Does photo presentation matter for increasing booking intention?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Guests heavily rely on photos to evaluate accommodation properties, due to hospitality’s intangible and experiential nature. However, little is known for how to effectively present photos for increasing a guest’s booking intention. Drawing from cue consistency theory, this study examines the effects of photo presentation (i.e., the number of photos, organization of photos, and congruency of the first photo with a headline) on booking intention. The findings indicate that a higher number of photos, organized photos, and congruent first photo with a headline enhance customers’ booking intention. The interaction effects suggest that the organized photos foster booking intention at a lower number of photos with an incongruent first photo with a headline. However, if the first photo is congruent with a headline, customers have no different booking intention between the higher and lower number of photos, regardless of the organization. Implications and limitations are discussed.