Successfully selling accommodation packages at online auctions - The case of eBay Austria

► We demonstrated that successfully selling accommodation items on eBay is a process requiring a relatively large amount of knowledge. ► For instance, tourism sellers have to optimally set the starting price, the auction duration and must specify the various listing enhancement features. ► As a valuable base for this type of knowledge, the empirically tested linear structural equation model showed mostly significant and expected causal relationships. ► As partly identified by previous auction research in the non-tourism domain, significant relationships between the economically relevant variables listing enhancement features, number of visits, starting price, auction duration, number of bids and final price were found in our study. ► The variance of the endogenous variable final price was statistically explained at a satisfactory level of 49%. More precisely, for all accommodation categories a high starting price directly leads to a higher final price. ► However, by decreasing the number of bids, a high starting price will also induce a lower final price. ► Thus, two starting price ranges which are optimally balancing these opposite trends were deduced. Furthermore, a significant impact of the seller's reputation was identified with respect to the number of bids and the auction's final price. ► Finally, at least to our knowledge, no other auction study so far considered the number of visits in their models. ► As shown, the majority of eBay's listing enhancement features has a significant impact on the number of visits although these options are used by a minority of eBay sellers only. ► For the best selling product (i.e. a four star accommodation package offered for two persons and two nights) either a starting price standing at 1 Euro or at 199 Euro and above as well as the seven day auction duration is recommended. ► As far as listing enhancement features are concerned, the options 'gallery picture' and 'highlight' (and in multi-auctions also the 'featured' option) are suggested.