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

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Selling Rooms Online: The Use of Social Media and Online Travel Agents

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on the reason why hoteliers choose to be present in online travel agent (OTA) and social media web sites for sales purposes. It also investigates the technological and human factors related to these two practices. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on a survey sent to a wide range of hotels in a Swiss touristic region. The empirical analysis involves the specification of two ordered logit models exploring the importance (in terms of online sales) of both social media and the online travel agent, Booking.com. Findings – Findings highlight the constant tension between visibility and online sales in the web arena, as well as a clear distinction in social media and OTA web site adoption between hospitality structures using online management tools and employing personnel with specific skills. Practical implications – The research highlights the need for the hospitality industry to maintain an effective presence on social media and OTAs in order to move towards the creation of a new form of social booking technologies to increase their visibility and sales. Originality/value – This research contributes to understanding the major role played by OTAs and social media in the hospitality industry while underlining the possibility of a major interplay between the two

Internet and Consumer behaviour in Travel and Tourism: A European Cross-National Analysis

The emergence of the internet and the development of ICTs have transformed communications and the marketing of products and services. This paper examines the extent to which the internet has penetrated homes in the various EU countries and how online consumers behave in activities linked to travel and tourism. The years 2007 and 2016 were analysed in order to make a comparison over time of the progression of the internet and ICTs among EU citizens and to examine similarities and differences in behaviour patterns in the field of tourism. This study helps confirm a correlation between digitalisation and ICTs in buying habits for tourism products and services, finding that though digital divides between countries are narrowing over time, this is not the case in the use of ICTs in tourism in particular. Our findings indicate divergent behaviour patterns and trends in online travel and accommodation management and in the way that ICTs are used in the European Union

Customer empowerment in tourism through Consumer Centric Marketing (CCM)

We explain Consumer Centric Marketing (CCM) and adopt this new technique to travel context. Benefits and disadvantages of the CCM are outlined together with warnings of typical caveats Value: CCM will be expected as the norm in the travel industry by customers of the future, yet it is only the innovators who gain real tangible benefits from this development. We outline current and future opportunities to truly place your customer at the centre and provide the organisation with some real savings/gains through the use of ICT Practical Implications: We offer tangible examples for travel industry on how to utilise this new technology. The technology is already available and the ICT companies are keen to establish ways how consumers can utilise it, i.e. by providing ‘content’ for these ICT products the travel industry can fully gain from these developments and also enhance consumers’ gains from it. This can result in more satisfied customers for the travel (as well as ICT) companies thus truly adopting the basic philosophy of marketin

Economic Exposure and Crisis Resilience in Exogenous Shock : The Short-Term Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the EU

The coronavirus epidemic arrived in Europe in the spring of 2020, causing a significant slowdown in economic activity. The study examines the preparedness, vulnerability, exposure and performance of 25 European countries during the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. Countries can be divided into seven groups with the cluster analysis executed during the research, based on fiscal, social, and external vulnerability indicators. Specific patterns of country groups are explored in the value and evolution of crisis period indicators of production, labor market, mobility and risk premium. The aim of the analysis is to find a correlation between pre-crisis preparedness and the extent of the economic shock caused by the crisis. The research divided the countries into seven groups based on their fiscal and social stance and external vulnerability. Then, specific patterns of country groups are explored in the value and evolution of production, labour market, mobility and risk premium indicators during the crisis. The analysis concludes that a clear link can be established merely between the state of public finances and the indicator of financial risk in the examination of the behaviour of clusters. For all clusters, it was confirmed that the decline in mobility was mostly accompanied by a slowdown in industrial production, but not by unemployment, which may indicate the impact of economic policy measures aimed at maintaining jobs. The results support the initial theoretical assumption that in an economic crisis caused by a exogenous shock originated in non-economic factor, the explanatory power in terms of short-term effects is much lower than in crises caused by economic risks