Purpose: This paper aims to examine the influences of the number of hotel management responses and especially the textual similarity in hotel management responses to online reviews on hotel online booking. Design/methodology/approach: This study used the data from 437 hotels in New York City on Expedia. The data specifically include online reviews, management responses and real-time number of online hotel bookings, which were merged to create one dataset for this study. To calculate the management response similarity, three widely recognized text mining functions of calculating textual similarity were adopted in this model. Fixed-effect panel data model was then used to examine the influence of management response to consumer online reviews on online hotel booking volume. Findings: The empirical results demonstrate that the number of management responses to consumer online reviews does not significantly affect hotel booking; compared to none or only one management response, or management responses with low similarity, management responses with high similarity can significantly reduce the hotel booking on Expedia. Practical implications: This study suggests that the similarity of management responses influences customers’ hotel booking, and hotel managers should avoid providing too similar management responses. Originality/value: First, this study, for the first time, proposes the concept of management response similarity and its measurement methods. Second, this study takes an initial attempt to empirically test the influence of response similarity on hotel booking by using secondary data online.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the direct relationships between behavioral intention and factors driving the growth of the wellness tourism industry in the USA. Relationships were hypothesized based on alternative explanations for the rise in popularity of wellness tourism in research streams. Design/methodology/approach: Two models were estimated and tested using the theory of planned behavior (TPB), each incorporating two constructs – Life stress and involvement in health – in addition to theoretically stipulated precursors to Behavioral Intention. Findings: Both constructs were found to be significant predictors of behavioral intention. However, involvement proved a much stronger predictor than life stress. Implications for the management and marketing of this subsector are discussed in the paper. Originality/value: This study extends the understanding of travelers’ behavioral intentions in the context of wellness tourism by using an extended TPB, with life stress and involvement in health and wellness considered. The study compares general travelers with current/potential wellness travelers (excluding those whose sole purpose was wellness) and the factors that influence their travel behavior.

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the Norm Activation Model (NAM) are often employed to examine behavioral intention, but the perspective and attribute differences of these two models have been largely neglected. This study applies TPB and NAM to analyze and compare the intention of trail tourists to undertake environmentally responsible behavior (ERB), which may directly affect the sustainability of the trail system and the surrounding areas. A survey research approach was employed, and 452 responses were collected from tourists in three national forest trails in China. Beginners and experienced trail tourists were also categorized in the study for comparison purposes. Structural equation modeling was utilized in data analysis. The results demonstrate that the TPB model and the NAM model, which represent rationality and morality perspective respectively, are both suitable in explaining the intention of trail tourists to undertake ERB. Comparatively, the TPB model’s rationality perspective shows applicability in explaining both beginner and experienced trail tourists’ intention of undertaking ERB, whereas the NAM morality model only applies to experienced trail tourists. The study provides insights into better understanding and promotion recommendations of ERB in national forest trails.