KEY FACTORS AFFECTING THE BUYING BEHAVIOR OF FOREIGN CONSUMERS WHEN ACCOMMODATING HOSTELS IN THAILAND. The purpose of this paper is to observe the consumption behavior of foreign travelers when choosing a hostel to stay in Thailand and to understand the key factors that influence their shopping behavior for hostels. The findings of this research show that the most important factors that foreign travelers consider when deciding to purchase accommodation in a hostel are that the hostel must provide internet service and the cleanliness of the bedroom and bathroom.
The main purpose of this study is "What are the key factors influencing the buying behavior of foreign backpackers to choose accommodation in Thailand?" and. To observe the consumer behavior of foreign backpackers when choosing the hostel to stay in Thailand. To understand the key factors influencing the purchasing behavior of foreign backpackers on hostels in Thailand.
The research focuses on the foreign backpackers because they are the main groups that stay in hostels. To use the data to identify which factors influence the purchasing behavior of foreign backpackers for hostels in Thailand.
LITERATURE REVIEW AND FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT
- The Backpackers
- The Hostel
- Conceptual Framework
- Question
- Hypothesis Summary
Hecht and Martin, (2006) key finding is "Backpackers cannot be treated as a homogenous group and there are differences due to demographic gender, age and country of origin." Locker, (2005) finds that there are four critical factors that influence the choice of hotel accommodation, which are location, price, facilities and cleanliness. There are four key factors that hostel management should focus on to compete or consider in development.
What is the important factor influencing foreign backpackers' purchasing behavior for hostels in Thailand? The backpackers cannot be treated as a homogeneous group, and there are differences due to demographic characteristics of gender, age and country of origin.”. H1: The main factors influencing foreign backpackers' purchasing behavior for hostels in Thailand are different for men and women.
H2: The key factor influencing the accommodation buying behavior of foreign backpackers for hostels in Thailand differs in age groups. H3: The key factor influencing the Accommodation Buying Behavior of Foreign Backpackers for Hostels in Thailand differs by country of origin.
METHODLOGY
Sample size
Questionnaire Designs
Data Analysis
FINDINGS
- Demographic Information
- Travelling time and typical accommodation
- Main Finding
- Compare Mean and Cross tabulation Analysis
- Gender
- Age Group
- Country of origin
The results show that based on the five criteria, more than 90% of backpackers think that the hostel's overall cleanliness, bedroom cleanliness, bathroom cleanliness, kitchen cleanliness and dormitory cleanliness are somewhat important to extremely important. The results show that over 70% of backpackers consider the hostel that offers the lowest possible price so they can spend money on other things somewhat important to very important, with an average score of 3.3. Furthermore, more than 90% of backpackers think that the hostel that offers value for money and offers a good balance between good location and price is also somewhat important to extremely important.
The results show that, based on four criteria, more than 70% of travelers consider a hostel that offers lockers, safes, a 24-hour reception and locks on windows and doors to be somewhat important to extremely important. The results show that based on three criteria, more than 70% of travelers believe that a hostel that has a laundry room has a bus pickup service. In addition, more than 90% of travelers believe that a hostel with good internet service (Wi-Fi) is most important.
Furthermore, more than 90% of backpackers think that the hostel that has good online reviews from guests who stayed there is the most important. The hotel is listed on an online booking website with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.com. The hotel is listed on an online booking website with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.Com.
The hotel is listed on an online booking website with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.Com.]. The hotel is listed on an online booking website with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.Com.]” (P-value = 0.016). The hotel is listed on an online booking website with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.Com.] (Mean 3.83 vs 3.25).
CONCLUSIONS
- Discussion
- Contribution of the Study
- Recommendations
- Limitations
- Future Research
This research divides the respondents into two age groups which are the younger group (age between 15 – 25 years old) and the older group (age 26 years old and above). The factor that is more important for the younger group is the location of the residence which is close to attractions, bars and restaurants. It is more important for the older group that the hostel has a pick-up service from bus/train stations, provides travel information, the hostel has a website and the hostel is listed on an online. booking site with guest reviews, such as Expedia or Booking.Com.
This research supports the theory of factor relationship principles as identified in previous research in the literature. According to the results, all factors can significantly influence the purchasing decision of foreign travelers for hotel accommodation at different levels. The results of the current survey show that cleanliness and internet service are the most important factors in foreign travelers' decision to purchase accommodation.
Hostel owner and investors should focus on these two factors as important selling points of their hostel. This survey only covers groups of tourists traveling in July. The majority of respondents come from Europe, so this research cannot analyze the hypothesis whether there are differences between nationalities in the factors that influence their decision to purchase hotel accommodation.
There is a new type of accommodation called "Airbnb" that can be considered a new competitive threat to the hospitality business, becoming more popular these days. Future research could study the comparison between hostels and Airbnb: which one they would choose more as accommodation and why.
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Questionnaires
