Preference for utilitarian or hedonic value options during a pandemic crisis: The moderation effects of childhood socioeconomic status and sensation-seeking.

This research investigated hospitality consumers' relative preferences for utilitarian or hedonic value under COVID-19 pandemic conditions. A series of four experiments and one secondary data analysis showed that the salience of the infectious disease threat increased consumers' preferences for hospitality options that provide relatively more utilitarian than hedonic value. Additionally, we identified two individual differences (i.e., childhood socioeconomic status (SES) & sensation-seeking) that moderated the effect of the infectious disease threat on the preferred hospitality consumption value. Specifically, the higher the childhood SES, the higher was the preference for the utilitarian value option, and the lower the level of sensation-seeking, the greater was the preference for the utilitarian value option. This research extends our understanding of the influence of the infectious disease threat on preference changes in hospitality decisions.

Determining the attributes that influence students' online learning satisfaction during COVID-19 pandemic.

The inevitable disruptions caused by COVID-19 in the hospitality and tourism education sector have made online learning a necessity rather than an option. This study employs the user experience questionnaire (UEQ) to examine students' online learning experiences specifically in the context of COVID-19. Data collection involved a Qualtrics online survey with a convenience sample of 216 tourism and hospitality students in Macau. Overall, results point to a generally positive appraisal of online attributes, but satisfaction is marginal. Initial principal component factor analysis generated three orthogonal factors of online learning attributes: "Perspicuity and dependability"; "Stimulation and attractiveness"; and "Usability and innovation". Further regression analysis reveals that "Stimulation and attractiveness" is the strongest predictor of the students' satisfaction regarding online learning during the COVID-19 disruptions. This novel finding points to the need for hospitality and tourism education institutions to develop an attractive and motivating visual environment for online course delivery since a stimulating online learning atmosphere is crucial in the context of the pedagogical disruptions caused by COVID-19. Nonetheless, these findings are specific to Chinese students and reflect their learning satisfaction which may differ in other contexts.

Preference for robot service or human service in hotels? Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are becoming more prominent in the tourism industry. Nowadays, consumers are faced with multiple options involving both human and robot interactions. A series of experimental studies were implemented. Four experiments demonstrated that consumers had a more positive attitude toward robot-staffed (vs. human-staffed) hotels when COVID-19 was salient. The results were different from previous studies, which were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the moderating role of perceived threat in consumers' preference for robot-staffed hotels was significant, the respondents' preference was attributed to the global health crisis. This research provides a number of theoretical and managerial implications by improving the understanding of technology acceptance during a health crisis.