Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs

Online presence is essential for tourism organisations, and the quality of websites can influence customers. In the case of hotels, there are many studies to evaluate website performance based on functionality, usability and other factors, much less on the amount of different information availab...

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Main Authors: Célia M.Q. Ramos, Marisol B. Correia, João M.F. Rodrigues, Carlos M.R. Sousa, Pedro M. Cascada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Algarve, ESGHT/CINTURS 2016-01-01
Series:Tourism & Management Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://tmstudies.net/index.php/ectms/article/view/835/pdf_2
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author Célia M.Q. Ramos
Marisol B. Correia
João M.F. Rodrigues
Carlos M.R. Sousa
Pedro M. Cascada
author_facet Célia M.Q. Ramos
Marisol B. Correia
João M.F. Rodrigues
Carlos M.R. Sousa
Pedro M. Cascada
author_sort Célia M.Q. Ramos
collection DOAJ
description Online presence is essential for tourism organisations, and the quality of websites can influence customers. In the case of hotels, there are many studies to evaluate website performance based on functionality, usability and other factors, much less on the amount of different information available to the consumer. In the near future by using Big Data it is expected that hotel websites will be dynamic, they will adapt themselves on-the-fly, showing personalized information to each consumer. Different consumers will have different websites (information’ available) from the same hotel. This paper presents a framework for the characterisation of hotel websites, focusing on the amount of information available to the consumer in each website, which was applied in a case study during the last months of 2013 to the websites of five-star hotels that operate in the tourist region of the Algarve, Portugal. The framework allowed to identify a set of exhaustive indicators for hotel website characterisation, which were then grouped into ten fundamental information dimensions. These dimensions further fell into four dimension groups. Finally, it is presented and discussed quantitative and qualitative evaluations, that illustrates which indicators and dimensions are more often considered on hotel websites to satisfy the consumer’s information needs.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2182-8466
language English
publishDate 2016-01-01
publisher University of Algarve, ESGHT/CINTURS
record_format Article
series Tourism & Management Studies
spelling doaj-art-b9808ebba0e24d95a27c0011304793ad2025-02-02T10:44:10ZengUniversity of Algarve, ESGHT/CINTURSTourism & Management Studies2182-84662016-01-01121253910.18089/tms.2016.12103Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needsCélia M.Q. Ramos0Marisol B. Correia1João M.F. Rodrigues2Carlos M.R. Sousa3Pedro M. Cascada4University of the Algarve - ESGHT and CEFAGE (University of Évora); Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalUniversity of the Algarve – ESGHT and CEG-IST (Universidade de Lisboa); Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalUniversity of the Algarve - ISE, LARSyS and CIAC; Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalUniversity of the Algarve – ESGHT, Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalUniversity of the Algarve – ESGHT, Campus da Penha, 8005-139 Faro, PortugalOnline presence is essential for tourism organisations, and the quality of websites can influence customers. In the case of hotels, there are many studies to evaluate website performance based on functionality, usability and other factors, much less on the amount of different information available to the consumer. In the near future by using Big Data it is expected that hotel websites will be dynamic, they will adapt themselves on-the-fly, showing personalized information to each consumer. Different consumers will have different websites (information’ available) from the same hotel. This paper presents a framework for the characterisation of hotel websites, focusing on the amount of information available to the consumer in each website, which was applied in a case study during the last months of 2013 to the websites of five-star hotels that operate in the tourist region of the Algarve, Portugal. The framework allowed to identify a set of exhaustive indicators for hotel website characterisation, which were then grouped into ten fundamental information dimensions. These dimensions further fell into four dimension groups. Finally, it is presented and discussed quantitative and qualitative evaluations, that illustrates which indicators and dimensions are more often considered on hotel websites to satisfy the consumer’s information needs.https://tmstudies.net/index.php/ectms/article/view/835/pdf_2website characterisationtourismhospitalitycontent analysiswebsite quality
spellingShingle Célia M.Q. Ramos
Marisol B. Correia
João M.F. Rodrigues
Carlos M.R. Sousa
Pedro M. Cascada
Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
Tourism & Management Studies
website characterisation
tourism
hospitality
content analysis
website quality
title Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
title_full Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
title_fullStr Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
title_full_unstemmed Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
title_short Hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer’s information needs
title_sort hotel websites characterisation framework for consumer s information needs
topic website characterisation
tourism
hospitality
content analysis
website quality
url https://tmstudies.net/index.php/ectms/article/view/835/pdf_2
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AT marisolbcorreia hotelwebsitescharacterisationframeworkforconsumersinformationneeds
AT joaomfrodrigues hotelwebsitescharacterisationframeworkforconsumersinformationneeds
AT carlosmrsousa hotelwebsitescharacterisationframeworkforconsumersinformationneeds
AT pedromcascada hotelwebsitescharacterisationframeworkforconsumersinformationneeds