Abstract
The number and variety of web based distribution channels over which the customer can purchase the hotel product continues to grow, which has resulted in increased price transparency. Customers can use the web to easily and conveniently compare prices across alternative channels, which from the perspective of the seller making having a coherent strategy important. Using Barcelona up-market hotels as an example, this study evaluates hotel property’s pricing and distribution strategies by surveying room rates across a set of consumer focused distribution channels and analysing the findings in terms of consistency and logic. Findings indicate that Barcelona hotels do not have a coherent strategy and could benefit from re-evaluating the prices at which they sell their rooms on each channel. The findings are also compared to prior studies to benchmark their performance against international norms.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anckar, B & Walden, P (2001) Introducing Web Technology in a small peripheral hospitality organization, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 14(2) 94–97
Biswas, D (2002) Economics of information in the Web economy: Towards a new theory?, Journal of Business Research, 57, pp 724–733
Bowers, B & Freitag, J (2004) The Billion Dollar Leak — The Impact of the merchant model on US Hotel Profits, The Bottomline, January, pp 18–19
Carroll, B & O’Connor, P (2005) European Hotels: Managing Hospitality Distribution (Preview), PhoCusWright, Sherman, CT.
Carroll, B & Siguaw, J (2003) The Evolution of Electronic Distribution: Effects on Hotels and Intermediaries, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, August, p 38–50.
Choi, S & Kirmes, S (2002) Electronic distribution channels’ effect on hotel revenue management, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, June, pp 22–31
Clay, K, Krishnan R & Wolff E (2001) Prices and Price Dispersion on the Web: Evidence from the Online Book Industry, Journal of Industrial Economics, December, pp 521–539.
Danziger, S, Israeli, A & Bekerman, M (2004) Investigating Pricing Decisions in the Hospitality Industry Using the Behavioural Process Method, Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing, 11(2/3), pp 5–17
Enz, C (2003) Hotel Pricing in a Networked World, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, February, p 4–5.
Gomez (2000) State of Online Travel 2000, Gomez Inc, Waltham MA
Hanks, R, Cross, R & Noland, R (2002) Discounting in the Hotel Industry: a new approach, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, August, p 94–103
Horwath International (2004) Worldwide Hotel Survey, Horwath International, London
Jiang, P (2002) A Model of Price Search Behavior in Electronic Marketplace, Internet Research: Electronic Network Applications and Policy, 12(2), pp 181–190
Kimes, S (2002) Perceived Fairness of Yield Management, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, February, p 21–30.
KPMG (2005) Global Hotel Distribution Survey 2005 — Managing pricing across distribution channels, KPMG, London
Murphy, J & Schegg, R (2004) The Best Room Rate Depends, but Better Not Call, Proceedings of the Hospitality Information Technology Conference 2004, HITA, Paris
O’Connor, P & Frew, A (2002) The future of hotel electronic distribution: expert and industry perspectives, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, June, p 33–45.
O’Connor, P & Piccoli, G (2003) Marketing Hotels Using Global Distribution Systems Revisited, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, October–December, p 105–114.
O’Connor, P (2003) On-Line Pricing: An Analysis of Hotel Company Practices, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, February, p 2–10.
PhoCusWright (2001) Online Travel Marketplace 2001–2003, PhoCusWright Inc, Sherman, CT
Santoma, R (2005) Estrategias de precios “on-line” de hotels dc 4 y 5 estrellas de Barcelolona, Proceedings of the III Doctoral Colloquium in Tourism & Leisure, ESADE, Barcelona
Sinha, I (2000) Cost Transparency: The Net’s Real Threat to Prices and Brands, Harvard Business Review, March April, pp 43–50
Stone, M, Hobbs, M & Khaleeli, M (2002) Multichannel customer management: The benefits and challenges, Journal of Database Marketing, 10(1), pp 39–52
TIAA (Travel Industry Association of America) (2001) Travelers’ Use of the Internet, Washington DC
Tso, A & Law, R (2005) An Empirical Study of Online Pricing Practices for Hong Kong Hotels, in Frew, A (ed) Proceedings of the ENTER Information and Communications Technology in Tourism Conference, Innsbruck, Springer Computer Science, New York, pp 328–337
Valls, J (2005). Impacto del low cost en los precios hoteleros españoles. ESADE — CEDIT. http//www.esade.edu/cedit
Varini, K, Engelmann, R, Claessen, B & Schleusener, M (2003) Evaluation of Price-Value Perception of Customers in Swiss Hotels, Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management, 2(1), pp 47–60
Yesawich, Pepperdine & Brown (2000) National Leisure Travel Monitor, Orlando, FL
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this paper
Cite this paper
Santoma, R., O’Connor, P. (2006). The Online Pricing Practices of Up-market Barcelona Hotels — An International Comparison. In: Hitz, M., Sigala, M., Murphy, J. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2006. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-211-32710-X_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-211-32710-X_30
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-30987-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-32710-4