Vol. 29 No. 2 (2025)
Articles

THE EFFECT OF HEDONIC AND UTILITARIAN FACTORS ON OVERALL HOTEL RATINGS ON BOOKING.COM: EVIDENCE FROM FOUR-STAR HOTELS IN VARNA

Download
  • Radostina Prodanova
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7546/PsyRB.2025.28.02.06

Published 11/21/2025 — Updated on 05/04/2026

Keywords

  • customer satisfaction,
  • perceived value,
  • hedonic value,
  • utilitarian value,
  • online ratings

How to Cite

Prodanova, R. (2026). THE EFFECT OF HEDONIC AND UTILITARIAN FACTORS ON OVERALL HOTEL RATINGS ON BOOKING.COM: EVIDENCE FROM FOUR-STAR HOTELS IN VARNA. Psychological Research (in the Balkans), 29(2). https://doi.org/10.7546/PsyRB.2025.28.02.06

Copyright (c) 2025 Psychological Research (in the Balkans)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Every product and service provides consumers with two types of value: utilitarian and hedonic. Utilitarian value is associated with functional and practical benefits, while hedonic value reflects emotional and sensory experiences. Together, these components form the consumer’s perceived value, which in the context of the hotel industry is most commonly manifested through the overall online rating on accommodation platforms. The aim of the present study is to determine which of the two value dimensions—utilitarian or hedonic—has a stronger influence on the formation of the overall hotel rating. For this purpose, the individual subcategories of the rating system on Booking.com (value for money, cleanliness, facilities, location, comfort, and staff) were conceptually classified into the two value dimensions. The study covers 63 four-star hotels located in the municipality of Varna, Bulgaria.Based on the collected data, two linear regression models were applied to assess the influence of each value dimension on the overall rating. The results indicate that both dimensions have a strong and statistically significant effect, with utilitarian factors exerting a slightly stronger impact (R² = 0.921) compared to hedonic factors (R² = 0.878). These findings highlight the importance of balancing functional quality with positive emotional experiences in order to enhance the perceived value of the stay and strengthen the hotel’s competitiveness in the online environment.

