In this article we propose a research whose main objective will be to reach a methodology for assessment, comparing and improving the quality of hotels Websites. The need for this methodology is justified by the fact that, so far, we haven´t identified any methodology that widely integrates and focus the technical quality and the content quality of the Websites

Rocha, Alvaro

Victor, José Avelino

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MPRA
Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Quality of Hotels’ Websites: Proposal for
the Development of an Assessment
Methodology
Alvaro Rocha and Jose´ Avelino Victor
University Fernando Pessoa, High Institute of Maia
27. July 2009
Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/25213/
MPRA Paper No. 25213, posted 21. September 2010 13:47 UTC
TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM 
Volume 5, Number 1, Autumn 2010, pp. 173-178 
 173 
QUALITY OF HOTELS WEBSITES – PROPOSAL 
FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASSESSMENT 
METHODOLOGY 
 
 
Álvaro Rocha1
University Fernando Pessoa 
 
José Avelino Victor 
High Institute of Maia 
 
 
In this article we propose a research whose main objective will be to reach a 
methodology for assessment, comparing and improving the quality of hotels 
Websites. The need for this methodology is justified by the fact that, so far, we 
haven´t identified any methodology that widely integrates and focus the technical 
quality and the content quality of the Websites. 
 
Keywords: E-Tourism; Websites; Software Quality; Content Quality; 
Technical Quality 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
Tourism is now one of the greatest social and economic phenomena 
of the contemporary world (Sarpley 2002, WTO 2008), in which Internet is 
a facilitator instrument of the relationships between touristic products and 
touristic entities with whom they relate.  
Simultaneously, tourism is one of the domains where Internet is more 
used. In terms of sales, touristic products such as last minute air tickets, 
hotel rooms and package promotions are the most sold via the Internet, if 
not considering the sale of books (Arlt 2006). Thus, the Internet works as 
a main mechanism of reserves.  
In this context, marketing via the Internet has larger advantages than 
other means (Douglas & Mills 2004): it reduces the costs of divulgation 
and publicity activities; it eases the brochures and pamphlets update; it 
eases and turns its procedure more economical comparing, for example, 
                                                          
© University of the Aegean. Printed in Greece. Some rights reserved. ISSN: 1790-8418 
 
 
Álvaro Rocha & José Avelino Victor 
 174 
with the telephone channel; the information is available 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week.  
Thus, the hotels Websites becomes a competitive differentiation 
piece of the modern times, facilitating both the potential customers. 
 
APPROACHES FOR WEBSITES QUALITY ASSESSMENT 
 
The issues related to quality have been worrying many activity 
sectors in recent years particularly those associated with services and 
advanced technologies. Various contributions to the quality field as well 
as different thought schools have focused mainly on the quality definition 
and how to measure it (Mich et al. 2003). 
In this paper we adopt the quality definition of ISO (International 
Organization for Standardization), whether by falls in the same goals, or 
for its comprehensiveness and completeness, or its prestige of the entity 
in question, or its adoption in other important investigations (Mich et al. 
2003, Ho-Won et al. 2004). Therefore, we believe that quality is “the 
totality of characteristics (of the product or service) as the basis for 
satisfying the needs specified and implied” (ISO 1994). 
Relatively to the approaches for assessment, comparison and 
improvement of enforcement of quality requirements by Websites, we can 
identify two in literature: 
1. Methodologies focused on the Websites technical quality; 
2. Methodologies focused on the Websites content quality; 
The first approach makes use of models or standards of software 
quality and methods focused on the usability, derived from research in 
human-computer interaction area (HCI).  
The models of the first group include ISO standards, particularly the 
ISO-9126 (2001) for requirements and ISO-14598 (1998) for process 
guiding. The second group includes the approach that appeared with the 
hypermedia Web design and the importance of the interface conception to 
accelerate the information access and improve the overall human-
computer interaction. This approach defines quality in terms of usability 
[e.g., Obeso 2004, http://www.useit.com/alertbox) taking into account the 
user´s view.  
The second approach relies on the methodologies based on Likert 
scale surveys, to assess the content quality near the respondents, who are 
experts related to the content displayed on Websites or common users. In 
this approach stands out, for example, the work of Jadad (1998), Meric 
(2002) and Bernstam et al. (2005). 
TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM 
Volume 5, Number 1, Autumn 2010, pp. 173-178 
 175 
There is a third approach that is being considered sometimes, based 
on the known dimension of online services quality, which includes, for 
example, hotel booking. Despite the distinction, we not considered this 
approach, because the dimension on which is based is, often, integrated in 
the technical dimension of websites quality. 
  
PROBLEM, QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH AIM 
 
The conducted exploratory literature review showed us that the 
assessing aspects of the Websites technical quality and content quality are 
focused on a disconnected form.  
The problem that triggers the proposal of research for this article 
stems from the fact that, to date, we have not identified a methodology 
that integrates into one “package” and in a comprehensive manner the two 
approaches for assessing Websites: technical quality and content quality.  
Accordingly, we listed a number of issues that will preside the 
underlying project for this research proposal:  
• Is there a methodology for assessment, comparing and 
improving the Websites quality that comprehensively integrates the two 
quality approaches? 
• If yes, it will be possible to adapt it to the hotels Websites? 
• If not, it will be possible do develop a new methodology? 
The main aim of the proposed research will be to reach a 
methodology that can assess, compare and improve the hotels Websites in 
a comprehensive manner, integrating the technical quality aspect with the 
content quality aspect, such like in figure 1. 
 
