Developing a matrix for assessing serviceability of U.S. online travel agency websites

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang-Woo Lee ◽  
Heesup Han ◽  
Jinsoo Hwang

We examined the importance of website serviceability of online travel agencies (OTAs). We collected data from 283 users of OTA websites in the USA. Statistical differences were found for 8 out of 10 website serviceability items that were examined. In addition, 2 dimensions of functional website serviceability and technical website serviceability were derived from the website serviceability items. Last, both dimensions of website serviceability positively affected customer satisfaction, which, in turn, positively affected brand attachment and loyalty. These results will be useful for developing effective and efficient marketing strategies.

2021 ◽  
pp. 135676672110426
Author(s):  
Oriol Anguera-Torrell ◽  
Claudia Langer

The recent arrival of the metasearch as a distribution channel within the hotel industry has the potential to provide hotels less dependency on online travel agencies. Metasearch engines display different reservation options for the same hotel in the same interface, which might include online travel agencies and the official hotel website, establishing an apparent level playing field. In this context, it remains unclear if there will be a presentation-order effect of the different options when price and cancellation policy are the same due to two reasons. First, hotels compete against popular and trustworthy online travel agencies. Second, the minimalist and functional design of metasearch platforms might help consumers differentiate among the options, possibly impacting the decision-making process. Accordingly, the present study aims at investigating the relationship between a hotel's site position and a higher click-through rate in a metasearch whilst competing directly and on the same page with a well-known online travel agency. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which participants had to finish the booking process for a given hotel on a major metasearch engine, where they could choose between the hotel's official site and a leading online travel agency. The main finding implies that occupying the top position increases the click-through rate for unknown hotels, whilst hotels associated with well-known chains are not subject to this effect.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Winona Almira ◽  
Wiguna Alodia Alodia

The travel industry in Indonesia is still very attractive, especially when considering the large population of Indonesia and the growing value trend of the travel market. However, the development of information technology and the internet has had an impact on the proliferation of Online Travel Agencies (OTA), resulting in high levels of competition in the travel industry. Traditional travel companies must continue to innovate to maintain their presence in the competition. This research was conducted to analyze the competitive conditions of the travel industry in Indonesia, a case study at Airlangga Travel company. The research method uses Porter and SWOT analysis. The results of the study are recommendations for differentiation strategies for Airlangga Travel in order to survive in the intense competition of the travel business


2021 ◽  
pp. 135676672110663
Author(s):  
Hee Chung Chung ◽  
Namho Chung ◽  
Jin-young Kim

While it has been perceived that hotel consumers using online travel agencies (OTAs) are overall price sensitive, a dominant use of OTAs in hotel booking suggests that there are more diverse consumers in terms of price perception. As such, this study investigates the price sensitivity of the Online Travel Agency (OTA) consumer segments, using price sensitivity measurement (PSM) by using factor analysis and cluster analysis. The results showed four OTA consumer segments, i.e., planned bargain seekers, enthusiastic shoppers, deal hunters, and apathetic shoppers. Differences in price sensitivity was confirmed among these segments. This study uncovers the characteristics of OTA consumers who are more (less) price sensitive. By using PSM, this study presents and compares the optimal pricing points across the customer segments in terms of monetary values. Based on the findings, this study provides theoretical and practical implications.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Chen ◽  
Tianwei Tang ◽  
Yongjian Li ◽  
Di Fan

PurposeThis study examines whether a higher interest alignment between online travel agencies (OTAs; hosting platform) and hotels (business owners) will intensify review manipulation activities.Design/methodology/approachWith a panel data set collected from a Chinese online travel agency and a travel search engine, the authors develop a matching-based difference-indifference approach to examine the presence of partnership-intensified review manipulation.FindingsThe authors find that the ratings of agency's partner hotels (with a higher interest alignment) are abnormally higher than those of matched non-partner hotels (with a lower interest alignment), after they are benchmarked with their ratings on the search engine (without a partnership business model). Further, the analysis results indicate that this partnership-intensified manipulation deteriorates the hotel's sales performance because of damaged customer trust and satisfaction.Originality/valuePrevious studies implicitly assume that review manipulator is independent from the hosting platform. This is the first study examining the role of the hosting platform in review manipulations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivaylo Ivanov ◽  
Irina Atanasova

The use of online reservation systems has become a must for hospitality businesses. This article is focused on the use of www.booking.com as an online search engine for accommodation in a family hotel in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. The aim of the research is to analyze the behavior of people, using one of the best performing online travel agencies in the world for hotel room reservation. The article reveals interesting statistical facts about the nationality of the guests and how far ahead of time reservations are made. Data for the electronic device, which is used to make a reservation, is stated in the article. The “best price” clause of booking.com is taken into account, as it is being banned in some EU countries, but still influencing the decision making process of hotel customers. A brief outlook of the ‘’most favored nation’’ (“MFN”) clause, also known as ‘price parity’ or ‘best price’ clause (“BPC”) and its application in EU countries is included.


Author(s):  
Dimitrios Drosos ◽  
Nikolaos Tsotsolas

The rapid development of tourist supply and demand makes Information Technologies (IT) significant, and thus, they increasingly play a more critical role in tourism marketing, distribution, promotion, and coordination. IT influences the strategic management and marketing of contemporary organisations as a paradigm-shift is experienced, transforming the best business practices globally. IT is one of the main key influences of competitiveness in the tourism/travel industry. The original purpose for adopting IT systems was simply to provide an automatic means of store and manage data (e.g. on flights and accommodation). At the same time, IT in the tourist sector enables an increased volume of transactions to be handled rapidly and effectively. This chapter presents an original customer satisfaction survey in the Greek Online Travel Agencies. For the collection of the data, a Website questionnaire was used in order to better record the customers’ views on the service overall as well as their satisfaction levels on particular aspects of the service. The survey was conducted within the period September – November 2012. Final input data consists of 510 questionnaires.


Author(s):  
Dimitrios Drosos ◽  
Nikolaos Tsotsolas

The rapid development of tourist supply and demand makes Information Technologies (IT) significant, and thus, they increasingly play a more critical role in tourism marketing, distribution, promotion, and coordination. IT influences the strategic management and marketing of contemporary organisations as a paradigm-shift is experienced, transforming the best business practices globally. IT is one of the main key influences of competitiveness in the tourism/travel industry. The original purpose for adopting IT systems was simply to provide an automatic means of store and manage data (e.g. on flights and accommodation). At the same time, IT in the tourist sector enables an increased volume of transactions to be handled rapidly and effectively. This chapter presents an original customer satisfaction survey in the Greek Online Travel Agencies. For the collection of the data, a Website questionnaire was used in order to better record the customers' views on the service overall as well as their satisfaction levels on particular aspects of the service. The survey was conducted within the period September – November 2012. Final input data consists of 510 questionnaires.


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