Travel Agencies: From online channel conflict to multi-channel harmony

The adoption of Internet as a distribution channel and a privileged e-commerce tool has pressed Travel Agencies (TAs) to a latent channel conflict. Our main interest is to understand how the traditional independent travel agencies in Portugal deal with the online channel. We suggest that TAs have to develop an innovative business model based on the online and offline complementary channels, in order to achieve a multi-channel harmony

The future impact of changes in rate parity agreements on hotel chains: the long-term implications of the removal of rate parity agreements between hotels and online travel agents using closed consumer group booking models

The Office of Fair Trading, a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom (from April 2014 incorporated within the Competition and Markets Authority), investigated the legality of rate parity from 2012, particularly rate parity agreements made between Intercontinental Hotel Group, Booking.com, and Expedia. Consequently, these major hotel brands and agents have committed to remove rate parity for closed consumer groups. This article identifies confusion over such groups and longer term implications. Smaller agents will enter the market, leading to increased fragmentation and competition. Branded hotels will face tough challenges in protecting prices and value from aggressive agents suddenly facing a more competitive market and independent hoteliers able to establish effective relationships with the new, smaller agents. Keywords : Rate parity, pricing, closed consumer groups, hotels

The hotel industry’s responses to COVID-19: Insight from hybrid thematic analysis and experimental research

Although the travel and tourism industry has been decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic, little research has empirically examined the types and effectiveness of the hotel’s industry’s responses. To examine common response strategies within the hotel industry and assess their effectiveness, two studies were conducted. Study 1 included a hybrid approach involving deductive and inductive thematic analyses to evaluate a large volume of news articles. Five broad themes emerged: revenue management, crisis communication, alternative approaches to service delivery, human resource management, and corporate social responsibility. Drawing upon protection motivation theory, Study 2 involved a pre-test, pilot study, and main experimental study to investigate the effectiveness of three customer-oriented response strategies. Results showed that reassuring crisis communication and contactless services can foster consumer confidence and response efficacy, leading to positive customer attitudes and booking intentions. Crisis communication and price discount were found to influence consumers’ attitudes and booking intentions directly

Hotel Classification Systems: A Comparison of International Case Studies

Over the last few decades we have witnessed an increasing interest of scholars andespecially operators in service quality in the lodging business. Firstly, it is important to observe thatthe diverseness of the hospitality industry also affects the classification of hotel quality. We canactually find many programmes, classifications and seals of quality promoted by public authoritiesand private companies that create confusion in the consumer perceptions of hotel quality. Moreover,new electronic distribution channels and their ratings are becoming a new way to gather informationabout a hotel and its quality. Secondly, a point that can cause complications is that different countriesand regions can choose differing approaches depending on the features of the classification (numberof levels, symbols used, etc.) and the nature of the programme (public, private). Considering theseassumptions and the recent changes in the Italian hotel classification system, this paper aims toanalyse the situation in Italy, underlining both its positive and negative aspects and comparing it withother European and North American cases. Based on a review of literature and tourism laws as wellas personal interviews with public authorities and exponents of the private sectors, we were able toidentify critical issues and trends in hotel classification systems. The comparison of case studiesshows a heterogeneous situation. Points in common are the scale and the symbol used but, if weanalyse the requirements of each category, we discover very different circumstances, also sometimesin the same country. A future European classification system could be possible only after astandardization of minimum requirements and criteria at a national level. In this situation brands andonline consumers’ feedbacks become even more considered by the customers in the hospitalityindustry

eEnabled internet distribution for small and medium sized hotels: the case of hospitality SMEs in Athens

Advances in information and communications technologies (ICTs) have strategic implications for a wide range of industries. Tourism and hospitality have dramatically changed by the ICTs and the Internet and gradually emerge as the leading industry on online expenditure. The Internet revolutionised traditional distribution models, enabled new entries propelled both disintermediation and reintermediation and altered the sources of competitive advantage. This paper explores the strategic implications of ICTs and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of Internet distribution for small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises (SMEs). Primary research in Athens hotels demonstrates the effects of the Internet and ICTs for secondary markets, where there is lower penetration and ICT adoption. Interviews and questionnaires identified a number of strategies in order to optimise distribution. The analysis illustrates the strategic role of ICTs and the Internet for hospitality organisations and Small and Medium-sized organisations in general. Most hotels employ a distribution mix that determines the level and employment of the Internet. The paper demonstrates that only organisations that use ICTs strategically will be able to develop their electronic distribution and achieve competitive advantages in the future

