Impact of hotel website quality on online booking intentions: eTrust as a mediator

Growing competitiveness in the marketplace pushes hoteliers to fully take advantage of their websites as a marketing tool. This study proposed that a trusting relationship with customers could be developed by investing in hotel website development. A research model that incorporates hotel website quality, eTrust, and online booking intentions was put forward. The software AMOS 20.0 was adopted to analyze the proposed inter-variable relationships. Statistical results demonstrated that hotel website quality is a strong predictor of eTrust which then also mediates the relationship between website quality and consumers’ online booking intentions. Implications were offered for practitioners based on the results.     

Do online hotel rating schemes influence booking behaviors?

Travelers’ hotel booking behaviors increasingly depend on peers' opinions and online ratings. This study investigates the effects of online hotel ratings on travelers' attitudes toward the hotel and booking intentions, using a 2 × 2 experimental research design. The results suggest that online rating lists are more useful and credible when published by well-known online travel communities (e.g., TripAdvisor). More favorable attitudes toward a hotel and higher booking intentions emerge when the hotel appears in best hotels lists. Finally, for the entries on best hotels lists, better attitudes and higher booking intentions result if the list is published on a well-known online travel community (Tripadvisor), whereas for entries on a worst hotel list, attitudes and booking intentions decrease even further if the list appears on TripAdvisor.     

Egyptians’ Hotel Booking Behavior on the Internet

The expansion of booking hotel rooms online has changed the booking process in the hotel market environment. This investigation evaluates Egyptians’ attitude as an overall inclination towards booking hotel rooms online. It consists of two phases: a focus group phase and a survey phase. Initially, focus groups were formed for the purpose of identifying general perceptions of Egyptians with respect to the use of hotel booking websites. Information generated from the focus group study contributed toward questionnaire (survey) development. Results suggest that Egyptians generally show positive attitudes towards booking hotel rooms online. The implication for hotel brands is that they should focus on making the experience of online booking safer in order to convert non-bookers to bookers. This is important because the safety features of online booking (secure transactions, privacy of information, and online fraud) appear to be more important than the usability features (convenience, usefulness, ease of use, and efficiency) for nonbookers.     

Scale development of perceived eTrust in the hotel industry: The perspective of Internet users

This study aims to discuss online consumer trust (eTrust) in the hotel industry from the perspective of Chinese web users. Based on literature review and results of interviews with and focus group discussions among Internet users, hotel practitioners, and academic experts, a measurement scale was formulated. With two phases of data collection, this research found Chinese web users moderately trusted hotels’ own websites while doubted their intentions to fulfill promises delivered on the websites. Statistical analysis confirmed the suggestion that eTrust was a triple-dimensional construct which consisted of integrity, benevolence, and ability. Notably, the dimension of integrity which refers to honesty and promise fulfilling was regarded the most important by Chinese Internet users. The proposed eTrust scale revealed statistically satisfactory validity and reliability, indicating its soundness in guiding future similar studies. Based on the findings, theoretical implications as well as suggestions for Chinese hoteliers were offered.     

Consumers’ responses to ambivalent online hotel reviews: The role of perceived source credibility and pre-decisional disposition

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is prevalent in today's lodging market and has potential to influence consumers’ decision making. This study investigated how the presence of online reviewers’ personal identifying information (PII) may affect consumers’ processing of ambivalent online hotel reviews and hotel booking intentions. The results of an experiment with a sample of 274 undergraduate students indicate that the presence of PII positively affects the perceived credibility of the online reviews. When coupled with ambivalent online reviews, the presence of PII significantly lowers consumers’ hotel booking intentions.     

