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This research aims to investigate consumers' likelihood of purchasing services online in two countries, the UK and Italy, which differ significantly in the population's uptake of internet shopping. Four influences are considered: service type, contact with service provider prior to online purchase, familiarity with service provider, and experience with internet purchasing.

For motor insurance and travel, respondents were asked to indicate the probability of purchasing on the internet the service of a provider they had used before, after a face‐to‐face contact with the provider, and also without prior contact with the service provider. Respondents were asked the same questions also for a provider they had not used before.

Differences in the relative uptake of internet shopping in the two countries did not alter the general results: a need for face‐to‐face contact with the service provider prior to online purchase and a preference for buying services from a familiar provider. Previous general experience of online shopping increases the likelihood of purchasing online.

Future studies should examine a broader range of service categories and should consider travel products of different complexity.

Online/offline integration of service provision is very important, as consumers highly appreciate some form of human contact, prior to online purchase, even in countries where consumers are more used to shopping from home.

The paper provides a better understanding of the influences on consumers' likelihood of purchasing services online. Findings are generalized in two countries, with different uptake of internet shopping.

When shopping for hotels online, consumers usually follow a sequential process of search, click-through and book. How to maximize consumer conversion on the path to purchase and prevent potential customers from giving up the online search remains an important topic to hotel marketers and online travel agents (OTAs). The purpose of this study is to understand how informational cues displayed in an online hotel search process, including quality indicators, brand affiliation, incentives (discounted price and promotion) and position in the search results, influence consumer conversion from one stage to another.

The authors collected clickstream data of hotel search from Expedia. The data include information on individual consumers’ click-through and booking, as well as events leading up to the conversions (or failure to convert) from search, click-through to book. It contains 940,164 hotels searched and displayed in 39,574 online search queries made by users in a regional US market between November 1, 2012 and June 20, 2013. The modeling strategy comprised the Heckman model and random effects model, which integrated sequential consumer behavior in different problem-solving stages while accounting for heterogeneity across different hotels online.

The authors find that consumers rely on informational cues displayed online to make decisions about hotel booking. Specifically, consumers tend to click through hotels with higher consumer-generated ratings and industry-endorsed ratings. However, they tend to rely on consumer-generated ratings rather than industry-endorsed ratings when committing to a booking. Moreover, consumers are strongly responsive to incentives (discounted price and promotion) when clicking-through and booking a hotel. Finally, the likelihood of consumer conversions from search to click-through and booking is higher for hotels with brand affiliation and higher positions in the search results.

This research provides critical managerial implications of online search for hotel marketers and OTAs. The results inform hotel marketers and OTAs on how consumers respond to informational cues displayed in their search process and how these informational cues influence consumer conversion from one stage to another. The sequential problem-solving process of search, click-through and booking disclosed in this study also helps hotel marketers to identify customer conversion opportunities using effective informational cues.

当在线酒店预定时, 消费者往往遵循一系列流程, 搜索, 点击查询, 到最后预定。对于酒店营销商和线上旅游社（OTAs）来说, 如何最大化提高消费转化, 使得消费者不会半途中断, 最后预定酒店, 是一个重要话题。本论文的研究目的就是理解酒店在线搜索过程中, 信息线索如何影响每个阶段的消费转化, 其中涉及的因素有：信息质量、品牌、激励（折扣和促销）、以及搜索结果排名等。

研究样本数据采集于Expedia酒店搜索点击流。其中包括个人消费者点击和预定信息、以及由搜索、点击查询到预定过程中的消费转化（或者中途转化失败）的各种事件。样本容量包括940,164家酒店, 其涉及到由美国局部市场消费者在2012年11月1日到2013年6月20日之间做出的39,574条搜索结果。 我们采用Heckman模型和随机效应模型来整合不同线性时间上的消费者行为, 同时考虑不同酒店的多样性。

