Online Travel Agents—Hotels’ Foe or Friend? A Case Study of Mainland China

Lorraine Zhang; Basak Denizci Guillet; Deniz Kucukusta Seyidir

doi:10.1080/19388160.2015.1111823

Online Travel Agents—Hotels’ Foe or Friend? A Case Study of Mainland China

Lorraine Zhang, Basak Denizci Guillet, Deniz Kucukusta Seyidir

Research output: Journal article publication › Journal article › Academic research › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The emerging Chinese hotel market offers clear opportunities for online travel agents (OTAs). The distribution landscape has been reshaped as a result of recent technological advancements and new emerging players. This study examines how OTAs operate in the Chinese market and their relationship with hotels from an agency theory perspective. Data were collected from secondary sources using keyword searches from January 2013 to May 2014. The findings indicate that hotels have little negotiating power with OTAs, and consequently the OTAs play a dominant role in their relationship with hotels. Meanwhile, the competition between OTAs is more intense than the competition between OTAs and hotels due to recent technological advancements and the intervention of Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent in the Chinese OTA market.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	349-370
Number of pages	22
Journal	Journal of China Tourism Research
Volume	11
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2015.1111823
Publication status	Published - 2 Oct 2015

Keywords

agency problem
hotel
hotel distribution
Online travel agents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cultural Studies
Language and Linguistics
Linguistics and Language
Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management

More information

10.1080/19388160.2015.1111823

Cite this

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AU - Kucukusta Seyidir, Deniz

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Online Travel Agents—Hotels’ Foe or Friend? A Case Study of Mainland China

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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