Effects of hotel website photograph size and human images on perceived transportation and behavioral intentions

Travelers have been shown to use the Internet as their primary source of information for locating and booking hotel accommodation, while various website dimensions have been known to influence consumer behavior. Yet, there is no consistency in the way that hotels display their website photographs, especially in relation to photograph size and content, and few studies have investigated this important domain. This study examines the influence of hotel websites’ pictorial information (i.e., photograph sizes and human images) on perceived transportation, booking intentions and willingness to pay more. Analyzing 247 responses with structural equation modeling, large photographs increase transportation, which, in turn, increases booking intention and willingness to pay more. Large photographs are most effective when human presence is absent, while the effect of small photographs is improved with human presence. This study extends transportation theory by demonstrating that transportation can occur in non-narrative scenarios, specifically through photographic images.     

The impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intentions: Evidence from Chinese online visitors

With the increasing popularity of online shopping and being the most populated country in the world, China is one of the major online markets now and is likely to become the largest market in the future. In the academic literature, website quality has generally been recognized as a critical step to drive business online. As such, numerous studies have been devoted to website quality and evaluations. Research efforts are, however, in need of understanding the use of websites in regards to online customers’ behavior, especially Chinese customers. This study developed and empirically tested a conceptual model of the impact of website quality on customer satisfaction and purchase intentions. Results indicated that website quality has a direct and positive impact on customer satisfaction, and that customer satisfaction has a direct and positive impact on purchase intentions. While the influence of website quality on purchase intentions exists, customer satisfaction does significantly mediate this effect. Drawing on the empirical findings, managerial implications and recommendations for future research are offered.     

The effect of online reviews on hotel booking intention: The role of reader-reviewer similarity

Due to the experiential nature of travel-related products, online reviews have become an increasingly popular information source in travel planning and have a profound effect on consumers’ buying decisions, particularly in hotel booking. On the basis of homophily and similarity-attraction theory, we posit that review valence is positively related to consumers’ hotel booking intentions, and expect this relationship to be moderated by surface- (demographic) and deep-level (preference) similarities. The findings from two experiments conducted in Germany and Macau indicate that review valence significantly affects hotel booking intention, and that reader-reviewer demographic similarity moderates this effect. This three-way interaction reveals a substituting moderation effect between demographic similarity and preference similarity. One practical implication is that travel websites should find methods of exposing users to reviews written by those with either similar demographic characteristics or preferences, which facilitate travelers’ decision-making processes.     

Online branding: Development of hotel branding through interactivity theory

The present study aims to develop and test a theory-based model of website interactivity as an online branding tool. It explores the relationships among website interactivity, the dimensions of brand knowledge, and brand value in the context of hotel booking websites. An online questionnaire was completed by four hundred forty two (n = 442) responses who booked a hotel room in the previous year. Leaning on the fundamentals of branding literature and the website interactivity theory, a model was designed and seven hypotheses were tested. A two-phase analysis was considered, first a Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and then a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted to test hypotheses. The results of the study show that the dimensions of website interactivity, namely two-way communication and user control, positively impact the dimensions of brand knowledge, namely brand awareness and brand image, which in turn impact brand value. We offer both theoretical and managerial implications.     

Analysing behavioural differences between e- and m-bookers in hotel booking

This study analysed the behavioural differences between e- and m-bookers in online hotel booking. The theoretical relationships among functionality and usability, perceived value for money and time, and satisfaction and loyalty were analysed based on the quality–satisfaction–loyalty framework. Results from a sample of 431 and 401 e- and m-bookers, respectively, affirmed the similarities and differences between the two types of bookers. Results also showed that e- and m-bookers substantially differ in their perceptions on functionality and usability performance, perceived value for money and relative importance of functionality and usability in online hotel booking. Moreover, the findings revealed the moderating effects of perceived value for money and time on the satisfaction–loyalty link among m-bookers.     

