Exploring online prices with an advance booking horizon on Booking.com

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To iew a copy o his license, isi h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ 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 . Re e ences Ab a e, G., Cap iello, A., & F aquelli, G. (2011). 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Recei ed: 03/06/2019 Accep ed: 06/03/2020 Coo dina ing edi o : S anisla I ano