Impact of Pricing Strategies on Hotel Reservation Decision-Making: An Empirical Study in the Rajasthan Tourism Sector

Abstract

Pricing in the hospitality industry is a critical factor in the determination of reservations by customers in the hospitality industry, which is very competitive. Nevertheless, even though the dynamic and promotional pricing models were widely used, there is not much empirical evidence on what dimension of pricing would have the strongest influence on accommodation booking behavior. The main issue is how various pricing perceptions e.g. fairness, corporate pricing, seasonal adjustments, and psychological framing are interconnected to form consumer decision-making. This study aimed to determine how six strategies of pricing (Dynamic Pricing, Seasonal Pricing, Discount Pricing, Corporate Pricing, Psychological Pricing, and Price Fairness) affected the reservation decision that had been undertaken before. A quantitative research design was taken, and primary data were gathered with the help of a structured questionnaire which had five-point Likert scale measurements. ANOVA and Multiple Linear Regression were applied on a sample population of 50 respondents. Part, Eta Squared was used to measure effect size, which was determined to discover the extent and magnitude of the influence of each variable. The findings indicated that any pricing strategy has a significant influence on the decision of reservation (p < 0.05). Of them, the most influential predictors were Price Fairness, Corporate Pricing and Psychological Pricing. The regression model exhibited a high explanatory power (R2= 0.72) meaning that the perception of pricing can explain about 72% of the variation in the booking decisions. The analysis has found that price-related mechanisms driven by fairness and orderliness are more effective than just dynamic changes, provide strategic information to the hotel industry, and competitive positioning.