The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou
in Spanish and Equa o ian Tou is s
Mónica P. BUENAÑOa, Lledó MUSEROSb and
Luis GONZALEZ-ABRILc
aUni e sidad Técnica del No e, bUni e si a Jaume I,
cUni e sidad de Se illa
Abs ac . Resea ch sugges s ha colou plays an impo an ole in c ea ing wellness
emo ions in ho el cus ome s. This pape conside s ha ou is s’ needs o wellness
may be sa is ied by manipula ing exis ing elemen s o a ho el, such as he colou o
a ho el oom. The pape s udies he ela ionship be ween ou is s’ emo ions and he
main colou o a ho el oom, and also he ela ionship be ween ha emo ion and
hei in en ion o s ay in he ho el, and e en he p ice ha he ou is s a e willing o
pay. Also, he pape s udies he ole o cul u al di e ences in hese ela ionships,
speci ically be ween Spanish and Equa o ian ou is s.
Keywo ds: colou and emo ions, ou is ic image, ou ism ma ke ing, ecommende
sys em, da a science.
In oduc ion
Colou is conside ed an indispensable elemen in in e io design [1]. I allows designe s
o al e he cha ac e is ics o he en i onmen in an easy and economical way [2], and o
c ea e desi able and pleasan en i onmen s [3]. I has a s ong isual componen which
is able o a ac he clien 's a en ion [4]. Fu he mo e, i is a sub le s imulan wi h a
signi ican impac on people's emo ions and beha io [5-7] , and i can inc ease
mo i a ion and well-being [8]. The e o e, colou selec ion o a ho el oom deco a ion is
e y impo an in o de o design a com o able and wellness-o ien ed en i onmen . In
some ways, colou selec ion o he deco a ion o a oom can gua an ee an a ec i e
commi men be ween he clien and he ho el [9]. Mo eo e , hese aspec s can in luence
he choice o s ay in a ho el, which is a decision made no only on a a ional basis bu
also unde emo ional and wellness-o ien ed conside a ions [10].
The new ends in he demand o ho els in he wellness sec o ha e a di ec in luence
in he gene a ion o new p oduc s and se ices in ou ism and hospi ali y [11]. Luxu y
ho els wi h spa acili ies a e ecognized as he leading p o ide s o wellness se ices
[11], bu he e a e also smalle ho els ha canno a o d spa and high-cos acili ies, bu
can o e wellness se ices by inding s a egies o mee he needs o wellness a ele s
and ha do no demand la ge economic in es men s. In his way, Thus, Dimi o ski &
Todo o ić [12] p opose ha wellness ou ism should be o ien ed owa ds he emo ional
mo i a ion o he gues ins ead o using luxu ious spas, aking in o accoun ha emo ion
is a key poin in he e alua ion o pe sonal well-being [13]. Thus, he pape p esen ed in
A i icial In elligence Resea ch and De elopmen
M. Villa e e al. (Eds.)
© 2021 The au ho s and IOS P ess.
This a icle is published online wi h Open Access by IOS P ess and dis ibu ed unde he e ms
o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion Non-Comme cial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0).
doi:10.3233/FAIA210128
149
his pape p oposes he s udy o he emo ional link ha he colou o a oom can gene a e
in he gues s as a ool o small ho els o imp o e hei wellness image.
Resea ch on he emo ional impac o colou and beha io al in en ions has been
de eloped in di e en a eas. Fo example, i has been shown ha colou on ood labels
in luences emo ions, selec ion and in en ion o pay mo e o he p oduc [14]. Wu, Li &
Liu [15] showed ha he e is a close ela ionship be ween he colou o ood packages,
emo ions and use sa is ac ion. I was also ound ha he colou o he o ice and s udy
en i onmen in luences emo ions, wo k and lea ning pe o mance [16].
