Repeated stay in homestay accommodation: an implicit self-theory perspective

ABSTRACT

This study applies implicit self-theory as a theoretical lens to investigate whether guests’ inclination to use homestays in future trips is contingent on their implicit beliefs of the reality. Based on an analysis of data obtained from 30 in-depth interviews, most of the homestay guests who are entity theorists will use homestays again because they had a positive previous experience and felt that they are receiving good value for their money. The primary reason of those who decide not to use homestays again is a poor prior experience. The homestay guests who are incremental theorists will use homestays again because homestays can offer learning opportunities. However, privacy concern is the key reason that inhibits their inclination to use homestays in future trips. The current research findings echo the tenets of implicit self-theory in the realms of risk sensitivity, outcome- versus process-orientation as well as reliance (or non-reliance) on past experience. It is recommended that homestay hosts gain a better understanding of their guests based on their implicit beliefs and thereby adaptively managing future visitations.

KEYWORDS:

• Homestay accommodation
• implicit self-theory
• entity theorist
• incremental theorist
• repeated stay

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tuan Phong Ly

Tuan Phong Ly, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Tourism Management of Macao Institute for Tourism Studies. His research interests are national park management model, ecotourism management, museum management, and tourist behaviour. His articles have been published in Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, and more.

Daniel Leung

Daniel Leung, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has co-authored a number of research articles in first-tier academic journals, and his research interests are in the areas of electronic marketing, technology adoption as well as tourism website evaluation.

Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong

Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Dean (International and External Relations) in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Macau. His research interests include tourism impact, tourist behaviour, and social media marketing. His articles appeared at Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, and more.