Hotel Websites Research Articles

A Comparison between Museum, Hotel, and Tourist Sector Sites in a Country in Southeast Asia

The objective of this study is to compare three different kinds of portals in a country in Southeast Asia using a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria for e-commerce sites. The three types of business including hotels, museums, and tourism sectors were selected randomly. Three independent observers evaluated fifteen sites, and their results were consolidated to a single data set for analysis. Multidimensional Scaling was used to reveal patterns found in the data. The two dimensions in the MDS map were found to be associated with user perceived trustworthiness and transaction speed. In general, tourism sites do better in navigation and content categories; hotel sites do better in interface and reliability categories. Museum sites have more similarity as they are closer to each other in the MDS map. However, foreign language support was not observed on websites.

A linguistic multicriteria decision-making model applied to hotel service quality evaluation from web data sources

Currently, there are a large number of hotel Web sites that develop their own seals of quality based on customer feedback. As a result, a hotel can be classified differently by various Web sites at the same time, creating confusion in the consumer perceptions about the quality of a given hotel. Moreover, there are attempts to standardize such service quality evaluation, such as the SERVQUAL instrument, which is a multiple-item scale for measuring service quality with several dimensions. In this context, we present a two-stage linguistic multicriteria decision-making model to integrate the hotel guests' opinions included in several Web sites, with two objectives: on the one hand, obtaining a SERVQUAL scale evaluation value of service quality with the integrated answers of the input opinions; on the other hand, getting a SERVQUAL overall evaluation value of service quality. This model is incorporated into an opinion aggregation architecture to integrate heterogeneous data (natural language included) from various tourism Web sites. As a particular case study, we show an application example using the high-end hotels located in Granada (Spain).© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

What Does Hotel Website Content Say About a Property—An Evaluation of Upscale Hotels in Taiwan and China

ABSTRACT Websites are important platforms for hotel Internet marketing. Website content can directly influence customer preferences and decisions. This study proposes a comprehensive model, which is more objective and valid than others, to evaluate 158 hotel websites in Taiwan and China according to three dimensions: feature breadth, stage of website development, and feature enrichment. The samples came from four different types of hotels: Taiwanese international tourist hotels, Taiwanese ordinary tourist hotels, Chinese five-star hotels, and Chinese four-star hotels. We find that these four types of hotels emphasize features on their websites differently and that the degree of website robustness ranks as follows: Taiwanese international tourist hotels, Taiwanese ordinary tourist hotels, Chinese five-star hotels, and Chinese four-star hotels. Managerial implications and suggestions are also proposed.

Representation of Destination Cultural Factors on Hotel Websites: Content Analysis of Beijing Hotel Websites

The extant tourism literature contains virtually no studies examining the issue of destination culture in the context of hotel website evaluations. The research presented herein examined 168 Beijing hotel websites. Content analysis of these websites was carried out using 12 destination cultural factors identified by the researchers. The aim was to examine whether the performance of the hotel websites under investigation differed in terms of these factors by hotel category. The results indicate that the majority of Beijing hotels do not include destination cultural factors on their websites. Although the websites of privately owned, chain, and international hotels, as well as those with higher star ratings were found to feature more of these factors, the differences were not statistically significant. Among the 12 destination cultural factors identified, Forbidden City was the most commonly included on the hotel websites, and Temple Fair and Pet Birds were completely absent.

Implications for Improving Accessibility to E-Commerce Websites in Developing Countries

This research explores the accessibility issues with regard to the e-commerce websites in developing countries, through a study of Sri Lankan hotel websites. A web survey and a web content analysis were conducted as the methods to elicit data on web accessibility. Factors preventing accessibility were hypothesized as an initial experiment. Affecting design elements are identified through web content analysis, the results of which are utilized to develop specific implications for improving web accessibility. The hypothesis tests show that there is no significant correlation between accessibility and geographical or economic factors. However, physical impairments of users have a considerable influence on the accessibility of web page user interface if it has been designed without full consideration of the needs of all users. Poor readability and less navigable page designs are two observable issues, which pose threats to accessibility. The lack of conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines and the poor design process are the specific shortcomings which reduce the overall accessibility. Further enhancements are suggested with adherence to principles, user – centered design and developing customizable web portals compatible for connections with differing speeds. Re-ordering search results has been suggested as one of the finest step towards making the web content accessible for users with differing needs.

