Abstract
The presence of User Generated Content (UGC) in the
online platforms of hotel room booking operators is changing the way consumers
book a hotel room and the practices of management in the hotel industry. This
study attempts to investigate the factors that impact the booking of hotel
rooms. Accordingly, after a review of the technology acceptance models, we
identify the variables that will be used to predict the performance of online
hotel room bookings. Based on an online survey to 624 users of the website Booking.com,
applied during March 2016, a linear regression model was built. The results
show that attitude towards UGC and the perceived ease to use of UGC are important
determinants in the decision making of the process of booking a hotel room.
This result shows the relevance of UGC (ratings and reviews) for online booking
operators, as UGC could influence the booking of a particular hotel room.
Further, the result also brings important implications for hotel managers that
pay less attention to the feedback of the customers.
Keywords: User-generated content; technology
acceptance models: online booking; hotels management.
J. Freitas Santos
Susana Bernardino
José Cadima Ribeiro
André Freitas
[Resumo de comunicação apresentada no 58th ERSA Congress, subordinado genericamente ao tema ´Places for
People: Innovative, Inclusive and Liveable Regions`, que decorreu na University
College Cork, Cork, Irlanda, entre 28 e 21 de agosto de 2018]
