, Muñuzu i & Co és, 2011). Time is an unambiguously essen ial dimension o e enue
managemen , which has been shown o be highly signi ican because a p ope use o ime allows
manage s o es ablish esou ce dis ibu ion and de e mine selling condi ions in ad ance. Howe e , ime
also inc eases e enue managemen ’s complexi y (Maie , 2012) and he numbe o decisions o be made.
In he lodging sec o , a esou ce o in en o y uni (e.g. oom nigh ) and i s ela ed componen s (e.g.
oom ype and leng h o s ay) and/o condi ions can be o e ed o po en ial cus ome s up o a yea in
ad ance (C oss, Higbie & C oss, 2009; Schü ze, 2008) in o de o gene a e bookings up o he ime ha
he se ice is ac ually p o ided. When ho el companies such as Ma io In e na ional (Ho mby,
Mo ison, Da e, Meye s & Tenca, 2010) and Ca lson Rezido (Pekgün, Menich, Acha ya, Finch,
Deschamps, Malle y & Sis ine, 2013) publish o upda e hei p ices and oom a ailabili y daily, hese
ho el g oups could bene i om an analysis o he ela ionship be ween p ices and booking pace (i.e.
booking on hand egis e ed along he booking ho izon p io o cus ome s’ a i al). Resea che s ha e
ound e idence o a ela ionship be ween ad anced ime pe iods and published p ices (Choi & Kimes,
2002). This in o ma ion is used o ob ain new o ecas s and upda e p ices and a ailabili y on all ho el
channels. Re enue manage s – o he indi iduals esponsible o hese managemen ac i i ies – mus
de ine and use app op ia e s a egies and ac ics du ing hese pe iods o imp o e hei ho els’ le el o
p o i abili y. The e o e, manage s ha e o lea n mo e abou he way ha ho els’ esou ces and ea u es
e ol e h oughou he en i e booking pe iod p eceding check-in da es.
P ice is conside ed o be one o he main a iables in e enue managemen (Guille & Mohammed, 2015;
Rope o, 2011). The exis ing esea ch has ocused s ongly on p icing applied in dis ibu ion channels,
which has been widely s udied o explain cus ome beha iou om a demand pe spec i e (Liu & Zhang,
2014; Schamel, 2012; Sole e al., 2019) and, o a lesse ex en , a supply pe spec i e (Hung e al., 2010;
Kim e al., 2016; K eege & Smi h, 2017; Th ane, 2007). Signi ican changes ha e occu ed in he o e all
pa e n o ho el dis ibu ion ha equi e u he s udy (Law, Leung, Lo, Leung & Fong, 2015). In
pa icula , channel managemen is an inc easingly impo an pa o ho el dis ibu ion and an eme ging
line o esea ch wi hin he ield o e enue managemen (Domingo-Ca illo, Chá ez-Mi anda & Cubiles-
de la Vega, 2017; I ano & Zheche , 2012; Kimes, 2011).
The online booking ma ke is cu en ly a sou ce o e enue gene a ion. Nielsen (2016) epo s ha he
ca ego y o ‘ a el p oduc s and se ices’ is anked in he op i e (i.e. hi d place) o all egions
wo ldwide (i.e. A ica, Asia-Paci ic, Eu ope, La in Ame ica, he Middle Eas and No h Ame ica). Online
channels a e expec ed o become inc easingly impo an in he u u e because o hei popula i y among
online cus ome s (Guo, Ling, Dong & Liang, 2013). The online a el agency Booking.com is ecognised
as one o he main ho el dis ibu ion channels and, oge he wi h Expedia, his si e has become a majo
d i e o change in his a ea.
The p esen s udy sough o explo e bo h ho els’ oom p ices and p ice coun s (i.e. he numbe o p ices
o en ies) ega ding o e s p o ided h ough online dis ibu ion channels. These o e s a e made,
depending on p oduc ea u es, o e a booking ho izon o 300 days p io o check-in da es. Booking.com
Sánchez-Lozano e al. (2020) / Eu opean Jou nal o Tou ism Resea ch 26, 2606
3
was selec ed as he sou ce o da a because i is a key playe , accoun ing o 60% o all bookings made in
Eu ope (Tom Dieck, Foun oulaki & Jung, 2018).
