Hotel virtual reality advertising: a presence-mediated model and gender effects

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of two types of hotel commercials [virtual reality (VR) versus traditional commercials] by proposing and testing a presence-mediated model along with gender effects. Design/methodology/approach An experimental design is used to test the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected in China, and the Shangri-La hotel brand was chosen. University students were randomly assigned to watch either a hotel VR commercial or a hotel traditional video commercial. One HTC Vive VR headset was provided to those participants in the hotel VR commercial group. Findings The study revealed that VR commercials generate a higher level of vividness and interactivity among customers, which positively influence attitudes toward the ad, brand attitude and booking intention. Moreover, the findings showed that in the virtual environment, women, as compared to men, are influenced more by VR. Originality/value This research is the first to bring the presence model and gender effects together to better understand the effectiveness of VR in hospitality advertising research.