A fluffy dog with soft fur, big round eyes, floppy ears and a small stature is so high on the “pet cuteness” scale that it may influence your decision to book your next Airbnb stay. 

Lu Lu, associate professor at Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, has recently investigated the “pet cuteness” effect on consumers’ booking intentions of home-sharing services like Airbnb. She discovered that in the home-sharing context, pets carry meanings about the host, information that can aid a consumer’s next purchase decision. Her article, "Does a cute pet make a difference in home-sharing booking intentions," was recently published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management on Jan. 5, 2024.  

“This study demonstrates that a host’s pet cuteness can reduce psychological distance between guest and host, enhancing perceptions of the host’s warmth and ultimately increasing guests’ booking intentions,” said Lu. “The way a pet can translate warmth between humans is a powerful marketing tool, however, this effect diminishes among guests with a strong need for uniqueness.” 

According to Lu, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the pet economy has soared, with individuals eager to alleviate stress and anxiety by owning more pets. 

“We started to look into more unique strategies that a host can use to attract customers and set them apart from the competition,” said Lu. “So, we looked into how in society, the connection between pets and humans has acted as a powerful bonding force.”  

Lu explains that through the “cue utilization theory”, a consumer’s judgment on product quality often depends on what information and cues are available to them. For example, seeing a small dog covered in fur with big round eyes and full cheeks pictured inside one’s home is a positive cue that can translate into a more positive perception of an Airbnb host. 

She added that a key factor in one’s perception of the cuteness of a pet is how it translates to “baby schema,” by exhibiting physical features similar to those found in babies, like large eyes, small noses and chubby cheeks. These characteristics are perceived as cute and stimulate caretaking behavior in the observer.  

“We found that the baby schema theory can translate into pets because people will want to protect them since they feel they are more tender and vulnerable, which can influence their decision-making in renting an Airbnb,” said Lu. 

Other visual characteristics in pets associated with the cuteness effect include round body shape, softness (furry) and compactness.  

Through three studies with five experiments, the study found a serial mediating effect that suggests cute pets (vs. less cute) can increase booking intention due to reduced social-psychological distance and an increase in the perceived warmth of the host. It shows exposure to cute pets can increase booking intention for consumers who desire to develop and maintain relationships with others and conform to social norms. 

“If a pet is cute, it can bridge the social and psychological distance between strangers and can be an indicator of the potential perception of the host,” said Lu. “A cute pet can translate to the perceived warmth of the host, making users more likely to book.” 

In addition, the research explored consumers’ need for uniqueness as a critical boundary condition to moderate the pet cuteness effect on booking intention. When the consumer’s need for uniqueness is high, the pet cuteness effect on booking intention through social-psychological distance and perceived warmth of the host is significantly weakened and even terminated. 

“The pet cuteness effect is only significant among consumers who exhibit a low (vs. high) need for uniqueness,” Lu added. “Consumers with a high need for uniqueness subvert traditional norms and often purchase products with symbolic significant worth to signal their self-image and social image that differentiates themselves from others.” 

The pet cuteness scale was tested on pictures of cats, dogs, rabbits and lizards grouped in perceived “high-cuteness” vs. “low-cuteness” categories based on attributes, including color, size and facial structure. For example, a dog with a round face and big eyes represented high cuteness and a dog with a different face shape and small eyes represented low cuteness for the experiment. The pet’s color affected a consumer’s perception of cuteness, such that light colors were associated with a higher level of cuteness.  

Participants assigned to view listings in the high-cuteness group were found to be more likely to make a reservation than those assigned to view the low-cuteness group. For example, a sample of participants mostly perceived the photos of small and light-colored dogs (high-cuteness) as cuter significantly more than large and dark-colored dogs (low-cuteness). 

In another experiment, where cats were similar in size and facial structure, participants mostly perceived the light-colored cats (high-cuteness) as cuter than the dark-colored cats (low-cuteness). Rabbits (high-cuteness) had a higher perceived cuteness due to their furry appearance and belief to have a softer touch than lizards (low-cuteness), whose cold and smooth appearance was perceived to embody the opposite of being cute. 

Lu believes that a cute pet can be a powerful tool in bridging distance between strangers. Therefore, this pet cuteness effect study can also be utilized in other general businesses beyond the Airbnb context.