App oaches in he ou ism and hospi ali y ield ha e s udied he ela ionship be ween
he emo ional esponse o he colou o a es au an and he in en ion o choose i and
en e [17]. Also, he wo ks p esen ed in [18] demons a e ha gues s who epo ed
emo ions o com o , well-being and elaxa ion can build a ela ionship o loyal y and
in en ion o pay mo e o he se ice. Halle [19] men ions ha colou is he i s hing
ha is pe cei ed when en e ing a oom. I can in luence beha io , eelings, such as
eeling mo e elaxed, ea ing mo e and spending mo e. Coun yman & Jang [6]
demons a ed ha colou s a e he mos in luen ial elemen o a ec o e all ho el lobby
imp ession. The app oaches in [13] speci y ha gues s p e e blue o g een as colou s o
he ooms, since hey ind hese colou s mo e elaxing, and calming and he e o e be e
ooms o ha ing a good quali y o sleep and well- being. In ac , hese colou s a e used
in luxu y ho els o induce pleasu e [20]. On he con a y, he colou ed has been
associa ed wi h high le els o a ousal and es lessness [21] and he e o e i is no
ecommended as he colou o a ho el oom.
The e o e, i is impo an o s udy he link be ween colou , emo ion and beha io . To
unde s and his ela ionship, Meh abian and Russell SOR model [22] a i ms ha he
physical en i onmen ac s as s imuli (S) ha lead o people's emo ions (O), which in u n,
d i e beha io al esponses (R).
Figu e 1. SOR model, ela ionship be ween colou s imuli, emo ions and beha io al esponses
To assess emo ional esponses o en i onmen al s imuli, Russell and Lanius [23]
p opose a model (PA model) conce ning a ec i e app aisals o en i onmen s. I is based
on wo bipola dimensions (Pleasan ness – unpleasan ness; A ousing – no a ousing)
(Figu e 2).
The e o e, his s udy sugges s ha h ough he manipula ion o colou in di e en
elemen s o he physical en i onmen o a ho el oom, emo ions o well-being can be
c ea ed, which in u n, d i e he in en ion o s ay and he p ice ha one would be willing
o pay (Figu e 1).
The p esen s udy also conside s explo ing cul u al in luence in he link be ween
colou and emo ions, since emo ional esponses o colou can be de e mined by cul u al
ai s. Thus, in his pape he ollowing hypo hesis a e going o be explo ed:
H1: The in en ion o s ay is ela ed o colou s.
H2: Changes o he colou o he ho el oom gene a e di e en emo ions.
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 150
H3: The in en ion o s ay in he ho el is ela ed o posi i e emo ions.
H4: The p ice he ou is s a e willing o pay o a oom is ela ed o hei na ionali y.
Figu e 2. Ca ego ical a ec i e desc ip o s loca ed in he space o he PA model. Adap ed om
Russell & Lanius, 1984
The es o he pape is o ganized as ollows, i s a b ie o e iew o he QCD model
used in his app oach is p esen ed, hen he su ey designed o da a collec ion is
desc ibed. Sec ion 4 analyzes he esul s collec ed wi h he su ey o e i y he
hypo hesis de ined. Finally, conclusions and u u e wo k a e p esen ed.
1. O e iew o he Quali a i e Colou Desc ip o (QCD)
The QCD model [24] de ines a e e ence sys em in he HSL colou space o quali a i e
colou desc ip ion, which is buil acco ding o Figu e 3 and de ined as:
QCRS = {uH,uS,uL,QC
NAME1..5
,QC
INT1..5
}
whe e uH is he uni o Hue; uS is he uni o Sa u a ion; uL is he uni o Ligh ness;
QC
NAME1..5
e e s o he colou names; and QC
INT1..5
e e s o he in e als o HSL
coo dina es associa ed wi h each colou . The chosen QC
NAME
and QC
INT
a e shown in
Figu e 3.b
The QCD model has a ela ional s uc u e and i can be o ganized in a concep ual
neighbo hood diag am (CND) [25] acco ding o how a colou can be ans o med in o
ano he by changing i s luminosi y, sa u a ion o hue. A CND o he compu a ional QCD
is buil and shown in Figu e 3(b).
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 151
(a) (b)
Figu e 3. Diag am o desc ibing QCD: (a) Disc e iza ion o he HSL colou space; (b) CND co esponding
o QCD.
