If only Basil Fawlty had smiled, he might have had more guests.
Hotels and Airbnbs with pictures of smiling hosts record up to nine percent more bookings, according to a new study.
Smiling makes the hosts, especially men, appear more cordial and competent and reduces insecurity about the place, say the researchers.
“We found that a host’s smile increases perceptions of the host, which increases safety and, in turn, increases the likelihood that the accommodation will be booked,” say researchers from Harvard University and other centers.
“Smiling may be more beneficial for men than for women because interacting with men is associated with greater insecurity.”
In a series of experiments, researchers used computers to scan and analyze the profile pictures of hosts from 6,000 Airbnb properties. They also examined the effects of profile pictures with and without smiles for a family-run boutique hotel and a large chain hotel.
If only Basil Fawlty (pictured, played by John Cleese) had smiled, he might have had more guests
Hotels and Airbnbs with pictures of smiling hosts have up to nine percent more bookings, according to a new study. Pictured: File image
The results, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, show that in all three types of establishments, a smiling profile picture led to more bookings.
The results show that one in four Airbnb accommodations did not have a “smiley” image. For accommodations with a smiley image, the average increase in demand was 3.5 percent.
However, for male hosts, a smile increased demand by 8.7 percent. According to the researchers, this could be because potential guests are initially less confident when dealing with male hosts and a disarming smile therefore has an even stronger effect.
When the space was shared with the host, such as in a guesthouse, a smile increased bookings by 5.8 percent. A smile is more reassuring because the shared space means more opportunities to interact with the host.
The researchers also found that smiling had the greatest impact when potential guests were more uncertain about the accommodation.
A similar increase in demand was also seen at boutique and chain hotels that used smiling profile pictures.
“We assume that this increase in demand is due to the decreasing uncertainty associated with Airbnb stays. In general, people have an aversion to quality uncertainty,” say the researchers.
“We find that the impact of smiling is greater when there is less uncertainty due to concerns about the quality or interaction.”