Study on Online Hotel Reservation Systems

This study, conducted by Civic Consulting, looks at both pre-contractual and contractual matters concerning online hotel reservation systems, examines relevant Community rules, identifies gaps and, where needed, discusses possible policy options. Key conclusions The study shows that the impact of Community law on online hote

Usages of the internet and e-tourism. Towards a new economy of tourism

This paper analyses the impact of internet on the organization of industry and the marketdynamics in the tourism activities, focusing in the European scene. Tourism incorporates many features ofthe contemporaneous information and communication economy. Even if e-tourism still stands for a smallshare of the whole tourism activity, the paper establishes that the internet basically explains theorganization of the activities and markets that emerge today. A relevant analytical framework able toapprehend these dynamics is first defined. The concept of sectoral system of production and innovation isshown to provide a relevant analytical framework to grasp the basic changes of the tourism industry. Thepaper enlightens on this basis the evolution resulting from the emergence of e-tourism and the uses ofinternet, their impacts on the coordination of the activities and the markets, with a special focus on theEuropean caseTourism; Sectoral Systems of Production and Innovation;ICT; Virtual Communities; GDS

The case of TUI : sailing into a bright future or sinking like Thomas Cook?

In the rapidly changing environment of the tourism industry, it becomes crucial for its players to adapt to exogenous factors in order to stay competitive and profitable in the long run. As an increasing number of tourists were individually booking their holidays through online booking portals, the business model of pure tour operators was being undermined. While some players, like TUI, saw the digitalization as an opportunity to change its business model, others, like Thomas Cook, failed to adapt. The case of TUI, one of the largest tourism groups worldwide, serves as an example of a successful strategic change and fit to environmental and organizational contingencies. The case demonstrates how TUI transformed its business model from a traditional tour operator towards a fully vertically integrated provider of holiday experiences. The new management introduced a strategic initiative in 2013, which involved the important merger of the parent company TUI AG with its subsidiary TUI Travel to reach full vertical integration. Thereafter, TUI highly invested in assets in terms of hotels and cruise ships as well as destination experiences. It illustrates, that the management made use of Dynamic Capabilities and changed the company’s resource base through the corporate strategy of vertical integration, in particular in the form of taper integration. Although the strategic change had proven to be successful, the vertical integration exposed the group to enormous financial challenges, when the corona pandemic brought the world to a standstill in 2020.Num ambiente em rápida mudança, como o da indústria do turismo, torna-se crucial que as empresas se adaptem a fatores exógenos para permanecerem competitivas e lucrativas a longo prazo. Com um número crescente de turistas a reservar as suas férias individualmente on-line, o modelo de negócios dos operadores turísticos puros foi posto em causa. Enquanto alguns players, como a TUI, viram a digitalização como uma oportunidade para mudar o seu modelo de negócios, outros, como a Thomas Cook, não conseguiram adaptar-se. O caso da TUI, um dos maiores grupos turísticos do mundo, serve como exemplo de uma mudança estratégica bem-sucedida e adequada às contingências ambientais e organizacionais. O caso demonstra como a TUI transformou o seu modelo de negócios, de uma operadora de turismo tradicional para um fornecedor de experiências de férias totalmente integrado verticalmente. A nova administração introduziu, em 2013, uma iniciativa estratégica que envolveu a importante fusão da empresa-mãe TUI AG com a sua subsidiária TUI Travel para alcançar uma integração vertical completa. Posteriormente, a TUI investiu muito em ativos, tais como hotéis e navios de cruzeiro, bem como em experiências nos destinos de férias. O caso ilustra como a gestão de topo utilizou as dynamic capabilities para mudar a base de recursos da empresa por meio duma estratégia corporativa de integração vertical, em particular na forma duma ‘taper integration’. Embora a mudança estratégica tenha sido bem-sucedida, a integração vertical expôs o grupo a enormes desafios financeiros, quando a pandemia causada pelo coronavírus parou o mundo em 2020

The VAT treatment of the payments on account in distance selling in the light of Consumer Rights Directive

Payments made prior to the delivery of the goods or services are either payments on account or deposits. ECJ has interpreted both concepts and concluded that VAT treatment must differ in both cases. In the cross-border business-to-consumer distance sale transactions consumers have the right to withdraw from the agreements for no reason. This rule is provoking and influencing both traditional contract law and the treatment of advance payments. The analysis in the thesis concentrates on how and if the consumer’s right to withdraw from the distance sales agreements is influencing the application of the notion of payments on account and whether the rules of Consumer Rights protection legislation are influencing the VAT treatment of the transactions. In order to get a deeper knowledge of challenges with advance payments, a closer look is taken at how ECJ, VAT Committee and AG has interpreted the notion of prepayments particularly in connection with the interpretation in the area of distance sales and consumer rights