2. Design o he Expe imen
An online su ey (Figu e 5) was designed using he LimeSu ey1 so wa e. Using his
ool, a su ey was designed whe e 6 demog aphic ques ions we e de ined ( na ionali y,
gende , age, le el o educa ion, a ou i e colou , and numbe o nigh s in a ho el du ing
las yea ). Then he su ey p esen s a se o 9 images o a ho el oom (see Figu e 4 o
examples). The e we e 3 di e en ypes o ques ions o each image (named base
ques ions). The i s ques ion was aimed a de e mining he ela ionship be ween he
ou is 's emo ion and he colo o a ho el oom, he second ques ion asked o he cona i e
aspec o he ou is ( hei in en ion o s ay in such a oom as he one in he image, i was
a ed using a i e-poin Like scale), and inally he su ey asked abou he p ice ha
he ou is would ag ee o pay o he oom. The i s se o ques ions we e based on a
basic oom a he Ho el Plaza Vic o ia in Ecuado (Figu e 4a), wi h g ay deco a ion. This
oom is used also a he end o he es as a con ol ques ion. Then he colou s o
deco a i e elemen s (g oup 1: cu ain and headboa d, g oup 2: he cushion, oo boa d,
and ableclo h) in he oom we e colo ized using he quali a i e colou s de ined in he
QCD model [25]. Following he app oaches [13-14], and in o de o e i y ha g een
and blue colou s a e p e e ed by he gues s o e ed colou s, he colou s g een, blue, ed
and yellow ha e been chosen o he deco a ion o he deco a i e elemen s o he oom.
Each se o base ques ions was made o wo ooms deco a ed wi h colou s wi h he
symbol g een (as g een, pale g een, da k g een, o ligh g een) in i s label (as in he
example in Figu e 4b), secondly o wo ooms wi h any blue o he QCD deco a ion
(Figu e 4c), hen a oom wi h any g een an any blue deco a ion (Figu e 4d), hen a oom
1
h ps://www.limesu ey.o g/es/.
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 152
wi h only yellow o ed deco a ions (Figu e 4e), and inally a oom wi h ed and yellow
deco a ion was p esen ed (Figu e 4 ). No all he ou is s saw he same image, since he
colou s o he oom we e andomly gene a ed using he QCD model. This means ha ,
o ins ance, he blue colou ooms could p esen di e en RGBs colou s i he
co esponding colou label inside he QCD model had he blue, pale-blue, ligh -blue o
da k-blue label. The same happens wi h he es o colou s. The e o e, each ou is had
o answe he 3 base ques ions ela ed o 9 images o he same ho el oom, bu wi h a
di e en colou . The same oom image was used o a oid pa icipan a igue, and i was
e i ied wi h he membe s o he esea ch eam ha he su ey was ca ied ou quickly
and wi hou a igue.
(a) (b) (c)
(d) (e) ( )
Figu e 4. Examples o images o a ho el oom used in he su ey.
3. Da a Collec ion and Analysis
The expe imen was ca ied ou wi h he collabo a ion o 239 ou is s, mainly Spania ds
and Ecuado ians. Analyzing he da a collec ed wi h he su ey, he ou is s answe ing
51.9% we e emale, 36.4% pa icipan s we e male, and 11.7% p e e ed no o say hei
gende ; he age o pa icipan s anged om 18 o 60 yea s, and 38.9% had g adua e
deg ees and 38.9% had pos g adua e deg ees. The majo i y (70%) o he pa icipan s
spen 15 o ewe days a yea in a ho el oom.
Nex , he collec ed esul s a e analyzed in ela ion wi h he ini ial hypo hesis de ined.
H1: The in en ion o s ay is ela ed o he colou s.
To examine he e ec s o colou s on he in en ion o s ay a he ho el, ou is s we e
asked i s o e alua e a oom ho el wi h g ay deco a ion as ou basis (g ay scale o
neu al colou ), and 62% o hem answe ed a posi i e in en ion o s ay in he ho el (see
Table 1). This shows ha upon a i s obse a ion, he g ay deco a ion is accep ed by he
ou is s. Also g ay has been chosen as he baseline colou because i is conside ed a
neu al and p ac ical hue, desc ibed as se ious o s a ely and associa ed wi h o icial
buildings [26].
