Asymmetric effects of WiFi on overall satisfaction

This article analyzes asymmetries in positive and negative effects of WiFi on different overall satisfaction measures. Based on four theories of customer satisfaction (importance-performance theory, dissonance theory, equity theory and contrast theory), the empirical application conducted on a sample of 3,210 hotels from 18 different countries shows that, while asymmetries are observed in all cases, the inclusion of the money paid in the measurement of satisfaction leads people to exaggerate the negative effects. Also, according to the relative thinking model, the impacts of WiFi on satisfaction vary in descending order of size over the distribution of the hotel’s overall rating score: the effect of WiFi accounts more for the lowest levels of overall satisfaction, and less for the highest levels.