Dataset – The Influential Role of Hotel-Generated Content on Social Media

1. Dataset Description

This dataset contains the anonymized survey responses used in the empirical study examining the influence of hotel-generated content (HGC) on social media on booking intention, considering the mediating roles of perceived information quality, engagement, and brand attitude.

The dataset includes 834 valid responses collected in January 2021 in Spain through the Toluna online panel.

All data are fully anonymized. No personal identifiers are included.

2. Study Purpose

This dataset supports an empirical study analyzing how hotel-generated content (HGC) on social media influences booking intention through the mediating roles of perceived information quality, engagement and brand attitude.

3. Research Design

• Country: Spain
• Data collection: January 2021
• Panel provider: Toluna
• Sample size: 834 respondents
• Method: Online survey
• Experimental exposure: Participants were shown a simulated social media post from a fictitious hotel before answering the questionnaire.

Screening Conditions

Participants were required to:

1. Have an active account on at least one social media platform.
2. Have stayed in a hotel within the last three years.

4. Measurement

All construct items were measured using a 5-point Likert scale:

1 = Strongly disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neutral
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly agree

The structural model was estimated using PLS-SEM with bootstrapping (5,000 subsamples).

All latent variables were modeled as reflective constructs.

5. File Structure

• The Excel file contains two worksheets:

Sheet 1 – Dataset

• Respondent_ID (anonymous identifier)
• Sociodemographic variables (panel-provided)
• Screening variables
• Social media usage variables
• Construct measurement items:
• CGH1–CGH6 (Hotel-Generated Content)
• CPI1–CPI4 (Perceived Information Quality)
• eWOM1–eWOM4 (Engagement intentions)
• ACT1–ACT4 (Brand Attitude)
• BI1–BI3 (Booking Intention)

Sheet 2 – Codebook

• Variable name
• Description
• Construct (if applicable)
• Exact item wording (for survey items)
• Measurement scale
• Source reference

6. Variable Naming Convention

• Construct items follow the structure:
• HGC = Hotel-Generated Content
• PIQ = Perceived Information Quality
• eWOM = Engagement intentions
• ACT = Brand Attitude
• BI = Booking Intention
• Demographic variables are standardized in English
• No reverse-coded items are included.

7. Data Preparation

The dataset has been prepared for open access:

• Panel identifiers removed.
• Postal codes and province-level identifiers removed.
• Duplicate demographic coding variables removed.
• Respondent_ID added for anonymous referencing.
• Variable names standardized.
• Missing values preserved as in original dataset.

No transformations or statistical modifications have been applied beyond anonymization and structural cleaning.

8. Ethical Statement

• Data collected exclusively for academic research purposes.
• All responses are anonymous.
• No personal identifying information is included.