Rob Law

The influence of user-generated content on traveler behavior: An empirical investigation on the effects of e-word-of-mouth to hotel online bookings

The increasing use of web 2.0 applications has generated numerous online user reviews. Prior studies have revealed the influence of user-generated reviews on the sales of products such as CDs, books, and movies. However, the influence of online user-generated reviews in the tourism industry is still largely unknown both to tourism researchers and practitioners. To bridge this knowledge gap in tourism management, we conducted an empirical study to identify the impact of online user-generated reviews on business performance using data extracted from a major online travel agency in China. The empirical findings show that traveler reviews have a significant impact on online sales, with a 10 percent increase in traveler review ratings boosting online bookings by more than five percent. Our results highlight the importance of online user-generated reviews to business performance in tourism.

Developing a performance indicator for hotel websites

Abstract This research note presents an information quality evaluation model for measuring the performance of hotel websites. The model is developed on the basis of a conceptual framework which consists of five major hotel website dimensions, including facilities information, customer contact information, reservations information, surrounding area information, and management of websites. The dimensions and their associated attributes were obtained and modified from published articles in the hospitality and tourism literature. A preliminary study was performed with Hong Kong hotel managers to rate the level of importance of the dimensions and attributes. The model was then applied to initially measure the performance of the websites of Hong Kong hotels. The performance result of a website is expressed by the total performance score of the site. Experimental findings show significant differences in performance scores for all dimensions among the luxurious, mid-priced, and budget hotel websites. This research should be of interest to hotel practitioners and researchers as the findings shed light on the further development of quantitative measurements for hotel websites.

A study of hotel information technology applications

Purpose – Information technology (IT) applications in the hotel industry have largely been devoted to the handling of the routine operational problems that crop up while running a hotel. Previously, the hotel industry has been criticised as reluctant to make full use of IT. This paper reports and analyses the findings of a recent survey on IT applications in Hong Kong hotels.Design/methodology/approach – Through personal interviews with 21 managers of hotel electronic data processing/management information systems (EDP/MIS) in 2003, different technical and behavioural aspects of IT were examined.Findings – Compared with a similar study performed in 1997, the empirical findings in 2003 showed that IT was used not merely to replace the existing paper system but also to improve customer services and to enhance operational effectiveness. Unfortunately, the empirical findings also indicated that hotel decision makers did not seem to realise the importance of IT for the purpose of developing business strategies...

The impact of the Internet on travel agencies

This paper examines tourist perceptions of the potential for the elimination of travel agencies in the presence of the Internet. The opinions of 413 tourists on making transactions through both Internet‐based (hereafter, online) and traditional distribution channels were analysed. Experimental results illustrated that tourists still used professional services and advice offered by travel agencies. Tourists also agreed that more information could be found through the Internet. Following the findings, the paper suggests that both online and traditional distributional channels can coexist in the future.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM: A REVIEW OF PUBLICATIONS FROM 2005 TO 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale.

Helpful reviewers in TripAdvisor, an online travel community.

ABSTRACT Online communities need a critical mass for communication, information, and entertainment and should provide useful information for their members in order to obtain this critical mass. The abundance of online travel reviews increases cognitive costs of travelers, and travelers use extrinsic cues to judge the quality of online reviews to eliminate costs associated with the information process. Of various cues used in online environments, this study examined an online reputation system in TripAdvisor.com and profiled the reviewers who post helpful reviews in the online travel community. The key findings include that helpful reviewers are those who travel more, actively post reviews, belong to any age and gender groups, and give lower hotel ratings. This study adds to research of online travel reviewers by characterizing helpful information creators among online content creators.

How do the preferences of online buyers and browsers differ on the design and content of travel websites

Purpose – The issue of perceptions between buyers who have made online purchases and browsers who have browsed websites on the quality of travel websites is rarely, if ever, investigated by tourism and hospitality researchers. This paper aims to report on a study that examined these two groups of users perceived importance of the factors that contribute to content richness and ease of use of travel websites. In addition, it seeks to study these users level of satisfaction and purchase intention.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 862 international travelers were interviewed in Hong Kong International Airport in October 2005.Findings – Empirical findings indicated that travel website users viewed quality factors important, and they were generally satisfied with travel websites. Although these website users had a positive view for purchase intention in the long term, there existed significant differences between the two groups of users in all attributes of customer satisfaction and purchase intention...

Profiling the Users of Travel Websites for Planning and Online Experience Sharing

This article reports the findings of a study that examined Hong Kong online users who use travel websites for travel planning and online travel experience sharing. The empirical findings from a large-scale domestic survey conducted in 2010 reveal that 32.7% of the respondents had used at least one travel website for travel planning in the past 2 years. In addition, 24.5% of these respondents had shared their travel experience online. On the whole, the travel website users were young, highly educated, and had a high level of personal income. In general, the propensity to share travel experiences decreased with age. In contrast, education level up to college/university level positively influenced the respondents’ willingness to share travel experiences, but the propensity decreased with higher levels of education. This study, although limited in scope, will be of interest to academic researchers and industry practitioners who are seeking to better understand the behavior of travelers using the Internet.

How do Mainland Chinese travelers choose restaurants in Hong Kong?: An exploratory study of individual visit scheme travelers and packaged travelers.

n Abstractn n The introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), which allows Mainland Chinese travelers (hereafter called Chinese travelers) to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis, has been beneficial to the fast recovery of the local economy in Hong Kong from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The IVS travelers, together with the packaged travelers who visited Hong Kong by joining packaged tours, are presently forming the largest segment of inbound travelers to Hong Kong. Despite the significant economic contributions of Chinese travelers to Hong Kong in general, and to the foodservice sector in particular, there has been an absence of prior studies on IVS travelers’ behavior of selecting restaurants in the existing hospitality and tourism literature. This paper reports on an exploratory study that investigated the perceived importance of attributes that pertain to the selection of restaurants from the perspective of IVS and packaged travelers from Mainland China. Empirical findings of a questionnaire survey with 230 Chinese travelers, including 127 IVS travelers and 103 packaged travelers, showed that the respondents in general viewed the included attributes as relatively important. In addition, only two attributes exhibited significant differences between IVS and packaged travelers. Findings of this research would be useful for hospitality and tourism practitioners to better prepare for receiving the growing number of Chinese travelers.n n

Progress and Development of Information Technology in the Hospitality Industry Evidence from Cornell Hospitality Quarterly

In view of the synergistic interaction between technology and hospitality services, this article reports the findings of a study that analyzed articles related to information technology (IT) published in Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (CQ) and its predecessor, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly (CHRAQ), a first-tier journal that places emphasis on the application of research to hospitality businesses. Through an examination of content from CHRAQ’s inaugural issue in the early 1960s to the latest volume (in mid-2011), ninety-five articles were identified as relevant. A content analysis revealed that more than half of the articles focused on the hospitality industry in general and that a substantial number of IT-related articles had been published since the 1980s. This article contributes to a better understanding of the progress of the IT research conducted by hospitality researchers over the past five decades.