Then, by a ying he colou s o he oom, and p esen ing se en andom ooms wi h
di e en colou deco a ions o each o he 239 use s, 1673 esponses we e ob ained (see
Table 1). The esul s shows ha he in en ion o s ay in he same oom was 44%, which
is lowe han he baseline, and indica es ha no all colou s a e sui able o he in e io
o a oom and may ha e a nega i e e ec . The e o e, due o he di e ence be ween hese
alues (44% and 62%), he hypo hesis is con i med: he colou o a oom signi ican ly
in luences he in en ion o s ay.
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 153

H2: Changes o he colou o he ho el oom gene a e di e en emo ions.
Table 1. In en ion o s ay and colou
G ay Colou
F ecuency % F ecuency %
Doub 057 24 396 24
No 033 14 541 32
Yes 149 62 736 44
To al 239 100 1673 100
To examine he e ec o he colou change o he base oom on he emo ional esponses
based on he PA model, ou is s we e asked o a e andomly gene a ed oom images
wi h combina ions o blue, g een, ed, and yellow colou s. A con as o p opo ions is
used in o de o es he hypo hesis ha changes in he colou o he deco a ion o he
ooms signi ican ly a ec and change he emo ions o he ou is s. Fo his, i he
adjec i e o he g ay oom is no changed, he a iable akes he alue 0 and o he wise 1
(see Table 2). Thus, i colou does no a ec emo ion, he p obabili y (p) o change he
emo ions is ze o, ha is p = 0, ne e heless he hypo hesis is elaxed and he null
hypo hesis is H0: “Colou does no a ec emo ions ( p ≤ 0.2)”.
Figu e 5. Example o he su ey and he base ques ions o a blue oom.
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 154
The esul s o he con as o p opo ions showed ha he p- alue is close o ze o;
he e o e, he null hypo hesis is ejec ed and hence, i can be concluded ha changes in
he colou o he oom deco a ion change he emo ions. I is impo an o no e ha 86%
o esponses change he emo ion wi h espec o he g ay oom.
Table 2. F equency o change o emo ion in ela ion o di e en colou deco a ions o a ho el
oom.
Change emo ion F ecuency %
0 242 14%
1 1431 86%
To al 1673 100%
H3: The in en ion o s ay in he ho el is ela ed o posi i e emo ions
F om he esponses o he pa icipan s, a new a iable called “posi i e emo ion” has
been c ea ed as ollows: i he emo ions a e “Calm”, “Happiness”, “Relaxa ion”, he
posi i e emo ion is 1; i he emo ions a e “Dep ession”, “S ess”, “Tension” and
“Sadness” he posi i e emo ion is -1; and i he emo ion is “Exci ing”, hen he posi i e
emo ion is 0.
Hence, he con ingency able be ween his new a iable is gi en in Table 3. A Chi
squa e es was applied o con i m he ela ionship be ween posi i e emo ions and he
in en ion o s ay in he ho el and he p- alue o his es was 1.17 e-230, which indica es
ha he wo a iables a e ela ed.
H4: The p ice he/she a e willing o pay o a oom is ela ed o he na ionali y.
A box plo compa ing he p ice ha Spanish and Ecuado ian ou is s a e willing o pay
o a oom is shown in Figu e 6. To his, all he cu ency uni s ha e been con e ed o
eu os
2
in o de o be able o compa e he alues. I can be seen in Figu e 3 ha Spania ds
a e willing o pay mo e o he oom han Ecuado ians.
