The Relationship between a Hotel's Safe Image and Tourists' Patronage Intention under the Threat of COVID-19

Abstract

Based on the principles of the social exchange theory and protection motivation theory, this study extended the investigation by Atadil & Lu (2021) and adopted the safe image scale they developed. Through the results of the questionnaire, this study examined how guests' perception of a hotel's star rating might affect its safe image and how a hotel's safe image and guests' perceived risk might affect their trust in the hotel and patronage intention. A total of 94 hotels have participated in the survey, and 949 valid questionnaires have been returned. Through factor analysis, correlation analysis, variance analysis, and structural equation modeling analysis, this study found significant differences in star rating perception of the four dimensions of the safe image, a significant moderation effect of perceived risk on the relationship between safe image and trust, and a relationship between safe image, trust, and patronage intention. The value of this study is that under the threat of COVID-19, it has built an influence model of guests' intention to patronize a hotel, thereby providing empirical contributions to the social exchange theory and protection motivation theory, as well as proposing practical suggestions on how hoteliers may improve customer trust.