研究发现消费者使用在线信息线索来做酒店预订决策。具体来说, 消费者倾向于对于消费者评价高和行业认证高的酒店进行点击查询。然而, 相比行业认证, 消费者更倾向于借鉴消费者评价, 来做出最后预定决策。此外, 在点击查询和预定时, 消费者对于激励（折扣和促销）反应强烈。最后, 品牌和搜索排名靠前的酒店往往获得从搜索、点击查询到最后预定中更高的消费转化率。

本论文对酒店营销商和OTAs有重要的在线搜索启示。研究结果向酒店营销商和OTAs证明消费者在搜索过程中对信息线索如何反应, 以及这些信息线索如何影响每个阶段之间的消费转化。本论文展示的从搜索、点击查询、到预定的线性决策过程对于酒店营销商们有着重大帮助, 帮助其使用信息线索找出各种消费转化机遇。

COVID-19 pandemic led to changes in the mental processes of tourists towards online travel agents. Therefore, the study aims to determine the factors affecting experiential loyalty intention of travellers during pre- and post-COVID times.

Empirical data analysis using structural equation modelling was performed in the study.

Results indicate that there is a change in the mental process of tourists. Travel companies need to understand that post-COVID, travel has transformed into a completely new world and it is essential to change behaviour accordingly. Traveller’s satisfaction would still be the key to driving loyalty of travellers towards a company.

The study implies that managers must put more effort into creating confidence among travellers because many people are still scared to travel due to the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus. Motivation to travel has declined significantly, which can only be regenerated if managers develop great strategies to drive demand from people.

This study will help in filling the gap that exists in extant literature of tourism by developing a robust model for analysing the factors enhancing experiential loyalty intention of travellers towards online travel agents in the pre- and post-COVID scenarios.

With the explosive growth of the Internet, online travel agents (OTAs) have gained an increasing market share in the online booking market. However, OTAs are facing fierce competition from hotels' direct booking channels, as well as competition among themselves. Therefore, there is a need for an understanding of the evolution of the OTA market from a dynamic perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the long-term effect of OTAs on the hospitality industry and to find whether an equilibrium of this effect exists in the context of e-commerce.

To gain a better understanding of the OTA market process, a mathematical framework is constructed on the basis of four assumptions. NetLogo 5.1.0 is used to perform a series of numerical simulations.

The results indicate the following: (1) the development of the OTA market helps to improve net social welfare, but hotels (especially economy hotels) have suffered as a result; (2) clever exploitation of both online and offline channels that are based on hotels' historical data may improve hotels' performance; (3) a scale-priority strategy can be more helpful than a profit-priority strategy for enabling OTAs to maintain their long-term competitiveness; (4) the timing of participation in online-channel competition is a crucial factor in determining whether OTAs can achieve business success.

In this study, it is shown how consumer habits have changed since the development of OTAs. The online channels provided by OTAs create a convenient, low-cost user experience, and they consequently improve the net welfare of customers. OTAs should be encouraged appropriately, although some economy hotels may suffer from the rise of OTAs.

In this empirical study, a mathematical framework is developed to describe the process of evolution in the OTA market, and it uses simulations as a means to validate prior research findings. Unlike previous studies, a dynamic perspective is used in this investigation to interpret the emergence of OTAs and to analyze their enormous impact on the hospitality industry. Thus, the findings of this study capture the competitive characteristics of online and offline channels in a network context and indicate potential strategies for the development of OTAs and which hotels may use OTAs to achieve better performance. In addition, the study findings could be easily extended to explain many of the classical economic phenomena regarding firms with intangible products.

This study aims to investigate the relationships between service quality, perceived value and hotel guest satisfaction, drawing upon data from TripAdvisor – an online travel agent (OTA) platform. The study also investigates the mediating role of perceived value on the relationship between service quality and satisfaction, as well as the moderating role of hotel star ratings on all direct and indirect relationships.