Table 3. In en ion o s ay
Doub No Yes All
Posi i e
emo ion
-1 246 496 35 777
0 62 22 88 172
1 88 23 613 724
All 396 541 736 1673
Figu e 6. The p ice ha he ou is s a e willing o pay
2
Change o day 30/04/2021
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 155
Table 4 shows ha on a e age Spania ds would be willing o pay 49.56 eu os, while
Ecuado ians would pay 23.62 eu os less han Spania ds. This is na u al due o he ac
ha Spania ds ha e g ea e pu chasing powe . This was con i med by Du án-Román,
Cá denas-Ga cía, & Pulido-Fe nández [27], ha he willingness o pay o imp o e he
expe ience in he des ina ion has a di ec ela ionship wi h he income and budge o he
ou is s isi ing Andalucía. Al hough income allows paying mo e o a se ice, o he
s udies ound ha na ionali y had a mo e signi ican e ec on willingness o pay o some
ou ism ac i i y han o he ac o s [28], e en he o eign isi o s' willingness o pay is
wice ha o domes ic isi o s' willingness o pay [29].
In o de o es he hypo hesis, he Mann Whi ney Tes ( es o di e ence o mean) has
been used and a p- alue o 8.28 e-14 is ob ained. The e o e, he e is signi ica i e
di e ence be ween he mean alues willing o pay o a oom be ween Ecuado ians and
Spania ds.
Table 4. A e age willingness o pay o a oom
Nacionali y P ice
(€)
Coun Mean S anda d
de ia ion
Ecuado 177.0 25.94 15.16
Spain
43.0 49.56 18.09
O he
19.0 32.423 21.796
4. Conclusions and Fu u e Wo k
This s udy s udied he ela ion be ween he colou o he deco a ion o he oom in a ho el
and he ou is s’ emo ions. Also, i s udied i he colou deco a ion o he ooms a ec s
ou is s’ in en ion o s ay in he ho el, and inally i s udied he p ice ha ou is s a e
willing o pay o a oom and he di e ences be ween di e en cul u es: Spanish and
Ecuado ian ou is s. The indings o he s udy poin ou ha he colou o a oom
signi ican ly in luences he in en ion o s ay and he emo ions e oked by he oom.
Mo eo e , he esul s showed ha no all colou s a e sui able o he in e io deco a ion
o a oom; he e o e, he inco ec selec ion o he colou o ha deco a ion can a ec
he ou is s’ emo ions and he in en ion o s ay in he ho el. This ein o ces he inding
showed in Tan ana ewin & Inka oj i [33], ha exp essed ha in e io design, wi h colou
as he mos in luen ial ac o , in luences he beha io o people.
The indings om his s udy also show ha he e is a ela ionship be ween posi i e
emo ions and he in en ion o s ay in he ho el. And inally, ega ding he willingness o
pay o a ho el oom, he esul s o his s udy con i m he ini ial hypo hesis, which
es ablished ha he p ice ha he ou is s a e willing o pay o a oom is ela ed o hei
na ionali y. Ou indings indica e ha Spania ds a e willing o pay mo e o a oom han
Ecuado ians.
In gene al, unde s anding he link be ween colou , emo ion and beha io can guide
ho el manage s in selec ing he app op ia e colou o s a egically manipula e gues s’
emo ions and an a ec i e commi men be ween he clien and he ho el. The e o e, he
esul s o his s udy a e impo an in o de o c ea e a ecommende sys em o ho el
ma ke ing ma e ials. The u u e ecommende sys em is in ended o be used o aise he
impac o he ma ke ing ma e ials among p ospec i e ou is s and hen imp o e he
ou is ic image o he ho el. In his way, he ecommende sys em can be also used o
design cus omized ma e ials o di e en ypes o clien s.
M.P. Buenaño e al. / The Emo ional Impac o Ho el Room Colou 156
As u u e wo k, he speci ic colou s ha enhance ou is s' pe cep ions and emo ions
and gene a e a posi i e emo ion inc easing hei in en ion o s ay in he ho el will be
s udied. Also, he s udy will be complemen ed wi h he analysis o he mood o a pe son
and i s e ec on he emo ion and beha io .
Acknowledgmen s
This p ojec has been unded by he Minis y o Economy and Comme ce wi h p ojec
con ac TIN2016-88835-RET and by he Uni e si a Jaume I wi h p ojec con ac UJI-
B2020-15. Also, his esea ch has been pa ially suppo ed by he EDITH Resea ch
P ojec (PGC2018-102145-B-C21,C22 (AEI/FEDER, UE)), unded by he Spanish
Minis y o Science, Inno a ion and Uni e si ies.
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