The Evaluation of Hotel Website Functionality by Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

ABSTRACT Although previous studies have identified different factors on hotel website functionality evaluation, the evaluation of the relative importance of these factors has not been empirically determined. This study adopted a sophisticated approach that analyzes the weights of hotel website functionality. This approach involved triangular fuzzy numbers and an analytic hierarchy process to develop a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model which prioritizes the relative importance of hotel website functionality criteria. First, 20 criteria for hotel website functionality evaluation were developed from a literature review and three focus group interviews. After that, a fuzzy AHP approach was used to examine the relative importance of the criteria and sub-criteria of hotel website functionality evaluation. As human judgments are often uncertain and vague, the use of fuzzy set theory, rather than exact numbers, enables us to capture decision-makers' uncertainty. Finally, the results indicated that “Reservation Information” is the most important criterion to hotel website functionality.

Presentation Formats of Policy Statements on Hotel Websites and Privacy Concerns

Information privacy is one of the major reasons that explains why many travelers are hesitant to provide personal information for online reservations. Despite the fact that most hotels provide privacy policy statements on their websites, little research has been done to examine how the format of these privacy statements affects customer trust. Based on the control/restricted theory and cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study demonstrates how perceived control and learning can affect trust. Participants were shown validated privacy policy statements in a text format or a video format before they rated the trustworthiness of the hotel. The findings from 193 usable samples confirmed that the video was more effective in increasing trust and that it did so by increasing perceived control. The results suggest that hotel companies without a strong brand history can still establish customer trust by providing a well-located, well-executed, and easily understood online video privacy statement. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, and future research suggestions are provided.

Online Reservation Abandonment: How to Bridge the Gap between the Original Intention and the Actual Behavior?

Online reservation abandonment has not been yet explained by scholars. This research aims to identify key drivers to the issue. It proposes a theoretical framework inspired from behavioral theories particularly from Morrison’s Model (1979) stipulating that actions are controlled by intentions, but not all intentions are accomplished. Findings show that online consumer procrastination and website quality encourage online shoppers to intend to drop out an e-reservation and leave the hotel website without culminating the purchase. This study provides hoteliers with insights to improve purchase conversion rates on their own websites.

A Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for Hotel Websites: The Case of Chain Hotel Websites Operating in Greece

This article proposes a quantitative evaluation framework of all the dimensions provided by hotel websites. The proposed framework evaluates the richness of specific and comprehensive information. A proposed conceptual model that describes the hotel websites' features is used in order to summarize the data and consider how sound websites are in terms of technology and management. The model combines various dimensions (i.e., information attributes, website design attributes, reservation engine facilities, payment, provided services attributes, provided information attributes, quality of content, language support, website operating attributes, website structure, navigation, and search facilities). The proposed evaluation method is based on the websites evaluation by users/guests, hotel managers, and IT professionals, while it uses principal components analysis (PCA) to estimate the performance score from users/guests, hotel managers, and IT professionals as well the overall score of a website. Using this framework, we determine how each data dimension impacts on each performance indicator as well as on the overall performance. We applied our method and evaluated 30 chain hotel websites operating in Greece, and found interesting insights for the hotel chain industry in Greece.

The Influence of Hotel Website Factors on E-Loyalty in a B2C Context

The Internet allows firms to serve customers more effectively than ever before. In a B2C (business-to-consumer) context, the authors examine the interrelationships among hotel website factors, e-satisfaction, e-trust, e-loyalty and switching costs. They extend prior research by incorporating these constructs into a more comprehensive conceptual framework. This study answers three research questions. First, will the three components of website factors (communication, transaction and customization) have a significant effect on e-loyalty through e-satisfaction and e-trust? Second, do e-satisfaction and e-trust mediate e-loyalty? Third, do switching costs have a moderating effect between e-satisfaction, e-trust and e-loyalty? The authors examine data compiled from customers who have booked hotel accommodation online. The results support their hypotheses and confirm both the mediation role of e-satisfaction and e-trust and the moderation role of switching costs. Conceptually, this study provides an empirical validation of website factors, e-satisfaction, e-trust and loyalty linkage. At the managerial level, the research provides insights into the critical drivers of loyalty in the emerging online marketplace.

Travel Planning

A survey of 249 leisure travelers at four hotels in Seattle, Washington, finds overwhelming use of the internet for searching and booking hotel rooms, although a noticeable percentage still make telephone calls to book rooms. Eight of ten respondents used the web for a hotel room search. Of this group, 67 percent continued online to make their booking (on either the hotel’s page or a third-party site), 26 percent made telephone calls, and the remainder used travel agents or walked in to book rooms. Earlier research indicates that the personal contacts (notably by phone) are aimed at negotiating a price lower than that found online. For those booking electronically, hotel websites were used most commonly by this group of respondents (37 percent), following by third-party sites (30 percent) and opaque auction sites (25 percent). In contrast to studies from the early 1990s, this study found that women have surpassed men in information search activities. Also, those who purchased hotel rooms online trended toward being younger, having higher incomes, and purchasing more room-nights than those who used traditional distribution channels. Although the study findings cannot be generalized because of the sampling procedure, it is clear that a substantial number of travelers use the internet for search only, and then book another way (usually by phone). Women conduct much more research regarding potential hotels and rates than do men. Hotels’ own websites remain the first choice for booking rooms, but opaque auction sites are almost as popular as regular third-party sites. For this sample, Priceline and other similar sites accounted for 25 percent of all bookings. Finally, even those travelers who did not use the internet for any purpose in connection with their hotel stay still had a relatively favorable opinion of the concept of online booking.

