The rise of social media has brought the existence of “foodie” and “food bloggers” in the culinary business. The word “foodie” refers to those who highly favor and engage with food and spend a substantial amount of time collecting culinary experiences and visiting famous restaurants, while a food blogger is an individual or a foodie who uses a communication platform to share recipes and passion for food through reviews based on his or her experience. Culinary businesses use food bloggers to help promote their products and encourage consumers to try their products, which are believed to be effective as the viewers or the followers tend to take their recommendations.
Boutique hotels have gained popularity across the world. Despite this, they still have to face fierce competition from large hotel chains to attract guests to stay. This study aims to investigate different factors which may contribute to generation Y/millenials' intention to stay at a boutique hotel. Questionnaires were distributed online to generation Y respondents. Data gained was analyzed using partial least square structural equation modelling. The findings suggest that knowledge of a boutique hotel has a significant positive influence towards perceived value of staying at a boutique hotel. Moreover, perceived authenticity and perceived value were also found to have positive significant influence on intention to stay at a boutique hotel. The findings of this study contribute to better understanding of the factors which drive millennial customers to stay at a boutique hotel. It is imperative that the boutique hotel managers deliver the promised values of their accommodation to the existing and potential customers. In addition to that, knowledge was also shown to influence perceived value of a boutique hotel, indicating a strong need to educate potential customers about the values of staying in a boutique hotel.