Revenue management, hedonic pricing models and the effects of operational attributes

Abstract

Utilising secondary data, the present study investigated the effect of operational attributes and product type (cuisine) on the price that consumers paid in restaurants. Contrary to the commonly held belief, food quality generally had the lowest impact on price. High-end restaurants differed significantly from low-end restaurants on the effect of food, service and ambiance quality on the price that consumers paid. Study results clearly indicated that high-end restaurants displayed a concave curve in all three operational attributes in relation to increasing price points. For low-end restaurants, the curves of operational attributes were either horizontal or convex in relation to increasing price points.