A Study of Website Optimization Strategy and Implementation

Internet users will usually use search engine to find the relevant traveling information before planning the trip, and search for suitable hotels and book hotel accommodation rooms in advance through the internet reservation system .The hotel website search engine marketing strategy has become an important part of the hotel marketing management. The study found that " research and implementation methods have obvious actual benefit", “recommend to conduct some of the implementation methods prior to the building of Web site ", " in Blog Article Marketing, ‘Sina Blog " import flow is high ", "in Free Platform And BBS marketing, ‘PChome & ebay " import flow is high etc; Researchers suggest the hotel sites operators continue to implement the hotel Web sites search marketing in the future through methods such as "assist with paying keyword advertising marketing" and "add more links to external website", "set up their own official blog" and " and “conduct Facebook, Plurk Twitter marketing” and etc.

An Exploratory Study of the Tourist-computer interaction: the role of web site Usabilityon Hotel Quality Perception

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of the perception of a hotel website on the tourists’ perception of the hotel’s overall quality, in relation to the effects of functionalities, language, layout and graphics. We interviewed 50 subjects with experience on online hotel booking and we used the structural equation model to analyse the collected data. Our findings demonstrated the mediating role of layout and graphics on tourists’ perception of the hotel overall quality. The results show both the positive influence of a more appealing website on users’ perception of hotel overall quality and the main influencing factors of a good hotel website from a tourists’ point of view. Hence, it might be appropriate to mix an appealing layout and an effective graphics with more functionalities, by implementing innovative web user’s interfaces for an easier and entertaining browsing.

To book or not to book: the role of hotel web site heuristics

PurposeThis study aims to examine web site heuristics and their influence on the likelihood to purchase.Design/methodology/approachA convenience sample of 28 participants was assigned a list of 30 hotel web sites to evaluate according to predetermined criteria and open‐ended questions.FindingsResults indicated that booking decisions are positively related to a web site's aesthetic appeal. The study found the presence of photographs on a hotel web site was the most significant factor impacting site appeal and influencing the booking decision. Other features affecting purchase decisions included ease of use, color, link availability, lack of web site clutter, and sites unique in appearance.Research limitations/implicationsResearch limitations included the size and composition of the sample. Respondents were college students, thus they represented a younger demographic and one which may be more tech‐savvy than other age groups. Also, the hotel web sites which were evaluated were located in one popular US tourist destination, meaning generalization to a larger population or to another industry may be limited.Practical implicationsResults showed four variables; pictures, ease of use, neat/uncluttered and plain/boring; were most significant on both site appeal and site influence. Practitioners would be well served to improve these web site elements to better accommodate customers and realize the greatest return on investment.Originality/valueThe paper investigates heuristics of hotel web sites. Findings identified areas for improvement by practitioners as well as areas for future research.

An evaluation of thermal hotel websites and the use/non-use of the internet as a marketing tool by thermal hotels in Turkey

Although a number of studies regarding internet sites relating to the tourism industry and Turkey’s thermal sources have been conducted worldwide, none have been found that deal specifically with thermal hotels and their usage of Internet as a marketing tool. The purpose of this study was to evaluate thermal hotels websites and determine the use or non use of the Internet as a marketing tool by thermal hotels in Turkey. This study outlines that the thermal hotels in Turkey do not currently use the Internet as a productive marketing tool. This study also suggests some solutions to thermal hotel managers for successful cyber tourism marketing, including the establishment of a website, on-line booking, customer support and general cyber marketing on the Web. Limitations and further research are also explored. Key words: Marketing, Internet, thermal tourism, thermal hotel, Turkey.

