[en] Private sales travel websites have emerged for a few years now. But luxury consumption through such websites is an intrinsically paradox because of the antagonism between luxury and discounts. This research aims at better understanding the motivations of luxury consumers to consume or not luxury hotels through such websites. We use a twofold methodological approach. First, we interviewed 37 consumers of 5-star hotels and palaces. Emerging from our data analysis, we highlighted that according to their luxury motivations and the importance of price perception as an indicator of prestige, different profiles of luxury consumers may be identified. Second, to identify and understand these profiles, we used a quantitative approach with a structured questionnaire administrated online to luxury consumers through a non-probabilistic sampling method. After running a cluster analysis on our 140 respondents, results identified four clusters of luxury consumers: “The Quality Seekers”; “The Snobs”; “The Nonchalants”; “The Perplexed Hedonists”.
