Peter O’Connor

User-Generated Content and Travel: A Case Study on Tripadvisor.Com

Consumer generated content is rapidly gaining traction as part of the purchase decision making process. After examining the implications for travel businesses, this paper focuses on TripAdvisor.com, the largest online network of travel consumers to establish its current practices and challenges. Using a sample of London hotels, it was shown that the system displays detailed, rich and relevant data for use by consumers in their travel planning. Analyses also suggest that the belief that the system is compromised by false reviews posted to enhance a hotels reputation or tarnish that of competitors is unfounded. Little evidence was found of characteristics that typify false reviews.

Are Family and Nonfamily Tourism Businesses Different? An Examination of the Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy–Entrepreneurial Performance Relationship

Drawing on literature on tourism, entrepreneurship, and family businesses, this research uses a structural model to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and enterprise performance. Based on samples of family-owned (N = 158) and nonfamily-owned (N = 143) small- and medium-sized tourism enterprise owners in regional South Australia, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multigroup invariance tests were used to validate the proposed structural model where ESE is the exogenous variable and performance is the endogenous variable. The study also examined if the causal model was invariant (equivalent) between family and nonfamily entrepreneurs to identify key differences between these two groups. Results support the validity of the models, with tourism business owners’ ESE having a significant positive effect on enterprise performance. The results of the multigroup invariance tests also indicated that the measurement models, structural model, and residual structure were equal across family and nonfamily business owners. Although previous studies have suggested differences between family- and nonfamily-owned businesses with regard to pattern of ownership, governance, management and succession, business structure, goals, and strategies, this study found that the “entrepreneurial self-efficacy” of business owners (regardless of whether or not the business is family owned) is an important predictor of business performance. The findings suggest that destination managers and policy makers need to support the ESE of local tourism business owners if they wish to enhance performance within the industry and the destination.

A Comparative Examination of the Implementation of Destination Marketing System Strategies: Scotland and Ireland

The paper examines, compares and contrasts the recent experience of Scotland and Ireland in their attempts to implement a DMS. Scotland’s vision is shown evolving through three distinct waves over more than a decade while Ireland has produced an initial and a re-engineered version of their DMS approach, Gulliver, in a five-year period. The apparently strong contrasts in the structure, technical infrastructure/architecture, funding, ownership/management, and the philosophy adopted by the two approaches is explored, and reference made to the European context. The paper concludes by examining key system attributes and problems of implementation.

Destination Marketing System Strategies: Refining and Extending an Assessment Framework

The paper describes an approach to assessing the success of Destination Management System strategies and a range of critical success factors have been extended and modulated through iterative feedback from a variety of systems experts; system developers and operators as well as those involved in academic research and in consultancy work in the area. Key system attributes are examined from the perspectives of database, distribution, operation and management issues and the final format has been ranked and appropriately weighted. This range of factors has then been applied to systems representing Austria, England, Ireland and Scotland with a tentative score being generated for each factor and for each overall system. The results provide a means of rating each system as at presently configured and additionally a similarly rated comparison was generated based on the DMS operator’s own future projections. The paper concludes by proposing a broader validation and an extension of the scope of the work.

Evaluating Electronic Channels of Distribution in the Hotel Sector

This article is based on the findings of the initial rounds of a Delphi study that focused on identifying a potential range of methods to help hotels both select and evaluate electronic channels of distribution. A review of the background to both electronic distribution in the industry and hotel distribution in particular is provided, highlighting important issues for hoteliers. The work demonstrates the need for and potential utility of a channel evaluation methodology. Construction of the Delphi and the selection process for participants is described along with key findings and interim conclusions.

The Future of Hotel Electronic Distribution

Hotels traditionally use a variety of different distribution channels, including distributing through other properties within their chain, joining marketing consortia or other types of affiliation organizations, or outsourcing to representation or third-party reservation companies. Most hotels also use intermediaries such as travel agents, tour operators, or incentive houses. Increasingly, hotels are making use of the growing range of electronic-distribution channels, which is this paper’s topic. In all cases, the objectives of using the channel are twofold, namely, to make relevant and timely information conveniently available to the hotel’s potential customer; and to make it easier for guests to book the property in question. A distribution channel is defined as a mechanism that provides “sufficient information to the right people at the right BY PETER O’CONNOR AND ANDREW J. FREW We know that the internet has become a key distribution point for hotels, but that only makes a hotel’s CRS even more important.

An Analysis of Hotel Trademark Abuse in Pay-Per-Click Search Advertising

Using Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising helps overcome the limitations of search engine optimisation. Instead of attempting to manipulate web pages with little guarantee of success, advertisers can guarantee placement by bidding on the keywords which trigger sponsored listing on search engines and syndicated sites. However controversy has arisen over the use of trademarks as both keyword triggers, and in the text of sponsored listings? Legally the position is unclear. This paper specifically investigates trademark use in hotel searches. Using 90 properties in Europe, Asia and the USA, searches were performed to establish if third parties were using hotel trademarks in their paid placements. Findings indicate that abuse is rampant. While hotels perform well in organic search, they are usually preceded by paid listings using their trademarked terms. Customers are undoubtedly being diverted and urgent action is needed to reclaim hotel trademarks in the search environment.

Take Me Back: Validating the Wayback Machine as a Measure of Website Evolution

Drawing on Diffusion of Innovations theory, this study of 175 Malaysian hotel websites validates the Wayback Machine (WM) — a web-based tool that archives websites — as a means to study website evolution. The results support validating the Wayback Machine for studying website evolution, and extend hospitality diffusion research to Malaysia. In line with prior research, there were significant positive relationships between hotel size, category and affiliation with two variables provided by the WM — website age and number of updates. Larger, higher-rated and affiliated hotels launched their websites earlier and updated their sites more often than smaller, lower-rated and independent hotels.

Extending a tourism causality network model: a cross-country, multigroup empirical analysis.

This study provides insights into a powerful statistical technique to test model invariance across multiple groups. In doing so, it provides insights for policymakers and contributes to the literature on tourism demand forecasting by validating and extending previous results on how supply-side factors influence tourism demand. Specifically, this study considered an a priori validated structural model for relationships among the economy, society, environment and tourism constructs in 162 countries, examining the extent to which the model was invariant across two groups of isolated observations: developed and less-developed countries. Upon testing, the a priori model did not replicate across both groups. Instead a reduced model, incorporating the society, environment and tourism constructs only was used to compare and test for variances in parameters across the two groups using multigroup analysis sampling in AMOS 16.0. The results indicated that path coefficients were equal across groups. A positive relationship existed between the society and environment constructs, while a similar positive significant relationship existed between the society and environment constructs from one side and tourism, respectively.

The Online Pricing Practices of Up-market Barcelona Hotels — An International Comparison

The number and variety of web based distribution channels over which the customer can purchase the hotel product continues to grow, which has resulted in increased price transparency. Customers can use the web to easily and conveniently compare prices across alternative channels, which from the perspective of the seller making having a coherent strategy important. Using Barcelona up-market hotels as an example, this study evaluates hotel property’s pricing and distribution strategies by surveying room rates across a set of consumer focused distribution channels and analysing the findings in terms of consistency and logic. Findings indicate that Barcelona hotels do not have a coherent strategy and could benefit from re-evaluating the prices at which they sell their rooms on each channel. The findings are also compared to prior studies to benchmark their performance against international norms.