F om an academic pe spec i e, his esea ch aimed o en ich he li e a u e on e enue managemen
h ough an in-dep h analysis o he online ho el oom supply p o ile, wi h a special ocus on wo c ucial
a iables o e enue managemen implemen a ion: ad ance p ices and o al coun s o p ices. An u ban
des ina ion was chosen as a case s udy. The esea ch included aking he i s s eps owa ds conduc ing
an analysis o combined o e s o p ices and ea u es while conside ing an ex ensi e booking ho izon.
Fo p ac i ione s, he esul s p o ide in o ma ion ha can suppo he decision-making p ocesses
ela ed o e enue managemen . The abili y o analyse a e age p ices by ea u e and ho el ca ego y
could u he imp o e manage s’ abili y o make app op ia e decisions.
This pape is s uc u ed in o i e sec ions. The nex sec ion p esen s he li e a u e e iew. The hi d
sec ion se s ou he me hodology and desc ibes he da a e ie al and usage p ocesses. Sec ion ou hen
desc ibes he esul s. The conclusions o e ed in he inal sec ion highligh his esea ch’s p incipal
achie emen s and heo e ical con ibu ions, as well as p oposing u u e esea ch di ec ions.
Li e a u e e iew
This s udy ocused on ho els’ p ice policies applied in online dis ibu ion channels. P icing has long
been conside ed a co e pa o e enue managemen (Bake & Collie , 1999; Chiang, Chen & Xu, 2007;
McGill & an Ryzin, 1999; Wea he o d & Bodily, 1992), bu channel managemen is a ela i ely new
a ea o esea ch ha has only ecen ly gained ele ance, especially in e ms o ho els (Domingo-Ca illo
e al., 2017; Guille & Mohammed, 2015; I ano & Zheche , 2012). Channel managemen is also an
eme ging ield o s udy ha has inc easingly in luenced e enue managemen p ac ices and ends
(Wang, Yoonjoung Heo, Schwa z, Legohé el & Specklin, 2015; Yeoman & McMahon-Bea ie, 2017).
E icien dis ibu ion channel managemen mus be implemen ed in complex scena ios (Kimes, 2016)
ha equi e bo h mo e ime de o ed o hese ac i i ies and awa eness o hei impac s on cos s.
The In e ne has adically changed he way ha ho elie s in o m cus ome s abou p ices and oom
a ailabili y, bu , simul aneously, his has en ailed he assump ion o new cos s (Vinod, 2004). In
addi ion, moni o ing and con olling channel ac i i ies needs o be pa o managing ho els in his
compe i i e, cons an ly changing en i onmen (Josephi, S ie and & an Mou ik, 2016). Despi e hese
challenges and channel managemen ’s impo ance and impac on cos s and e enue managemen
pe o mance measu es, a gap s ill exis s in he esea ch in his a ea, especially om a supply pe spec i e.
Vi es, Jacob and Paye as (2018) desc ibe he cu en si ua ion as a ‘new e a o online dis ibu ion
channels’. The online ma ke has g own signi ican ly, acili a ing access o in o ma ion and connec ions
wi h cus ome s. When hese channels a e p ope ly u ilised, oppo uni ies a ise o inc easing e enues
and p o i s (Talón-Balles e o & González-Se ano, 2013). Ho els al eady dis ibu e app oxima ely one-
hi d o hei bookings h ough he online ma ke , and his igu e may g ow om 60 o 70% in he
coming yea s (Law e al., 2015).
Recen s udies ha e used he da a a ailable in dis ibu ion channels and, speci ically, on Booking.com
o examine he beha iou o p ices o e ed (Ab a e & Viglia, 2016; I ano & Piddubna, 2016; Oses,
Ge ikagoi ia & Alzua, 2016; Pawlicz & Napie ala, 2017). Howe e , he exis ing esea ch has only
conside ed a maximum ad ance booking pe iod o 90 days, which is signi ican ly smalle han he 300-
day pe iod co e ed by he p esen s udy. As a as he li e a u e e iew could de e mine, his s udy’s
inclusion o ho els’ o e o p ice coun s is also a no el y. P ice coun p o ides insigh s in o he o al
and ela i e alue o esou ces’ – o pe ishable asse s’ – dis ibu ion h ough online channels. These
Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com
4
igu es can be conside ed an indica o o he impo ance ha ho elie s gi e o each o hei online o e s,
he eby p o iding aluable in o ma ion.
