Role of affective forecasting in customers’ hotel service experiences

Purpose: Research on the role of affective forecasting in hotel service experiences is in its infancy, and several crucial questions remain unanswered. This study aims to posit that affective forecasting is a significant antecedent of customers’ affective reactions during a hotel stay. The authors investigate how customers’ service quality expectations influence their affective forecasting and how customers’ affective forecasting before an upcoming hotel service experience influences their affective reactions during the hotel service experience. Design/methodology/approach: The authors collected data through online questionnaires distributed among 634 US adults who had stayed at a hotel within the past month. Findings: The results show that: service quality expectations influence affective forecasting; affective forecasting influences affective reactions; service quality expectations influence perceived service quality, thereby influencing affective reactions and affective reactions and service quality perception influence electronic Word-Of-Mouth intentions. Practical implications: The study suggests that hotel managers should identify what hotel performance attributes customers value most and depict how these attributes elicit positive affective reactions in advertising to influence customers’ purchase decisions. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies to investigate the antecedents and consequences of affective forecasting in hotel service experiences.