Mathew Shafaghi

The Internet is rapidly becoming the dominant user decision making tool for the hotel accommodation purchase process. This paper critically reviews online hotel accommodation purchase processes literature and proposes a literature framework analysis of online hotel accommodation process factors. The objective of this research is to propose a statistically based framework based on clickstream/log file analytics of both the internal and external influencers of the process. The internal process influencers (the individual themselves, search engines, third parties/social media sites and hotel websites) and the external process influencers (online access devices and user visual interaction) are reviewed before being formulated into proposed framework of the online hotel accommodation process.

The purpose of this chapter was to examine how consumers use the Internet to purchase Irish hospitality products specifically trips, holidays or breaks and to monitor how these purchases are influenced by human factors. The aim was to examine the process sequentially in order to attempt to model or structure this behaviour. Irish consumers attitudes were to be contrasted with international consumer research starting with their acceptance or rejection of the Internet medium and online factors such as price, trust and loyalty. The purchase decisions were then to be examined to determine the effects of human factors on the purchase method and subsequently the Irish hospitality stakeholders.
Quantitative research was gathered from two main groups, offline consumers and their acceptance and adoption of the Internet medium and online consumers who were observed for their online human factors of their online search and decisions.
The research found that Irish hospitality consumers’ online behaviour is consistent with international developed nations’ norms. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Flow Theory consumers were found to be very competent and comfortable with the Internet medium. Price, trust and loyalty were determining factors in the method in which the consumer decided to purchase the Irish hospitality product. The navigational pathway chosen using these human factors in turn determined whether the consumer booked directly with the Irish hospitality industry stakeholder or booked using an international intermediary resulting in revenue being lost to the Irish hospitality industry.