Electronic word‐of‐mouth and Indian solo female travellers’ hotel booking intention: Moderating role of perceived risk

Abstract

The female solo travel trend is getting very popular globally, but females often face challenges related to their safety and security during their travel. The current study aims to identify the association among electronic word‐of‐mouth (e‐WoM), brand reputation, brand engagement, attitude towards the brand and Indian solo female travellers’ hotel booking intention with the moderating role of perceived risk by incorporating the Stimulus‐Organism‐Response (S‐O‐R) theory. A survey was conducted with 218 Indian solo female travellers to meet the study's objectives. Findings revealed that e‐WoM positively impacts the hotel brand reputation, brand engagement, attitude of respondents towards the hotel brand and hotel booking intention. Moreover, brand reputation and brand engagement influence the hotel booking intention. However, no association is found between attitude towards hotel brands and hotel booking intention. Perceived risk moderates the association between e‐WoM and Indian solo female travellers’ hotel booking intention. In addition, theoretically, a research framework is developed by extending the S‐O‐R theory with perceived risk as a moderating factor. Moreover, this study contributes numerous practical implications for the stakeholders of the Indian hospitality industry.