Perceptions of Functionality and Usability on Travel Websites: The Case of Chinese Travelers

Despite the large increase in the amount of online purchases of travel-related products in recent years, previous studies on travel website analysis have concentrated mainly on assessing the quality of travel websites, customer purchase behavior, and website content analysis. In the context of Mainland China (hereafter known as China), with growing wealth of her citizens and the inclination to travel, more Chinese travelers have been, and will probably be, visiting worldwide destinations. In addition, many Chinese travelers will use the Internet to search, and subsequently to purchase, travel-related products and services. This study makes an attempt to analyze Chinese online buyers and online browsers on their perceived importance of travel website functionality (content) and usability (design) and their specific factors. Online buyers (e-buyers) are the Internet users who have previously purchased on travel websites, whereas online browsers (e-browsers) are the Internet users who have browsed travel websites but without making any purchases. The research findings showed that e-buyers did not differ significantly from e-browsers in most of the included factors. The findings of this research are expected to assist travel website developers to improve their websites and to attract more e-travelers.     

Cooperation and competition between online travel agencies and hotels

With the advent of O2O (online to offline) mode, Online Travel Agency (OTA) websites help to introduce new customers to hotels. However, since OTAs charge a hefty commission, hotel managers hope returning customers can book future visits from hotel websites instead of OTA websites. The study is to investigate how OTAs and hotels cooperate and compete with each other at the same time in the multichannel environments. The results show that OTAs can attract new and returning customers by website service quality while hotels can attract returning customers by perceived value. On the other hand, OTA website service quality has a negative effect on intention to rebook via hotel websites and the intention to rebook via OTA and hotel websites indeed have a negative relationship. Thus, the two channels compete with each other for customers' future visits.     

A meta-analysis of behavioral intentions for environment-friendly initiatives in hospitality research

Research on environment-friendly initiatives has received increasing attention in hospitality research. However, an integrated literature review of research examining the impact of consumer perceptions of green initiatives on their behavioral intentions is lacking. To that end, a quantitative meta-analysis of 26 articles published in hospitality journals was conducted in order to determine the effect sizes of the relationship between consumers’ perceptions and their green behaviors. This research intended to examine how two broad categories – internalized perceptions (i.e. personal values, attitudes, environmental knowledge/awareness, and perceived benefits) and perceptions of the firm (i.e. hotel/restaurant image, perceived quality, and satisfaction) – influence consumers’ behavioral intentions toward green hotels/restaurants (e.g., word-of-mouth intentions, retentions, willingness to pay, and willingness to pay a premium). This meta-analysis shows that both internalized perceptions and perceptions of the firm had a strong positive association with behavioral intentions. The average effect sizes for internalized perceptions and perceptions of the firms were r = 0.3177 and r = 0.4240, respectively. The findings of this research suggest that the positive relationship between consumer perceptions and behavioral intentions is well-established. Therefore, it might not be fruitful to continue to apply identical frameworks (e.g., the theory of planned behavior or the theory of reasoned action) in future research. We thus suggest that hospitality and tourism researchers in the area of environment-friendly initiatives need to either significantly improve the existing models or look for new and more diverse frameworks in order to make meaningful theoretical contributions.     

eWOM effects on hotel booking intentions,attitudes, trust,and website perceptions

The objective of the study is to examine the effect of comments generated on Facebook on the choice of a hotel. More specifically, it focuses on the study of the influence of comments written by Facebook friends on the intentions of booking a hotel, the trust in the hotel, the attitude toward the hotel, and the perception of its website. The research also examines the moderator role of Internet users’ trust in those comments on these relations. To test these effects, an experimental design was created by manipulating the valence of the comments (positive vs. negative). A survey among 800 university students has confirmed all the hypotheses of the study on the influence of comments generated on Facebook in the users’ decision-making process.     

The influence of trust perceptions on German tourists’ intention to book a sustainable hotel: a new approach to analysing marketing information

ABSTRACT

This study examined the relationship between German tourists’ trust perceptions and their intention to book a sustainable hotel, pioneering a new quantitative approach to sustainable tourism marketing. Data came from 300 respondents who participated in an online survey. Respondents were given a digital brochure to read containing information about a “fictitious” three-star beach hotel in Portugal, before completing a questionnaire that measured inter alia their intention to book this sustainable hotel. Both individual “general trust” (perception of others’ trustworthiness) and “specific trust” towards the fictitious hotel in the brochure were measured. The survey also evaluated respondents’ perceptions about the usefulness of the information in the brochure. Multiple regression analysis of the data indicated that general trust, trusting the hotel and perceived usefulness of the brochure were positively and significantly related to booking intentions. An interaction between general trust and perceived usefulness was also observed. This means that the higher the perception rate about the brochure's usefulness, the higher general trust was for booking intentions and vice versa. The practical implications of the results suggest that tourists could be motivated to book a hotel if its sustainability attributes and amenities were communicated in a trust inspiring way in marketing material.     