Analyses o oom p ices and p ice coun s acco ding o booking condi ions ac oss he en i e ad ance
booking ho izon enable gene al p edic ions o be made abou ho els’ si ua ion on any gi en day (i.e.
he check-in da e). Re enue manage s can bene i om his o e iew, aking ad ance ac ions o achie e
imp o ed e enue. Thus, his esea ch analysed bo h he a e age p ices and p ice coun s published on
Booking.com based on a booking ho izon o 300 days be o e cus ome s’ a i al da es. In addi ion, he
da a analyses conside ed ho els’ o icial ca ego y and a ious a iables published in he selec ed online
a el agency, namely, day o he week, oom ype, numbe o gues s pe oom and leng h o s ay.
Me hodology
This s udy ocused on ho els loca ed in Se ille, a ci y in sou he n Spain amous o i s ich cul u al
he i age. The des ina ion was chosen o i s g ea e impo ance compa ed o o he Spanish ci ies. Se ille
is especially p edominan in ou ism as he ci y has been consis en ly anked be ween hi d and six h
among all u ban des ina ions in Spain, acco ding o Excel u (2013, 2016, 2017a, 2017b 2018). I s cu en
p ominence has ecen ly been con i med by being anked i s in Lonely Plane ’s (2018) ci ies ca ego y.
Rega ding he ho els’ p o ile, Spain’s o icial ho el a ing sys em classi ies es ablishmen s in o i e
ca ego ies indica ed by he numbe o s a s awa ded, wi h 1 s a being he lowes ca ego y and 5 s a s
he highes . P e ious s udies on e enue managemen in Spain ha e mainly ocused on highe
ca ego ies, ha is, ho els wi h 3-, 4- and 5-s a a ings (Chá ez-Mi anda, 2005; Domingo-Ca illo, 2016;
O eo-I u mendi, 2013; Talón-Balles e o, 2010). This classi ica ion sys em was used in he p esen
esea ch.
The ho el s udy popula ion was i s iden i ied o acili a e he selec ion o a ep esen a i e sample.
Hos elma ke ’s (2014) ho el census was compa ed o and comple ed wi h he ho els lis ed on
Booking.com o Se ille. The mos ecen census also p o ided he equi ed in o ma ion on ho els’
o icial s a a ings, which mean ha he popula ion could be di ided in o 3 s a a (i.e. 1 pe ho el
ca ego y). The o al popula ion was 94 ho els: 38 3-s a , 51 4-s a and 5 5-s a ho els. The size o each
s a a o he sample was de e mined by a andom sampling me hod wi h p opo ional alloca ion (5%
ma gin o e o ; 95% con idence le el; p = q). The esul ing p opo ional alloca ion o he inal sample
o 31 ho els was, he e o e, as ollows: 12 3-s a , 17 4-s a and 2 5-s a ho els. IBM SPSS S a is ics so wa e
was used o ob ain 3 independen andom samples. This sampling me hod ensu ed ha he esul s
could be ex apola ed bo h o ho el ca ego ies and he selec ed u ban des ina ion as a whole.
To ga he he equi ed in o ma ion, he da a we e e ie ed om Booking.com by emula ing he
beha iou s o consume s who isi he websi e o look a ho el p ices. The da ase ob ained was
b oadened o include ho els’ o icial ho el s a a ings and numbe o ooms. Following p e ious ela ed
s udies’ ecommenda ions, an analysis was conduc ed o he main a iable (i.e. p ice) and i s in luence
300 days in ad ance o check-in da es. The inal da ase included oom a es and o e - ela ed
condi ions, namely, day o he week, ype o oom, numbe o gues s pe oom and leng h o s ay. The
da a we e collec ed on 20 Janua y 2017. No missing alues we e de ec ed, and all alues o each a iable
we e collec ed.
