JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING

What are guests scared of? Crime-related hotel experiences and fear of crime

Leung, Xi Y.; Yang, Yang; Dubin, Elliot A.

Abstract

This study aims to explore the typology of hotel crime and how it is related to guests’ fear of crime based on a cause-and-consequence model. A total of 873 TripAdvisor reviews were content-analyzed to develop a typology of hotel crime. High-class hotels experienced more theft, fraud, and burglary while low-class hotels encountered more prostitution and drug-related activities. Hotel guests generated a higher fear of crime when crime occurred inside guest rooms, especially in cases of burglary, theft, or fraud. Reviews mentioning crimes were perceived to be more helpful. Managerial implications and best practices of crime prevention are provided for hotel practitioners.

Keywords

Hotel crime; fear of crime; online reviews; crime typology; correspondence analysis; hierarchical linear model

Research topic

AI and Big Data, Sustainability and Resilience

Research method

Econometrics, Big Data

Geographic area

US

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Additional links for this paper

ResearchGate

Publisher Website

Web of Science

HOW TO CITE

Leung, X., Yang, Y., and Dubin, E. A. (2018). What are guests scared of? Crime-related hotel experiences and fear of crime. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 35(8), 1071-1086.

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