Usability of Chinese Destination Management Organization Websites

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has had a large impact on tourism industry. In Mainland China (hereafter known as China), the increasing popularity of Internet applications to its tourism industry is evident by the rapid growth of Chinese tourism websites. In 2005, e‐tourism in China has reached an income of RMB12.5 billion or US$1.63 billion, showing that although a small percentage of Chinese use the Internet, their online consumption is still considerable. While the e‐tourism market seems promising, there exist a limited number of prior studies on website evaluations in the context of China. This research explores usability, a contemporary issue of website design, and focuses on the provincial Destination Management Organization (DMO) websites in China. Research findings include a checklist of criteria for assessing DMO website usability. Findings showed that China's DMO websites had medium problems, and the best and worst performing destinations were Beijing and Ningxia. In addition, the usability indices had no significant relationship with website performance and level of tourism regional development which was represented by total tourism income in the destination. Findings of this study would be of interest to readers for better understanding the current development of DMO websites in China. Industrial practitioners may consider adopting a similar approach to evaluate their websites.     

Development and validation of a scale measuring hotel website service quality (HWebSQ)

This research aims to develop and validate a scale to measure website service quality in the hotel industry, namely HWebSQ. It also establishes the predictive power of the new scale by examining its relationship with an expected outcome, i.e. customer purchase intention. The research employs a detailed scale development process: domain specification, item generation, scale refinement, purification and validation. Data were collected from tourists who stayed at 4-to-5-star hotels in Vietnam. The findings confirm HWebSQ to be a valid and reliable measure of hotel website service quality containing 34 items with 7 dimensions. These include website functionality, website design, response time, ease of use, information quality, interactivity and security. Each of these dimensions is positively associated with customer purchase intention. The newly developed HWebSQ scale would be valuable to managers of hotels and other accommodation services who are interested in designing and managing websites aimed at attracting and retaining customers.     

Evaluation of hotel websites: Progress and future developments (invited paper for ‘luminaries’ special issue of International Journal of Hospitality Management)

Website evaluation has gained considerable attention from academic researchers since the emergence of hotel websites in the late 1990 s. Previous studies have developed and adopted various methodologies and approaches for website evaluation. However, studies tracking changes in hotel website evaluation along with their rapid development have been scant. This study traces the chronological changes in website evaluation models and provides future research directions. The main findings indicate that information quality has been the main focus although different terms or expressions have been used to represent the concept. In addition, many diverse website evaluation models have been advocated in the past decade. Findings of this study can provide practical implications for hotel managers to ensure online hotel information quality and achieve high-level information communication.     

Determinants of consumers’ choices in hotel online searches: A comparison of consideration and booking stages

Using a stated choice experiment, this study uncovers how hotel review- and price-related attributes affect consumers’ formation of consideration sets and hotel bookings based on online search results alongside a two-stage model of consideration and choice. Empirical findings indicate that consumers’ evaluations of certain attributes vary across these stages. During the consideration stage, the listed hotel price, promotional discount, overall rating, review volume, and booking popularity are significant attributes for prospective guests, whereas price disparities across websites are not. Insignificant interaction effects among these determinants imply that in this stage, consumers employ fast-frugal heuristics and a noncompensatory strategy. During the booking stage, listed price, promotional discount, overall rating, and review volume inform consumers’ booking decisions. Furthermore, the interaction effects point to consumers’ adoption of a compensatory strategy in making a final booking decision. Finally, this study concludes with implications for hotel pricing and system optimization of online platforms.