Independent travelling decision-making on B&B selection: exploratory analysis of Chinese travellers to Taiwan

Abstract

Independent travellers who have a greater need for novelty display a preference for staying at bed and breakfast (B&B) establishments. However, few studies have explored B&Bs from the perspective of independent travellers, resulting in a lack of understanding of their B&B needs and how they choose. This study addresses this gap by exploring B&B selection factors for independent travellers. Data were collected from 30 in-depth interviews and 345 questionnaires with Chinese independent travellers visiting Taiwan. The findings explored five factors including friendly service, localization and safety, environmental convenience, ecological conservation and experiential activity. Two market segments were also identified, each with significantly different B&B need characteristics. Appropriate strategies were discussed to reconcile B&B services within each segment.

Keywords::

• bed and breakfast
• independent traveller
• cluster analysis
• Taiwan

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of a researcher Hsin, I-Chia.

Notes

^1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Funding

A part of the research was supported by The Industry-Academia Collaboration Project of Industrial Park in 2009, Ministry of Education, Taiwan.