Data for this study were collected via Web scraping from August–October 2018. Data were collected from 192 three- to five star-rated hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Partial least squares – structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Furthermore, importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) was performed to identify the most important items of service quality and perceived value in improving customer satisfaction.

The findings of this study provide support for all direct and indirect relationships for three-star and four- and five-star hotels. Moreover, the results indicate that perceived value mediates the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. These results support the moderating role of hotel star ratings for the relationship between service quality and perceived value. The results also show that after perceived value, three-star hotels looking to improve customer satisfaction should prioritize improving the quality of their services, sleep quality, cleanliness and rooms. Four- and five-star hotels, on the other hand, should prioritize service, cleanliness, room and sleep quality.

OTA platforms collect a wealth of data pertaining to large number of hotels; nevertheless, few studies to date have drawn on this data to examine a pre-determined conceptual framework developed based on the literature. As such, this study makes a valuable methodological contribution to the tourism and hospitality literature. In terms of theoretical contributions, this study examines the mediating role of perceived value between service quality and satisfaction using OTA data. In addition, this study assesses the moderating role of hotel star ratings for the direct and indirect effects of service quality on satisfaction. Using IPMA, this study compares the importance and performance of service quality indicators to generate satisfaction between three-star and four- and five-star hotels.

本论文检测了服务质量、价值感知、和酒店顾客满意度之间的关系, 使用TripAdvisor的数据—OTA。本论文还检测了价值感知对服务质量和满意度之间的中介作用, 以及酒店星级评价对其中直接和间接关系的调节作用。.

本论文采样通过网络爬虫技术, 截取了2018年八月至十月之间的数据。研究样本为192家马来西亚Kuala Lumpur地区的三星-五星酒店。样本分析方法为PLS-SEM。此外, 本论文采样IPMA分析法来找出提高顾客满意度中的服务质量和价值感知中最重要的因子。.

研究结果指出了三星、四星、五星酒店的直接和间接关系。此外, 研究还显示了服务质量和顾客满意度关系的价值感知中介作用。研究结果还指出了酒店星级评价对服务质量和价值感知关系的调节作用。此外, 研究还指出, 除了价值感知, 如果三星酒店想提高顾客满意度, 那么他们应该优先提高其服务质量、睡眠质量、清洁度、和房间。另一方面, 四星和五星酒店应该优先提高其服务质量、清洁度、房间、和睡眠质量。.

OTA平台搜集大量酒店数据, 但是很少作品研究这些数据, 以检测根据文献提出的理论模型。因此, 本论文在方法论上对旅游酒店文献做出宝贵贡献。理论贡献而言, 本论文使用OTA数据检测了价值感知对服务质量和满意度关系之间的中介作用。此外, 本论文检测了酒店星级评价对服务质量和满意度之间直接和间接关系的调节作用。本论文使用IPMA方法, 比较各种服务质量指标的重要性对在三星、四星、五星酒店的提高满意度的不同作用。.

The paper aims to develop a theory‐based model of relationship commitment in an online travel domain. The model seeks to explain in detail the antecedents and outcomes of commitment.

An extensive review of relationship marketing and commitment literature helps to develop a model of commitment.

A model is developed based on existing literature. Quality of alternatives, investment size, satisfaction and trust are antecedents of both calculative and affective commitment. Two dimensions of commitment have different impact on word‐of‐mouth communications.

Given the intense competition among online travel agents, the proposed model can be used by e‐vendors to develop and maintain long‐term relationships with customers.

Commitment has been studied as a unidimensional construct in existing marketing relationship literature. Few research studies relating to this topic have been conducted in online travel context. This paper incorporates two dimensions of commitment in a business‐to‐customer travel setting.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies' social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer.

The research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance.

The results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies.

The two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer's point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship.

The study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.

This paper aims to investigate the role of information technology (IT) applications in the profitability of the Indian travel and tourism industry.

