Promotion of proactive communication among hotel customers higher in social anxiety

Social anxiety challenges employee-guest interactions in hospitality, threatening service quality. Drawing upon the Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Anxiety in Social Phobia, this study examines the willingness and preferred channels of proactive communication among hotel customers higher in social anxiety through a comparative analysis with those lower in social anxiety. Using a mixed-methods approach, three issue-specific factors influencing the proactive communication of hotel customers were identified through interviews and examined through policy-capturing method. Furthermore, through a comparative analysis between customers higher and lower in social anxiety, the study reveals that perceived communication necessity and external attribution tendency significantly influence the former's willingness to communicate proactively, with a clear preference for instant messaging communication channels. This study enhances our understanding of the proactive communication behaviors of customers higher in social anxiety, particularly regarding the heterogeneity of such behaviors across distinct service issues, thereby contributing to the existing body of literature. It also offers practical implications for hospitality practitioners by highlighting the need to develop tailored communication channels for different customer groups.