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Selling Rooms Online: The Use of Social Media and Online Travel Agents
No full textPurpose
– This paper aims to focus on the reason why hoteliers choose to be present in online travel agent (OTA) and social media web sites for sales purposes. It also investigates the technological and human factors related to these two practices.
Design/methodology/approach
– The research is based on a survey sent to a wide range of hotels in a Swiss touristic region. The empirical analysis involves the specification of two ordered logit models exploring the importance (in terms of online sales) of both social media and the online travel agent, Booking.com.
Findings
– Findings highlight the constant tension between visibility and online sales in the web arena, as well as a clear distinction in social media and OTA web site adoption between hospitality structures using online management tools and employing personnel with specific skills.
Practical implications
– The research highlights the need for the hospitality industry to maintain an effective presence on social media and OTAs in order to move towards the creation of a new form of social booking technologies to increase their visibility and sales.
Originality/value
– This research contributes to understanding the major role played by OTAs and social media in the hospitality industry while underlining the possibility of a major interplay between the two
The 5th Conference of the International Association for Tourism Economics: 30 June to 3 July 2015, Hong Kong SAR, China
No full textThe 5th Conference of the International Association for Tourism Economic
Comparing Reservation Channels for Hotel Rooms: A Behavioral Perspective
No full textThis paper studies the customers’ selection of different sales channels for booking hotel rooms. Direct (hotel website) and indirect channels were considered, in which the latter were distinguished according to online travel agencies, destination marketing organization (DMO) website, and DMO call center. A multinomial logit model was estimated to investigate the influencing factors among a specific set of variables of interest (associated with either customer or hotel). The role of DMO as a third-party actor in booking hotel rooms was also investigated. Results indicated that hotel guest profile and hotel characteristics have different effects on the four analyzed sales channels. The active role of DMO in booking hotel rooms was found to be beneficial to the hotel industry as it attracts specific segments of customers, thus creating additional marketing opportunity. Relevant managerial implications were also outlined
The relation between push motivation and activity consumption at the destination within the framework of a destination card
No full textThis research analyses the influence of tourist' psychological motivation visiting a destination on their actual travel behaviour and the use of this information for bundling tourism attractions and services in a destination card. The relation between push motivation and activity consumption at the destination is recognized in the literature. The paper extends this evidence by introducing activeness indicators measured according to the amount and type of activity participation normalized to the length of stay. Regarding destination cards the paper investigates, through the use of ordered logistic regressions, four requirements (monetary, timesaving, informational and customization), defined as the benefits of a card tourists may find important. The model results show a significant relation between card requirements and both activeness and motivation, suggesting that destination cards need to be based on natural and cultural attractions, whereas entertainment, sport and social activities can be only additional benefits on discounted price. The data has been collected in the Ticino region, Switzerland. The sample refers to 586 face to face interviews with tourists visiting the area. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd
Tourists intra-destination visits and transport mode: A bivariate probit model
No full textThis paper proposes that movement patterns and transportation mode choices are linked, and then identifies the estimation of a bivariate probit model as an appropriate technique to investigate the two correlated choices. The two variables are described by a mixed combination of independent variables, wherein the transport mode choice can be explained by demographics, whereas movement patterns are influenced by trip characteristics. Moreover, the introduction of activity participation and motivation in the model allows for a better understanding of tourist behavior in relation to the two investigated variables. Finally, marginal effects are derived to quantify the impacts and draw policy implications in destination management and transport planning. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd
Regret minimisation and utility maximisation in a freight transport context
No full textThis study is the first to compare random regret minimisation (RRM) and random utility maximisation (RUM) in freight transport application. This paper aims to compare RRM and RUM in a freight transport scenario involving negative shock in the reference alternative. Based on data from two stated choice experiments conducted among Swiss logistics managers, this study contributes to related literature by exploring for the first time the use of mixed logit models in the most recent version of the RRM approach. We further investigate two paradigm choices by computing elasticities and forecasting choice probability. We find that regret is important in describing the managers' choices. Regret increases in the shock scenario, supporting the idea that a shift in reference point can cause a shift towards regret minimisation. Differences in elasticities and forecast probability are identified and discussed appropriately. © 2013 Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies Limited
Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together? The Impact of Ethnic Segregation Preferences on Neighbourhood Choice
No full textEthnic residential segregation can arise from voluntary or imposed clustering of some ethnicities in specific urban areas. However, up to now it has been difficult to untangle the real causes underlying the segregation phenomena. In particular, voluntary segregation preferences could not be revealed from the observed location choices given the existence of constraints in the real housing market. This study aims at analysing the voluntary segregation drivers through a stated preferences experiment of neighbourhood choice. This method obviates the choice-constraint issue by allowing a hypothetically free choice of alternative urban locations. The results suggest that ethnic preferences exist, positive for co-national neighbours and negative for other foreign groups. However, such preferences do not constitute a major location choice driver given relatively modest willingness-to-pay for ethnic neighbourhood characteristics. Certain heterogeneity in preferences for higher concentration of own co-nationals is captured for households of different origins and educational attainment. © 2013 Urban Studies Journal Limited
Estimation of indirect cost and evaluation of protective measures for infrastructure vulnerability: A case study on the transalpine transport corridor
No full textInfrastructure vulnerability is a topic of rising interest in the scientific literature for both the general increase of unexpected events and the strategic importance of certain links. Protective investments are extremely costly and risks are distributed in space and time, which poses important decision problems to the public sector decision makers.In an economic prospective, the evaluation of infrastructure vulnerability is oriented on the estimation of direct and indirect costs of hazards. Although the estimation of direct costs is straightforward, the evaluation of indirect cost involves factors non-directly observable making the approximation a difficult issue. This paper provides an estimate of the indirect costs caused by a two weeks closure of the north-south Gotthard road corridor, one of the most important infrastructure links in Europe, and implements a cost-benefit analysis tool that allows the evaluation of measures ensuring a full protection along the corridor. The identification of the indirect cost relies on the generalized cost estimation, which parameters come from two stated preference experiments, the first based on actual condition whereas the second assumes a road closure. The procedure outlined in this paper proposes a methodology aimed to identify and quantify the economic vulnerability associated with a road transport infrastructure and, to evaluate the economic and social efficiency of a vulnerability reduction by the consideration of protective measures. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd
Modeling tourist accessibility to peripheral attractions
Full text linkUrban destinations worldwide face the challenge of spreading tourists from central urban areas to less visited peripheral areas. However, visiting peripheral attractions often implies lengthy journeys and the engagement of multiple means of transport. This study provides a conceptual and methodological framework to assess utility-based tourist accessibility to peripheral urban attractions. A discrete choice experiment was designed to investigate tourist preferences with respect to different types and ratings of tourist attractions and the key characteristics of collective and individual public transport alternatives. The estimation of a hybrid choice model provides empirical evidence for the relevance of repeat visitation, length of stay and public transport system perceptions in the assessment of tourist accessibility to peripheral urban attractions
Will Procambarus clarkii be able to invade the estuarine andlagoonal areas of the Adriatic coast (North-eastern Italy)?
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