Qualitative research was conducted and an in-depth interview technique was applied for the collection of primary data. Traditional travel agents, tour operators, online travel agents and hoteliers in Gurgaon were investigated to explore issues pertaining to the study, and all responses were recorded and later transcribed. The identities of interviewees and their properties are not revealed to preserve confidentiality.

The analysis reveals that IT plays a significant role in the profitability of the tourism and travel industry. These include competitive pricing attained via dynamic pricing especially in the hotel industry, promotion and improved efficiency in rendering services to tourists and access to tourists virtually anywhere and at any time.

The findings have direct and indirect implications for different stakeholders – notably, travelers, owners and executives of businesses in the travel industry, as well as for researchers. Executives and owners can discern the critical implications of adopting IT to take their businesses to a new level. They should also be able to appreciate the fact that to remain competitive, practitioners must explore the potential opportunities emerging through IT.

Organizations in this sector are moving from traditional business models to more technologically dependent approaches. In particular, this study shows how the use of IT applications is influencing the profitability of the travel and tourism industry especially in India.

The present study develops a conceptual model that shows how the manipulation attributes of word choice, sentence fluency, convention of meaning, and organization of sentence structure in online hotel reviews are connected to linguistic errors, such as spelling and grammar and argument errors, how such errors intensify the likelihood that messages will be misunderstood, and how these misunderstandings affect customers' responses.

A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from 591 inbound tourists in Beijing, China. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 25.0 and Amos Graphics 23.0. Descriptive analysis was performed to explain the sociodemographic characteristic of respondents. Structural equation modeling was performed to examine hypothesized relationships.

Results demonstrate that manipulation attributes increase linguistic errors, and two linguistic errors have profound positive effects on customers' understanding of meaning, which influence their responses in the form of negative online ratings and low purchase intentions.

The study's findings contribute to the literature on hospitality, linguistics, and consumer behavior, and have managerial implications for online review websites, online travel agents, and hotel management. Research limitations lead to suggestions for future research for hospitality scholars.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore blockchain technology and its potential implementation to hospitality and tourism firms’ wide range of business operations and transactions from a technological and functional point of view. This study’s central interest is to produce novel and rigorous in-depth-review analysis and foundations for a broad discussion and outlook on the potential applications of blockchain technology benefiting hospitality and tourism research, as well as the industry as a whole.

This study identifies and proposes several potential areas of the adoption and implementation of blockchain technology to the hospitality and tourism industry, including payment and cryptocurrencies, tracking and service customization, the disintermediation of hospitality and tourism, innovative loyalty programs, smart contracts, integrated property management systems, verified rating and review systems, collaborative initiatives and due diligence and smart tourism, each of which represents fertile avenues for future research.

This paper provides extensive critical discussions, reviews and answers to a fundamental question: “What critical functions of Blockchain mechanisms can be implemented to the existing core operational (i.e. booking and reservation systems, guest management, etc.) and business functions (i.e. loyalty/reward programs, agent transactions, etc.) of hospitality and tourism companies?”.

Future studies should specifically delve further into various angles of this “BizTech” environment based not only on business operations and competition but also on vendor and customer collaboration.

This study intends to serve as a guidance for future research, facilitate knowledge accumulation and create a new understanding and awareness in both practice and academia. One of the most important applications of blockchain in this industry would be that pertaining to direct booking, online reservation systems (i.e. airlines and online travel agencies) and check-in/out with digital identities. With industry-wide blockchain adoption, guests’ personal information can be digitally validated, saved and secured as previously established cryptographically secured codes verify one’s identity without disclosing essential personal information.

It is obvious that the hospitality and tourism industry needs urgent technological transformation, industrial innovations and new growth avenues such as the adoption of blockchain technology and systems to maintain its global market share in the future. Therefore, the implementation of blockchain systems can promote the formation of multi-center (i.e. guest operations and customer service), weakly intermediated (i.e. loyalty programs and/or review and rating systems) areas in this industry.