Download

References

  1. Allard, T., Babin, B. J., & Chebat, J.-C. (2009). When income matters: Customers evaluation of shopping malls’
  2. hedonic and utilitarian orientations. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 16(1), 40–49.
  3. Anderson, C. (2012). The impact of social media on lodging performance.
  4. Avcilar, M. Y., & Özsoy, T. (2015). Determining the effects of perceived utilitarian and hedonic value on online
  5. shopping intentions. International Journal of Marketing Studies, 7(6), 27–49.
  6. Babin, B. J., Darden, W. R., & Griffin, M. (1994). Work and/or fun: Measuring hedonic and utilitarian shopping
  7. value. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(4), 644–656.
  8. Babin, B. J., Lee, Y., Kim, E., & Griffin, M. (2005). Modeling consumer satisfaction and word‐of‐mouth:
  9. Restaurant patronage in Korea. Journal of Services Marketing, 19(3), 133–139.
  10. Basaran, U., & Buyukyilmaz, O. (2015). The Effects of Utilitarian and Hedonic Values on Young Consumers
  11. Satisfaction and Behavioral Intentions. Eurasian Journal of Business and Economics, 8(16), 1–18.
  12. Butcher, K., Sparks, B., & O’Callaghan, F. (2003). Beyond core service. Psychology & Marketing, 20(3), 187–
  13. Carpenter, J. M. (2008). Consumer shopping value, satisfaction and loyalty in discount retailing. Journal of
  14. Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(5), 358–363.
  15. Chitturi, R., Raghunathan, R., & Mahajan, V. (2008). Delight by design: The role of hedonic versus utilitarian
  16. benefits. Journal of Marketing, 72(3), 48–63.
  17. Dhar, R., & Wertenbroch, K. (2000). Consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian goods. Journal of
  18. Marketing Research, 37(1), 60–71.
  19. Ha, J., & Jang, S. S. (2010). Perceived values, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions: The role of familiarity in
  20. Korean restaurants. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 29(1), 2–13.
  21. Hanzaee, K. H., & Rezaeyeh, S. P. (2013). Investigation of the effects of hedonic value and utilitarian value on
  22. customer satisfaction and behavioural intentions. African Journal of Business Management, 7(11), 818.
  23. Ilieva, D., & Ivanov, S. H. (2014). Analysis of online hotel ratings: The case of Bansko, Bulgaria. Bulgaria
  24. (September 15, 2014).
  25. Javed, F., & Cheema, S. (2017). Customer satisfaction and customer perceived value and its impact on customer
  26. loyalty: The mediational role of customer relationship management. Journal of Internet Banking and
  27. Commerce, 22(S8).
  28. Jezierski, A. (2022). Determinanty satysfakcji z usług polskich hoteli–analiza ocen z Booking. Com. Studia
  29. Periegetica, 38(2), 9–30.
  30. Jones, M. A., Reynolds, K. E., & Arnold, M. J. (2006). Hedonic and utilitarian shopping value: Investigating
  31. differential effects on retail outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 59(9), 974–981.
  32. Kim, B., & Han, I. (2011). The role of utilitarian and hedonic values and their antecedents in a mobile data
  33. service environment. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(3), 2311–2318.
  34. Klegr, T. (2024). Comparing Airbnb and traditional accommodation experiences using text-mining methods–the
  35. hedonic and utilitarian values framework. European Journal of Tourism Research, 38, 3804–3804.
  36. Leung, X. Y., & Yang, Y. (2020). Are all five points equal? Scaling heterogeneity in hotel online ratings.
  37. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 88, 102539.
  38. Li, H., Liu, Y., Tan, C.-W., & Hu, F. (2020). Comprehending customer satisfaction with hotels: Data analysis of
  39. consumer-generated reviews. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(5),
  40. –1735.
  41. Mellinas, J. P., María-Dolores, S.-M. M., & García, J. J. B. (2016). Effects of the Booking. Com scoring system.
  42. Tourism Management, 57, 80–83.
  43. Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria. (2025). National Tourism Register. Retrieved June 1, 2025,
  44. from https://ntr.tourism.government.bg/
  45. Overby, J. W., & Lee, E.-J. (2006). The effects of utilitarian and hedonic online shopping value on consumer
  46. preference and intentions. Journal of Business Research, 59(10–11), 1160–1166.
  47. Pallas, F., Mittal, V., & Groening, C. (2014). Allocation of resources to customer satisfaction and delight based
  48. on utilitarian and hedonic benefits. Journal of Research in Marketing, 2(1), 106–112.
  49. Proserpio, D., & Zervas, G. (2017). Online reputation management: Estimating the impact of management
  50. responses on consumer reviews. Marketing Science, 36(5), 645–665.
  51. Radojevic, T., Stanisic, N., & Stanic, N. (2017). Inside the rating scores: A multilevel analysis of the factors
  52. influencing customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 58(2), 134–164.
  53. Radojevic, T., Stanisic, N., Stanic, N., & Davidson, R. (2018). The effects of traveling for business on customer
  54. satisfaction with hotel services. Tourism Management, 67, 326–341.
  55. Ryu, K., Han, H., & Jang, S. (2010). Relationships among hedonic and utilitarian values, satisfaction and
  56. behavioral intentions in the fast‐casual restaurant industry. International Journal of Contemporary
  57. Hospitality Management, 22(3), 416–432.
  58. Scholl-Grissemann, U., & Schnurr, B. (2016). Room with a view: How hedonic and utilitarian choice options of
  59. online travel agencies affect consumers’ booking intentions. International Journal of Culture, Tourism
  60. and Hospitality Research, 10(4), 361–376.
  61. Shiji Group. (n.d.). Shiji ReviewPro’s 2023 Guest Experience Benchmark Report reveals substantial industry
  62. recovery [Guest Experience Benchmark Report]. Retrieved June 25, 2025, from
  63. https://www.shijigroup.com/press-news/shiji-reviewpros-2023-guest-experience-benchmark-report-
  64. reveals-substantial-industry-recovery
  65. Tamir, M., Mitchell, C., & Gross, J. J. (2008). Hedonic and instrumental motives in anger regulation.
  66. Psychological Science, 19(4), 324–328.
  67. Viglia, G., Minazzi, R., & Buhalis, D. (2016). The influence of e-word-of-mouth on hotel occupancy rate.
  68. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(9), 2035–2051.
  69. Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of
  70. evidence. Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2–22.