Understanding the Effect of Spatial Colors on Guests� Perception of the Hotel Room Using Virtual Visualization Techniques

Abstract

Color is one of the key visual dimensions of the environment. The investigation of the effects of color schemes in public places showed that color has an impact on behavior and emotions. The emotional effect of color is particularly important in the hospitality industry because emotions comprise a strong affective component of customer satisfaction. However, no empirical research on the role of color in shaping hotel guests� perceptions has been done so far. The purpose of the current study was to understand the relationship between color attributes and the perception of colors in the hotel room. The differences between two contrast hues (blue and red) with two levels for saturation and brightness were analyzed in this study. The Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance (PAD) scale was used to measure the emotional response of the participants. In addition, cultural differences between Eastern and Western cultures in the color perception were tested.In total, 141 participants took part in the study. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of eight 3D models of the hotel rooms that they further viewed using the Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays. The data on the participants� color perceptions were collected using the survey. The results show that red hotel rooms were associated with the highest arousal levels among participants. However, participants enjoyed staying in blue hotel rooms more than in the red ones. The individual color preferences had an important relation with the perception of the hotel room. Participants who indicated blue as their favorite color had a significantly higher pleasure level in blue rooms than subjects with color preferences other than red and blue. In the same way participants that preferred the red color perceived red rooms as more pleasant. Significant differences in dominance levels were found in the red group of treatments. Differences between Western and Eastern cultures were also found. The Eastern culture group had a higher arousal level in the low brightness settings than the Western culture group. Thus, it can be concluded that representatives of the Eastern culture are more sensitive to the brightness of the color than the Western culture group.