 
Figure 1. Main dimensions of websites quality 
  
Technical 
Quality 
Contents 
Quality W
eb
sit
es
 Q
ua
lit
y 
Álvaro Rocha & José Avelino Victor 
 176 
METHODOLOGY 
 
Initially there is made a detailed review of the literature to identify 
approaches and existing methodologies related to the Websites quality 
assessment.  From these results, if not identified any methodology that 
meets all the criteria underlying our purpose, will be selected 
methodologies that can contribute significantly to the development of a 
first version of the methodology that we have propose to reach.  
After will be conducted an inquiry for specialists of Websites 
development and for users (managers/costumers and end-users) to set 
attributes and other elements that lead to a complement of the initial 
version of the proposed methodology, that integrate in a comprehensive 
manner the issues of technical quality and content quality of the hotels 
Websites. For the inquiry we relied mainly on semi-structured interviews.  
Finally, the methodology will be validated by audit/assessment 
experts of Websites quality, before taking out a study of cases for the 
methodology application for its final validation, in which Websites 
development specialists, managers/costumers and users will apply the 
methodology. At the end will be interviewed to identify the strengths and 
weaknesses of the methodology, with a consequent improvement. The 
resulting methodology is the main contribution to add to the existing 
knowledge in the field of Web quality.   
 
FINAL REMARKS 
 
From the study made until now we found that the methodologies for 
the Websites quality assessment do not adequately cover the two major 
dimensions related to that same quality: technical quality and content 
quality.  
Thus, we consider appropriate to develop a methodology to fill that 
gap, that is, a comprehensive approach that integrates the assessment of 
the technical quality and the content quality of the hotels Websites. This 
methodology will mean the main contribute of the proposed research.  
Finally, the methodology will be validated by audit/assessment 
experts of Websites quality, before taking out a study of cases for the 
methodology application for its final validation, in which Websites 
development specialists, managers/costumers and users will apply the 
methodology. At the end will be interviewed to identify the strengths and 
weaknesses of the methodology, with a consequent improvement. The 
resulting methodology is the main contribution to add to the existing 
knowledge in the field of Web quality.  
TOURISMOS: AN INTERNATIONAL MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF TOURISM 
Volume 5, Number 1, Autumn 2010, pp. 173-178 
 177 
REFERENCES 
 
Arlt, W.G. (2006). Not Very Willkommen: The Internet as a Marketing Tool for 
Attracting German-Speaking Tourists to Non-European Destinations. 
Information Technology & Tourism, Vol. 8, pp.227-238. 
Bernstam, E.V., Shelton, D., Walji, M. & Meric-Bernstam, F. (2005). Instruments 
to asses the quality of health information on the World Wide Web: What can 
our patients actually use? Int J Med Inform, Vol. 74, pp.13-19. 
Douglas, A. & Mills, J.E. (2004). Staying afloat in the tropics: Applying a 
structural equation model approach to evaluating national tourism 
organization websites in the Caribbean. In J.E. Mills & R. Law (Eds.), Hand-
book of consumer behavior, tourism and the Internet (pp. 269-294). 
Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. 
Ho-Won, J. Seung-Gweon, K. & Chang-Shin Chung (2004) Measuring Software 
Product Quality: A Survey of ISO/IEC 9126, IEEE Software, Vol. 21, No.5, 
pp.88-92.  
ISO/IEC (1998). 14598 -1 (IS): Information technology -- Software product. 
International Organization for Standardization. 
ISO/IEC (2001). ISO 9126-1:2001, Software engineering -- Product quality -- 
Part 1: Quality model. International Organization for Standardization. 
ISO DIS 8402 (1994). Quality Vocabulary.  International Organization for 
Standardization. 
Jadad, A. R e Gagliardi, A. (1998). Rating Health information on the Internet: 
navigating to knowledge or to Babel? JAMA, Vol. 25, No.279, pp.611-614. 
Mich, L., Franch, M. & e Gaio, L. (2003). Evaluating and Designing Web Site 
Quality. IEEE Multimedia, Janeiro-Março 2003, pp.34-43. 
Meric, F., et al. (2002). Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional 
survey of quality of information and popularity of Websites. BMJ, 324, 
pp.577-581. 
Obeso, M.  (2004). Metodología de Medición y Evaluación de la Usabilidad en 
Sitios Web Educativos. Tesis Doctoral. Universidad de Oviedo, La 
Universidad de Asturias. 
Sarpley, R. (2002). Tourism: A vehicle for development? In R. Sharpley & D. J. 
Telfer (Eds.), Tourism ande development (pp. 11-34). Clevedon: Channel 
View. 
WTO. (2008). Facts and Figures. Consulted in September 2008, from 
www.world-tourism.org/facts/menu.html. World Tourism Organizations. 
 
 
SUBMITTED: JULY 2009 
REVISION SUBMITTED: SEPTEMBER 2009 
ACCEPTED: DECEMBER 2009 
REFEREED ANONYMOUSLY 
Álvaro Rocha & José Avelino Victor 
 178 
Álvaro Rocha (amrocha@ufp.edu.pt) is an Associate Professor at 
University Fernando Pessoa, Department of Science & Technology, Pr. 9 
de Abril, 349, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal. 
José Avelino Victor (javemor@ismai.pt) is a Teacher at High Institute of 
Maia, Av. Carlos Oliveira Campos - Castelo da Maia, 4475-690 Avioso 
S. Pedro, Portugal. 


Quality of Hotels' Websites: Proposal for the Development of an Assessment Methodology

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Quality of Hotels' Websites: Proposal for the Development of an Assessment Methodology

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