The a iables co e ed by his s udy a e p esen ed in Table 1. Ho el ca ego y con ains in o ma ion abou
he sample ho els’ o icial s a a ing om 3 o 5 s a s. The numbe o ooms was used o measu e he
ho els’ size, which anged om 7 o 437 ho el ooms. The day o he week is a ime a iable ha e e s
o he day o he week o which a speci ic p ice alue is o e ed, so his a iable anges om Monday o
Sánchez-Lozano e al. (2020) / Eu opean Jou nal o Tou ism Resea ch 26, 2606
5
Sunday. The a iable o ype o oom enables he ooms o e ed o be pu in o simila ca ego ies o
ooms: S anda d, Supe io , Supe io Plus, Junio Sui e and Sui e. The numbe o gues s pe oom o
oom PAX e e s o he maximum numbe o gues s allowed in a oom, which wen om 1 o 4. The
leng h o s ay gi es in o ma ion abou he minimum numbe o nigh s ha cus ome s mus s ay in
ho els o speci ic p ice o e s o be alid, wi h alues unning om 1 o 4 ho el nigh s.
Table 1. Summa y o independen a iables and hei anges
Va iables
Ca ego ies
Ho el ca ego y
3-, 4- and 5-s a ho els
Numbe o ooms
7–437 ho el ooms
Day o he week
1–Monday, 2–Tuesday, 3–Wednesday, 4–Thu sday, 5–F iday, 6–Sa u day, 7–
Sunday
Type o oom
1–S anda d, 2–Supe io , 3–Supe io Plus, 4–Junio Sui e, 5–Sui e
Numbe o gues s
1–4 gues s
Leng h o s ay
1–4 ho el nigh s
In he selec ed se o a iables, only ype o oom is a ecoded a iable. Ho els in Se ille use mo e han
80 di e en ypes o oom o ways o naming a oom. On occasion, ooms ha a e almos iden ical in
physical e ms a e named di e en ly, which made he na u al a iable imp ac ical. Based on wo main
c i e ia (i.e. p obable oom size o space and he oom s yle, ameni ies and se ices included), all hese
oom labels we e educed o i e ca ego ies. Gi en his s udy’s aims, he esul s a e p esen ed in wo
ways: (1) a e age oom p ice, which was calcula ed di ec ly om he mean alue o he a iable o oom
p ice and (2) oom p ice coun , which is he sum o al o p ices e ie ed om he Booking.com websi e.
Addi ional esul s based on he ho els’ ca ego y a e gi en in Table 2.
A simple eg ession model was es ima ed o explain he ela ionship be ween oom p ice and each
independen a iable. The model wi h he bes i was chosen based on he R-squa ed (R2) alue.
Numbe o ooms was he only a iable no ound o ha e a clea ela ionship wi h oom p ice, i also
p esen ed nume ous ca ego ies, so he esul s o ha a iable a e no showed in Table 2 abo e. Finally,
in line wi h simila p e ious esea ch on p ice beha iou in dis ibu ion channels (I ano & Piddubna,
2016), he analysis o a iance (ANOVA) and - es o independen samples we e applied o check o
di e ences in a e age oom p ices be ween he independen a iables.
To summa ise, he da ase con ained 193,393 lines o each o he analysed a iables including oom
p ice, which esul ed in 1,353,751 eco ds. This olume o da a is ema kable o such a ela i ely small
sample o ho els in Se ille (31), which we e able o p oduce a as p ice o e da abase in a single online
dis ibu ion channel on one day. These da a we e p ocessed using bo h Mic oso Excel (2016 e sion)
and IBM SPSS S a is ics ( e sion 24) so wa e. In addi ion, Mic oso Powe BI Desk op ( e sion
2.73.5586.984) so wa e was used o gene a e a dashboa d wi h he ca ego ies, a e age oom p ices and
maximum and minimum alues pe a iable.
Resul s
Ho el ca ego y
Gi en he 300-day booking ho izon p io o check-in da es, an o e iew o he da a on p ices ho els’
o e ed h ough he selec ed online dis ibu ion channel shows an a e age oom p ice o €177.80 (eu os)
o his u ban des ina ion. Figu e 1 shows he a e age oom p ices by ho el ca ego y (i.e. 3–5 s a s). The
solid line indica es he a e age oom p ice o each ca ego y, while he ba s gi e he p ice coun . The
endline (i.e. he do ed line) is discussed in g ea e de ail below.

Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com
6
Table 2. A e age oom p ice pe ho el ca ego y
Ho el Ca ego y
3
4
5
Day o he
week
Monday
97.35
186.68
233.28
Tuesday
97.87
187.11
236.86
Wednesday
99.60
191.06
243.64
Thu sday
98.61
192.26
246.65
F iday
105.60
199.59
246.52
Sa u day
104.03
197.44
245.99
Sunday
93.60
183.03
233.18
ANOVA es
F s a is ic
59.195
60.403
1.551
d
6
6
6
p- alue
<0.001
<0.001
<0.157
Type o oom
S anda d
93.96
152.97
188.16
Supe io
112.93
185.48
186.08
Supe io plus
106.53
400.06
161.71
Junio sui e
154.42
283.05
405.65
Sui e
312.84
788.43
ANOVA es
F s a is ic
1421.718
12865.092
5463.337
d
3
4
4
p- alue
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
Room PAX
1
81.93
135.11
139.87
2
95.35
195.72
247.07
3
120.63
250.15
182.06
4
136.19
368.24
640.39
ANOVA es
F s a is ic
2320.723
11144.915
408.660
d
3
3
3
p- alue
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
Leng h o s ay
(p ice pe
nigh )
1
97.58
184.86
289.72
2
65.91
101.94
76.20
3
44.57
79.73
336.06
4
68.64
ANOVA es
F s a is ic
793.668
7842.778
1606.841
d
2
3
2
p- alue
<0.001
<0.001
<0.001
Sánchez-Lozano e al. (2020) / Eu opean Jou nal o Tou ism Resea ch 26, 2606
7
Figu e 1. A e age oom p ice and p ice coun by ho el ca ego y
A e age oom p ices beha e as expec ed wi h espec o he ho el ca ego ies. The p ice inc eases
signi ican ly as he s a a ing ises (F = 16,135.8; deg ees o eedom1 [d 1] = 2; d 2 = 193,390; p- alue <
0.001). Howe e , his inc ease is no p opo ional since he a e age alue o ou -s a ho els is almos
double o he alue ound o he lowes ca ego y conside ed (92.0%). The mean oom p ice o e ed o
5-s a ho els, in u n, ises only by 26.0% in compa ison wi h he p eceding ca ego y. The a e age
inc ease be ween ca ego ies is €70.60 (41.3%), which is 30 o 36% highe han he inc ease ound by
esea che s in he Polish ho el indus y (Pawlicz & Napie ala, 2017). The highe he ho el ca ego y, he
b oade he p ice a iabili y. In all cases, he p ice ange is qui e wide, ha is, om €566.10 (3 s a s) o
€2,405.50 (5 s a s). No ably, 3-s a ho els some imes ask p ices ha could be conside ed mo e sui able
o 4-s a ho els. Bo h 3- and 4-s a ho els o e p ices s a ing om simila minimum alues (€33.90
and €32.40, espec i ely), bu he maximum p ices o e ed by 3-s a ho els, o example, include alues
as high as €600.00. In addi ion, he highes ca ego y ho els o e ooms a €94.50, which could be
conside ed a mo e app op ia e p ice o 4-s a es ablishmen s.
Rega ding he oom p ice coun , ou -s a ho els p esen he highes olume o p ice o e . They
domina e he Se ille ma ke wi h o e 66.6% o he o al p ice coun . This pe cen age exceeds he
p opo ion o 4-s a ho els in he sample (54.8%). Th ee-s a ho els (p ice coun o 26.0% ou o 38.7%
o he sample) and 5-s a ho els (7.4% ou o 6.5%) p oduce a lowe pe cen age o p ice o e s. Despi e
he well-documen ed dependence o 3-s a ho els on Booking.com and he 38.7% hey ep esen in he
sample, hei sha e in he p ice o e ’s o al olume is only 26.0%
The a e age oom p ice end acco ding o ho el ca ego y was es ima ed wi h a loga i hmic unc ion
(R2 = 0.9996). The esul s clea ly indica e ha , as he numbe o s a s ises, he a e age oom a e also
inc eases. This ela ionship was se ou in Equa ion (1), in which y e e s o he a e age oom p ice and
x o he ho el ca ego y (x=1 o 3 s a s; x=2 o 4 s a s; x=3 o 5 s a s):
y = 128.9ln(x) + 100.02.
