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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Sunny Sun, Davis Ka Chio Fong, Rob Law and Shan He

This study aims to review published articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism for the period of 2000-2015 to provide a comprehensive updated review, as well as to…

3041

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to review published articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism for the period of 2000-2015 to provide a comprehensive updated review, as well as to offer implications for academic researchers and industry practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

Content analysis was adopted by this study to review retrieved articles on website evaluation in hospitality and tourism. Articles were then analyzed from consumers’ perspective, suppliers’ perspective, and both consumers and suppliers’ perspectives using a systematic approach.

Findings

Major findings of this study showed that a majority of articles focused on either hospitality or tourism. Moreover, most of the articles generally discussed user interface, marketing effectiveness and website quality. However, these articles did not discuss in detail the implications of website evaluation and ignore the connections between suppliers and consumers to some extent.

Research limitations/implications

This study can be used as a reference for academic researchers to extend previous frameworks and for industry practitioners to reconstruct the traditional organizational chart and implementing e-strategic management strategies, including m-marketing.

Originality/value

This study updates website evaluation development in hospitality and tourism in the new millennium. The findings of this study provide significant implications for hospitality and tourism researchers and practitioners to encourage supplier-consumer engagement.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2022

Leila Nasrolahi Vosta and Mohammad Reza Jalilvand

This study aims to contribute to the context of electronic trust (e-trust) research with an emphasis on the determination of tourists’ e-trust in hotel websites. This research…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to contribute to the context of electronic trust (e-trust) research with an emphasis on the determination of tourists’ e-trust in hotel websites. This research used social exchange theory to elaborate how perceived attributes of a hotel website influence purchase behaviour of tourists. This area is often neglected because most studies focus on website users’ adoption or acceptance of other service industries. It is expected that trust-generating mechanisms have different impacts on the e-trust level in the hospitality services.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive literature review identified the major antecedents and outcomes of e-trust. Data was collected from an online survey and 586 usable questionnaires were achieved. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothesized model.

Findings

The results of this study demonstrated that the more tourists perceive influences positively, the more they are possibly to trust in hotel website. Findings revealed that perceptions about the attributes of hotel website, including security, privacy, usefulness, ease of use and compatibility are the main antecedents of trust in hotel website, which, in turn, lead to actual usage of the website for booking online.

Originality/value

This study is based on a large sample of tourists and broadens the understanding of e-trust in hotel websites by considering factors rarely discussed in prior tourism and hospitality literature.

Details

Journal of Islamic Marketing, vol. 14 no. 11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-0833

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2014

Florian Kriechbaumer and Natasa Christodoulidou

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on how quality factors impact website implementation for small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises…

2795

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on how quality factors impact website implementation for small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises (SMEs). Its objective is to define and explain the relevance of these factors and synthesize them in the context of a digital space roadmap for Dubai’s Vision 2020, as well as to identify potential routes to assist SME practitioners in implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Analyses literature on website implementation in the hospitality industry in relation to relevant themes, drawing from a range of journals and relevant industry sources. A link to trends for the future is established to illustrate the groundwork for website implementation factors and the digital roadmap. Practitioner input on the review is presented to augment the findings.

Findings

The relevant aspects of SME website implementation and associated challenges are defined. Various quality-related factors such as website access, content, function and design should not be ignored by practitioners. It is suggested that these factors retain their relevance in the context of current trends, such as social, local and mobile communications. There is a need for academia and government bodies to provide comprehensive guidance to industry executives.

Practical implications

Executives in the SME domain need to ensure that they take into consideration the factors pertaining to effective website implementation presented in the study, as they will likely positively influence their ability to extend their digital strategy into the future.

Originality/value

This manuscript provides a practically oriented and engaging overview of SME website implementation factors for a wide audience and links them to newly emerging digital marketing concepts, thus attempting to fill a gap in the literature.

Details

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 May 2011

Crystal Ip, Rosanna Leung and Rob Law

In order to enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality and reduce costs, practitioners in the hospitality industry have widely adopted and implemented information and…

16177

Abstract

Purpose

In order to enhance operational efficiency, improve service quality and reduce costs, practitioners in the hospitality industry have widely adopted and implemented information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their businesses. Understanding what has been done and how ICTs have performed in the past and are performing in the present could assist practitioners and researchers in identifying research gaps and formulating future plans. This paper aims to address these issues

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyzed 88 full-length ICT-related research articles that were published in the period 1999-2008 in eight leading hospitality journals. The research focuses on all selected articles were in suppliers ' perspectives, and each article was analyzed by content analysis.

