Gender and Demand-Based Pricing: Differences in Perceived (Un)Fairness and Repatronage Intentions

ABSTRACT Revenue management practices by hotel firms are increasingly coming under scrutiny, partly because of perceived unfairness stemming from variable or demand-based pricing. Under the umbrella of demand based pricing in hotels, the two objectives of the study were to examine gender differences in perceived price fairness and subsequent repurchase intentions. Drawing on previous published research in revenue management, both discount and surplus frames of reference were used in this study. Results show statistically significant differences where females perceived significantly lesser fairness across all pricing scenarios in both discount and surplus frames. However, when it came to repatronage intentions, gender differences were only partially supported. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.