(1)
50 203
128 855
14 335
99,44 €
190,96 €
240,63 €
0
20 000
40 000
60 000
80 000
100 000
120 000
140 000
0 €
50 €
100 €
150 €
200 €
250 €
300 €
3-s a ho els 4-s a ho els 5-s a ho els
Room P ice Coun
A e age Room P ice
Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com
8
Numbe o ooms
The a e age oom p ice was examined in ela ion o he numbe o ooms a ailable a each ho el
included in he s udy (see Figu e 2). Some o he a e age oom p ices gi en a e he esul o mul iple
ho els ha ing exac ly he same size (2 ho els wi h 7 ooms, 2 ho els wi h 23 ooms and 2 ho els wi h 81
ooms). The da a do no appea o show any pa icula beha iou pa e n ega ding ho el size and
a e age oom p ices. Howe e , he ANOVA esul s show ha he a e age oom p ice a ies signi ican ly
by ho el size (F = 5,612.9; d 1 = 26; d 2 = 193,366; p- alue < 0.001). When he esul s we e analysed in de ail,
a ious indi idual cases we e iden i ied, which a e discussed u he below.
In gene al, he maximum alues co espond o 33- and 189- oom ho els. Bo h a e 4-s a ho els, al hough
hey di e subs an ially in size (156 ooms). Fo example, he smalles ho el wi h 7 ooms sells hese a
a highe a e age a e han a 365- oom ho el.
Figu e 2. A e age oom p ice and p ice coun by numbe o ooms
Rega ding he oom p ice coun , he pe cen age expec ed o each ho el’s sha e is 3.2% o he o al
o e all olume. Howe e , his igu e ails o measu e he impo ance ha each ho el places on i s o e .
Thus, he p esen analysis needed o conside he numbe o ooms’ in luence on he numbe o p ice
o e s. To his end, he ho els’ ai sha e was calcula ed because his is an indica o used by e enue
manage s o compa e ho els’ size (i.e. measu ed by numbe o ooms) wi h hei compe i i e se o 4 o
7 ho els. The ai sha e can be calcula ed in an u ban con ex by di iding he numbe o ooms in each
ho el by he o al numbe o ooms in he sample, which ga e he expec ed a e age ho el o e o he
cu en sample as 3.7%, which is easonably simila o he expec ed o e (i.e. 3.2%).
One u he aspec ha needs o be highligh ed is he combined analysis o highe p ices and p ice
olume. The esul s include he indi idual cases men ioned p e iously. A hi d o he ho els (10)
cu en ly o e p ices ha exceed hei expec ed pe cen age (a ai sha e abo e 3.7%), bu only 3 – all 4–
s a ho els – o e a mo e ad an ageous a e age oom p ice anging om €200 o €250. One case is
pa icula ly in e es ing since his ho el is esponsible o o e 19% o he olume o p ice o e s (i.e. 5
imes mo e han he expec ed pe cen age). This anomaly can be pa ially explained by he ho el’s size
37 912
46 046
41 417
68 018
€158,46
€138,68
€173,28 €171,46
0
10 000
20 000
30 000
40 000
50 000
60 000
70 000
80 000
€-
€20
€40
€60
€80
€100
€120
€140
€160
€180
€200
Less o equal o 50
ooms
F om 51 o100 F om 101 o 200 O e 201 ooms
Room P ice Coun
A e age Room P ice
Sánchez-Lozano e al. (2020) / Eu opean Jou nal o Tou ism Resea ch 26, 2606
9
(437 ooms) since i is he la ges o all he ho els conside ed. An examina ion o hese cases based on
p io esea ch’s esul s o he same des ina ion (Chá ez-Mi anda, 2005) sugges s ha a mind ul p icing
s a egy, ac ics and, in gene al, p oac i e e enue managemen explain why hese 3 ho els mee he 2
c i e ia o a highe olume o p ices o e ed and success in e ms o highe a e age p ices.