Findings

Seven dimensions were formed after content analysis including human resources and training, security, reservation, revenue management, marketing, guest services, as well as strategic and operational management. Published articles were comprehensively overviewed on ICT usage in suppliers ' perspectives. In this paper, suppliers refers to the providers of hospitality services.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation of this study is the inclusion of only eight leading journals. Nevertheless, findings should be of use to researchers and practitioners to understand various ICT applications in the hospitality industry.

Originality/value

A major contribution of this paper is its comprehensive review of previous studies and their contributions to hospitality. Future research areas on ICT development and implementation in suppliers ' perspective are also offered.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 February 2010

Amy Gregory, Youcheng (Raymond) Wang and Robin B. DiPietro

The purpose of this paper is to propose and apply a conceptual model that can be used to evaluate the functional performance of hospitality and tourism websites. This model will…

2884

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose and apply a conceptual model that can be used to evaluate the functional performance of hospitality and tourism websites. This model will evaluate the websites from the perspective of information provision, communication, transactions, relationships, and technological merit, and how that applies to overall website functionality.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses a case study methodology in order to evaluate a random sample of the top 400 casual dining restaurant chains of 2007. The casual dining restaurant segment is chosen because of its importance in the overall foodservice industry, as well as its predominant use of websites.

Findings

Restaurant websites appear to be fairly strong in providing information in a technologically savvy environment. The areas that are found to be lower in functional efficiency are communication, relationship, and transaction. The three lowest‐rated individual attributes of the websites studied in the current research are the use and functionality of banners, reservations, and language on the websites.

Research limitations/implications

As a case study, the limitations of this research are that the findings cannot be generalized to all restaurants because only a sample of casual dining chain restaurants is used. In addition, the model evaluated all of the components of the websites as being equal with the understanding that different website components weigh differently in their importance with consumers.

Practical implications

The implications of the paper are critical for website developers and hospitality organizations as the analysis shows that there is still a gap between customer perceptions of restaurant websites and the potential to use the website to engage and connect with guests. The paper will give industry practitioners some insight into the perceptions regarding the usability of their websites in order to allow the organizations to make changes accordingly.

Originality/value

The paper is pioneering in developing and proposing a conceptual model of website evaluation and applying this theory‐supported conceptual model to the casual dining chain restaurants website evaluation.

Details

Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-4217

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

Cristian Morosan and John T. Bowen

As scholarly research in online purchasing increases in size and scope, understanding the manner in which consumers engage during online purchasing in hotels is critical. The…

2394

Abstract

Purpose

As scholarly research in online purchasing increases in size and scope, understanding the manner in which consumers engage during online purchasing in hotels is critical. The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of the current online purchasing research pertaining to the hotel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A content analysis was conducted of 85 peer-reviewed articles published between 2006 and 2016 in hospitality and tourism journals to uncover the most critical aspects of online purchasing in hotels. Keyword searches and specific search parameters (e.g. literature time frame and locus of search) guided the review of the articles selected for the analysis.

Findings

This study recognizes that the discrete transaction per se represents the focal element in the hospitality scholarly research in online purchasing. It also recognizes the importance of the overall encompassing hospitality experience in creating and appropriating value for all stakeholders. Finally, the review found a strong orientation toward self-reported survey data as indicative of online transactions and the steps that precede them online.

Research limitations/implications

The study recognizes the present focus on discrete transactions and recommends expanding the focus to tap into more comprehensive purchasing processes that are mediated by technology.

Practical implications

The analysis presented here offers practitioners insight into the value chain member and consumer behaviors that could be feasibly converted into actionable managerial practices.

Originality/value

In contrast to the reviews discussing online purchasing, this study provides a unique broad analytical perspective on the relationships among buyers, sellers, products, retail interfaces and consumer decision processes that characterize the hotel online purchasing environment, as reflected in the past 10 years of hospitality and tourism literature.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Faizan Ali

This study aims to examine the relationships between hotel website quality, perceived flow, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Furthermore, this study also examines if…

13535

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationships between hotel website quality, perceived flow, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Furthermore, this study also examines if perceived flow mediates the relationships between hotel website quality, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

The stimulus-organism-response framework is used as the theoretical framework for this study. A total of 441 valid online questionnaires were collected to empirically test the measurement and structural model using partial least square path modeling approach. The study sample includes hotel guests who booked their hotels via online travel agencies and/or hotel websites.

Findings

The findings confirm that hotel website quality influences customers’ perceived flow, which in turn, influences their satisfaction and purchase intention. Moreover, perceived flow also mediates the relationships between hotel website quality, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions.

