Pet influencer marketing appeal in hotel booking: Exploring the power of message appeal and boundary conditions

Abstract

Influencer marketing, as a booming phenomenon, has huge potential for marketing research and practices. This paper tackles the topic of pet influencers on social media, more specifically, dog influencers on Instagram, to examine their effectiveness in guiding hotel guests’ booking intention. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the joint effects of message appeal and prior experience (Study 1, n = 129) and message appeal and perceived attractiveness (Study 2, n = 255) on hotel booking intention. The findings reveal that individuals with less experience are more influenced by rational messages, while those with more experience show no significant preference. Additionally, rational messages are more effective when perceived attractiveness is low. This research fills a gap in understanding the effectiveness of pet influencer marketing and its nuances, providing valuable insights for marketers in the era of social media, particularly in leveraging the unique appeal of pet-human relationships through online marketing tools.