Selling Rooms: Hotels vs. Third-Party Websites

Hotels have a variety of internet distribution channels to help them sell rooms, including sites that have come to be called online travel agents (OTAs), or third-party websites, but the cost of using these intermediaries is considerable. This article examines how hotels can sell room inventory while maximizing net room revenues—chiefly, by steering customers to their own sites, rather than to the OTAs. Even though hotels want to sell rooms via their own channels, the hotel industry relies heavily on efficient and convenient OTAs to sell rooms. Based on eleven interviews (nine hotels, one third-party website, and one airline), we recommend the following ways to strengthen sales on hotels’ websites: maintain a best-rate guarantee, optimize the website for search engines, mine data from customer profiles to provide custom offers, retain premium rooms for sale on the hotel website, offer discounts or other promotions to customers who book on the hotel website, offer incentives for returning guests who book on the hotel website, avoid giving loyalty points for OTA bookings, and enrich the hotel’s website with information. Because the ability to offer low prices is a chief advantage of OTAs, many hotels have promoted price parity as one strategy for attracting customers. The results of tracking room rates of 13 hotels posted by third-party websites and hotels over a 17-week period demonstrated, however, that room rate parity is rare, even though all selling parties espouse such parity. Parity generally was found only for smaller hotels. The study also found that room rates fall as the date of arrival approaches, and it became clear that individual properties in a hotel chain follow the chain’s overall pricing strategy.

Research on Website Function of High-star Hotel Based on Customers Perspective: A Case of Xiamen, China

Hotel websi tes ha ve been m ore concerned abou t th e s tructure an d co ntent o f t he web site itsel f, ignoring the hot el websites ’ n ature for custo mer service. Thus, t his paper starts the basis of determining the function st ructures an d evaluation in dex systems of hot el websites, focusin g on discussing the hotel websites’ nature for customer service. This paper found out the customer demand for the hotel websites functionality by the questionnaire survey, then, the hotel websites of 50 samples were visit ed to an alyze t he fu nctions. S PSS wa s applied to the a nalysis of q uestionnaires. Stu dy suggests that current high-star hotel website features in Xiamen City of China can not meet the needs of custo mers. The ba se la yer fu nctions could provide simp le hotel information, but it overlooked the hotel c ustomer's t ravel needs ; main leve l f unctions co uld not meet th e requirements that customers understand the features, early experience and information exchange; The core layer functions were not symmetrical with customer demand, and the information was not updated timely , as well as, customer relationship management was not perfect, so the core layer functions had not implemented functions of both t he ba se layer and m ain layer with d ynamic o ptimization. A limitation of t his study is th at the random sample may be not representative. If the hotel websites truly become an effective tool for hotel management and marketing, the needs of hotel customers should be fully considered.

ETrust: Forming Relationships in the Online World. Edited by Karen S. Cook, Chris Snijders, Vincent Buskens, and Coye Cheshire. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009. Pp. x+330. $55.00.

Previous articleNext article No AccesseTrust: Forming Relationships in the Online World. Edited by Karen S. Cook, Chris Snijders, Vincent Buskens, and Coye Cheshire. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2009. Pp. x+330. $55.00.Allison CavanaghAllison CavanaghUniversity of Leeds Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 116, Number 4January 2011 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/658062 Views: 60Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2011 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Li Li, Maojuan Peng, Nan Jiang, Rob Law An empirical study on the influence of economy hotel website quality on online booking intentions, International Journal of Hospitality Management 63 (May 2017): 1–10.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.01.001

An examination of electronic video clips in the context of hotel Websites

The Internet has become a major channel for selling a myriad of products and services. To make the on-line shopping experience more vivid, retailers and service providers frequently portray product images and video clips on their Websites. Although the dimensions of e-Service Quality have been studied in various on-line contexts, research focusing on video clips in the context of hotel Websites is limited. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine how consumers evaluate video clips portraying experiential services such as hotels. Our results indicate that consumers evaluate video clips based on six distinct dimensions: user interface, aesthetics, customization/personalization, assurance/trust, flexibility and virtual human interaction.

Study on Chinese Tourism Web Sites' Distribution and Online Marketing Effects

As a platform and carrier of tourism information, tourism Web sites (TWs) and online tourism marketing have deeply affected the tourism industry. The authors adopt a geographical perspective to analyze the distribution of Chinese tourism Web sites (CTWs), and statistical analysis with SPSS 16.0 was conducted to explore the online marketing effects of CTWs. Some meaningful results were produced: (a) The number of CTWs generally decreases from eastern China to central and western China and are especially dominant in tourism developed provinces. (b) The number of tourists has strong statistical correlation with the number of CTWs. (c) The strongest correlation for inbound tourists is with hotel Web sites, and the highest correlation coefficient is 0.807 between the number of domestic tourist and resort Web sites. Both inbound and domestic tourists have a low correlation coefficient with travel agency (TA) Web sites. (d) There exist some statistical models between tourist numbers and different kinds of CTWs. The results clearly unveil the marketing effects and correlation of CTWs and are helpful for further online marketing strategies.