How does a Key Opinion Leader influence customers' booking intention at Online Travel Agencies? The Intermediary Role of Customer Trust

Abstract

The integration of Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) has emerged as a critical marketing strategy for promoting hotel services, yet empirical research examining their influence on booking intentions within Online Travel Agency (OTA) platforms remains limited. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating how KOLs gain trust from customers and thereby influence hotel booking intentions on OTA. Adopted the theoretical framework of S-O-R and tested through two stages of group discussion and online questionnaire survey with 273 valid votes.Based on a theoretical basis, this study examines KOL features: Reputation, Perceived Fit, and Production Involvement. The results after analyzing the CBSEM model show that Production Involvement with KOLs has the greatest impact on customer trust and creates motivation for booking intentions on the online travel agency platform, followed by the KOL's reputation factor. It is worth noting that perceived fit has no impact on customers'trust in KOLs in the hotel industry.