A second se o special cases was also be iden i ied. The 2 ho els wi h he highes a e age p ices (€400.00
o €465.00) o e ewe p ices han expec ed (1.3% and 2.1% o he p ice coun ), bu hese es ablishmen s
a e di e en sizes (33 and 189 ho el ooms, espec i ely). A u he examina ion o he p esen da a and
addi ional in o ma ion abou hese speci ic cases e ealed ha hei high a e age p ices a e un ela ed
o ei he o hese ho els’ numbe o ooms o ela i e impo ance (i.e. hei p ice o e ) in he online
dis ibu ion channel in ques ion. The ele a ed p ices may be due o p ice di e en ia ion based on
special ho el acili ies as one is a bou ique ho el and he o he – wi h he highes a e age a e – is a i e-
s a ho el.
Day o he week
The esul s also con i med ha he a e age oom p ice beha es di e en ly depending on he day o he
week (F = 64.5; d 1 = 6; d 2 = 193,386; p- alue < 0.001). Figu e 3 shows ha p ices ise a weekends and
alls on weekdays ( = -17.7; d = 193,391; p- alue < 0.001). An in-dep h analysis (see Table 2 abo e) showed
ha he a e age oom p ice signi ican ly di e s in all h ee ho el ca ego ies acco ding o he day o he
week. A simila analysis was also ca ied ou o he emaining a iables because he a e age oom p ice
a ies signi ican ly o ho els o di e en ca ego ies.
Figu e 3. A e age oom p ice and p ice coun by day o he week
A ic i ious bounda y was se a an a e age oom p ice o €175.00, e ealing wo di e en a e ca ego ies.
The a e age p ice o e ed o weekend days (F iday and Sa u day) is €178.50, and he a e age p ice o
weekdays is €167.90 ( he emaining days), wi h a di e ence be ween he wo a es o €10.60. This esul
is no unexpec ed since he p ima y use s o Booking.com a e ou is s on holiday (Law e al., 2015).
Howe e , u he analysis iden i ied an addi ional p ice class in he middle o he week, so h ee p ice
clus e s we e ul ima ely di e en ia ed: (1) s a o he week, (2) mid-week and (3) weekend. A e age
p ices s a a g adual upwa d end on Wednesdays and Thu sdays – immedia ely be o e he mos
signi ican change on F idays, which signals he s a o he weekend. Ho els in Se ille end o se highe
164,49 € 166,91 € 166,93 € 170,02 € 171,29 € 179,07 € 178,01 €
26 000
26 500
27 000
27 500
28 000
28 500
29 000
0 €
20 €
40 €
60 €
80 €
100 €
120 €
140 €
160 €
180 €
200 €
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thu sday F iday Sa u day
Room P ice Coun
A e age Room P ice
Explo ing online p ices wi h an ad ance booking ho izon on Booking.com
16
Limi a ions and u u e esea ch di ec ions
While he p esen s udy’s esul s ha e some limi a ions, hese simul aneously ep esen u u e lines o
esea ch. Fi s , his esea ch used online da a om only one online dis ibu ion channel, al hough his
channel has been shown o be he mos impo an in Eu ope. Second, one u he a iable ha u u e
esea ch needs o ake in o accoun is how a e age oom p ice beha es acco ding o numbe o days o
check-in da es. Thi d, e idence has been ound ha online oom p ices inc ease as he da e o bookings
app oaches, bu esea che s may ge mo e use ul esul s by con i ming his pa e n o he u ban
des ina ion unde s udy wi h e e ence o, among o he a iables, ho el ca ego y, oom ype, leng h o
s ay o ou ism season. Las , his esea ch explo ed only one ci y, albei in g ea de ail.
Acknowledgemen s
We would like o acknowledge he pa icipa ion o he company Beonp ice S.L. in he p esen esea ch.
We would also like o hank he Vice-Rec o a e o Resea ch o he Uni e si y o Se ille o p o iding
inancial suppo o his s udy h ough i s ‘V Plan P opio de In es igación’. The au ho s a e hank ul
o suppo om he Resea ch Cen e o Tou ism, Sus ainabili y and Well-being (CinTu s) [FCT G an
Numbe UIDP/SOC/04020/2020]. Las ly, we a e ex emely g a e ul o he e iewe s and he Edi o P o .
I ano o hei insigh ul commen s, which con ibu ed o a signi ican imp o emen o his pape .
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Recei ed: 03/06/2019
Accep ed: 06/03/2020
Coo dina ing edi o : S anisla I ano