Perceived risk and booking intention in the crisis of Covid-19: comparison of tourist hotels and love hotels

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a range of economic consequences for the tourism industry. Notably, this has been striking mainly because of the rising fear toward public places and travel avoidance. Vietnam has one particular market segment - love hotels - and these hotels have not suffered as much as the overall hotel industry. Applying Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and robustness test using Woodside's Accurate case outcome modeling (ACOM) of 2019 the study here confirms that: (i) Covid-19 knowledge increases conventional customer's perceived risk; (ii) Perceived risk (before and after Covid-19) have a negative effect on hotel booking intention; (iii) risk perception and booking intention of customers in two hotel types differ significantly, in which there is a preference for love hotels. Despite love hotels' remarkable market value, the academic attention to this special business model, has to date, been little researched. This research contributes evidence of asymmetric perceived physical risk as well as booking intention of the two market segments namely, tourist and love hotels.