Exploring price fluctuations across different online travel agencies: A case study of room reservations in an upscale hotel in Hong Kong

Sunny Sun, Chun Hung Roberts Law, Sze Ming Tse

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Internet has changed the traditional behavior of customers when purchasing tourism-related products, especially when reserving hotel rooms online. Online travel agencies (OTAs) that offer Web-based hotel room reservation services have proliferated in recent years. This study explores fluctuations in hotel room rates offered by OTAs, a topic that has yet to be fully explored. The results show that ‘last-minute sales mode’ is less frequently adopted among different OTAs at present. Moreover, these agencies even charge the same room rate regardless of the hotel rating (e.g. 5-star, 4.5-star, or 4-star). Furthermore, bundle pricing is more cost-effective than purchasing separate items. Finally, most OTAs have failed to keep their promise of a ‘best rate guarantee’. These findings can help hotel managers improve their strategic management, ensure rate parity among various OTAs, and assist customers in reserving hotel rooms online.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-178
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Vacation Marketing
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015

Keywords

  • Hong Kong
  • online travel agencies
  • price fluctuation
  • room reservation
  • upscale hotel

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

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