Originality/value

Hotel website quality, perceived flow, customer satisfaction and purchase intentions altogether are not well understood in current literature despite the important implication for managers, academicians and consumers alike. This study contributes to the field of e-commerce marketing, retailing and e-tourism research.

Details

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-9880

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 December 2022

Mark Anthony Camilleri and Metin Kozak

This study aims to investigate perceptions about interactive travel websites. The researchers hypothesize that engaging content, the quality of information and source credibility…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate perceptions about interactive travel websites. The researchers hypothesize that engaging content, the quality of information and source credibility have a significant effect on the consumers’ utilitarian motivations to continue using them in the future.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured survey questionnaire was used to gather data from 1,287 online users, who were members of two popular social media groups. The methodology relied on a partial least squares approach to analyze the causal relationships within an extended information adoption model (IAM).

Findings

The findings reveal that the research participants perceive the utility of interactive travel websites and are willing to continue using them, particularly the responsive ones. The research participants suggest that these sites are easy to use, capture their attention and offer them useful information on various tourism services. The results also indicate that they appreciate their source credibility (in terms of their trustworthiness and expertise of their curators) as well as their quality content.

Research limitations/implications

This study integrates key measures from the IAM with a perceived interactivity construct, to better understand the individuals’ acceptance and use of interactive websites.

Practical implications

This research implies that service businesses ought to have engaging websites that respond to consumer queries in a timely manner. Hence, they should offer a seamless experience to their visitors to encourage loyal behaviors and revisit intentions to their online domains.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no other studies that incorporated an interactive engagement construct with key constructs from IAM and from the technology acceptance model (TAM). This contribution underlines the importance of measuring the individuals’ perceptions about the engagement capabilities of interactive media when investigating information and/or technology adoption.

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2020

Irene Cheng Chu Chan, Jing Ma, Rob Law, Dimitrios Buhalis and Richard Hatter

This paper aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of users browsing activity on a hotel website in order to derive effective marketing strategies and constantly improve website

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the temporal dynamics of users browsing activity on a hotel website in order to derive effective marketing strategies and constantly improve website effectiveness. Users' activities on the hotel's website on yearly, monthly, daily and hourly basis are examined and compared, demonstrating the power of informatics and data analytics.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 29,976 hourly Weblog files from 1 August 2014 to 31 December 2017 were collected from a luxury hotel in Hong Kong. ANOVA and post-hoc comparisons were used to analyse the data.

Findings

Users' browsing behaviours, particularly stickiness, on the hotel website differ on yearly, monthly, daily and weekly bases. Users' activities increased steadily from 2014 to 2016, but dropped in 2017. Users are most active from July to September, on weekdays, and from noon to evening time. The month-, day-, and hour-based behaviours changed through years. The analysis of big data determines strategic and operational management and marketing decision-making.

Research limitations/implications

Understanding the usage patterns of their websites allow organisations to make a range of strategic, marketing, pricing and distribution decisions to optimise their performance. Fluctuation of website usage and level of customer engagement have implications on customer support and services, as well as strategic partnership decisions.

Originality/value

Leveraging the power of big data analytics, this paper adds to the existing literature by performing a comprehensive analysis on the temporal dynamics of users' online browsing behaviours.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 121 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 August 2019

Reyes Gonzalez, Jose Gasco and Juan Llopis

Hotels are dependent on information and communication technologies (ICTs) for both their internal management and their relationships with customers and the other stakeholders…

1345

Abstract

Purpose

Hotels are dependent on information and communication technologies (ICTs) for both their internal management and their relationships with customers and the other stakeholders. Therefore, research on ICTs in the hotel sector has kept growing lately. The purpose of this paper is to offer a review of the literature dedicated to ICTs in hotel management by analyzing papers published in seven prestigious journals in the field of Hospitality Management.

Design/methodology/approach

The 147 papers analyzed – published over a 27-year period – have been studied according to a variety of criteria such as their research methods, perspective, statistics used, topics covered, technologies and authors and countries.

Findings

The conclusions suggest a promising future regarding both ICT applications for hotel management and research in this area.

Research limitations/implications

Concerning limitations, the most important one stems from the selection of works subject to examination because our analysis dealt with papers published in only seven journals, other publication sources have not been considered. Nevertheless, the present paper can prove useful both for researchers and hotel managers because new trends are emerging in both contexts with regard to technologies themselves as well as to some of their uses.

Originality/value

One of the most important contributions made with this work is the preparation of a list with the topics covered by the papers under examination. Moreover, no studies have to date specifically tried to identify the technologies used in hotel management by means of a literature review.

Details

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, vol. 31 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-6119

Keywords

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