This study summarises relevant literature on traditional and online distribution channels and gives an insight in the management of hotel’s room reservation processing as well as potential consequences of intrinsic service failures. Since it was assumed that differences in distribution channel treatment do exist in hotels, investigation was focused on telephone and e-mail reservation channels as the ones with the strongest utilization rates. Therefore, hypothesises were formulated to undertake research on both channels in comparison to room reservation transformation rates, frequency of focal points of service failures and the potential influence of category, size and location as specific hotel characteristics.
In order to carry out the investigation, an online questionnaire was established in co-operation with university and industry room reservation professionals. The actual study focused on the Austrian three to five star hotel segments since these categories were expected to provide all relevant investigated communication channels. The aim was to find comparable results to Swiss figures. Therefore, a sample of 800 hotels was contacted. 89 hotels or 11.4 per cent replied in total.
The statistical analysis pointed out that the telephone channel tends to be still slightly more efficient than the e-mail. A correlation with hotel characteristics showed that location did influence channel’s efficiency rates among the investigated hotels. These results indicated that hotels in big cities had higher room transformation rates on average than properties in resort destinations or any other location. Category as well as number of guest rooms did not provide significant dependence on this transformation ratio. In contrast to efficiency, all hotel characteristics illustrated significant influence on frequency of focal points of service failures. The frequency of focal points of service errors, however, differed in relevance among telephone and e-mail reservation channels. Even if the findings pointed out that focal points of service failures seemed to be mainly emphasized by ‘indefinite guest confirmations’ and ‘refusals due to unavailable room preferences’ on both channels, channel specific errors such as Spam illustrated very common problems in the usage of e-mail reservations.
Finally, this paper compared the findings with results of earlier studies and gave hoteliers a recommendation on short- and long-term channel management.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Distribution Channels
2.1 Technology in the Hospitality Industry
2.2 Managing Distribution Channels
2.2.1 Letter
2.2.2 Telephone
2.2.3 Facsimile (Fax)
2.2.4 Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
2.2.5 Central Reservation System (CRS)
2.2.6 E-Mail
2.2.7 The Internet Distribution
2.3 Importance of Distribution Channel Efficiency
2.4 Challenges of the Reservations Department
2.4.1 Data Management
2.4.2 Yield-/ Revenue Management
2.4.3 Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
2.5 Hospitality as a Service Industry
2.6 Service Failures & Consequences
2.7 Service Failures in the Hospitality Industry
3. The Room Reservation Process
3.1 Reservations Department as First Service Encounter
3.2 Re-engineering of the Reservations Department
3.3 The Classical Reservation Process in Detail
3.3.1 Receiving Inquiries
3.3.2 Determining Room Availability
3.3.3 Accepting or Denying Requests for Reservation
3.3.4 Documenting Reservation Details
3.3.5 Confirming Reservations
3.3.6 Maintaining Reservation Records
3.4 Service Failures in the Room Reservation Process
4. Formulation of the Hypothesis
5. Methodology
5.1 Target Population
5.1.1 The Austrian Hospitality Industry
5.1.2 Sample Size & Procedure
5.2 Questionnaire Construction
5.3 Data Collection Method
5.4 Questionnaire Analysis
5.5 Limitations
6. Presentation of Results
6.1 Response Rate
6.2 Sample Characteristics & Descriptive Analysis
6.3 Hypothesis Testing
6.2.1 Hypothesis 1 (H1)
6.2.2 Hypothesis 2 (H2)
6.2.3 Hypothesis 3 (H3)
7. Discussion of Results
8. Conclusion & Future Research
Research Objectives & Key Themes
This research aims to analyze the room reservation processes within Austrian three to five-star hotels to assess the efficiency of traditional and online distribution channels. By comparing telephone and e-mail reservation workflows, the study investigates how specific hotel characteristics—such as category, size, and location—influence channel performance and the frequency of service failures, with the ultimate goal of providing actionable recommendations for long-term channel management.
- Comparison of efficiency rates between telephone and e-mail reservation channels.
- Identification of focal points for service failures within the room reservation process.
- Analysis of the influence of hotel characteristics on reservation transformation ratios.
- Evaluation of the impact of IT adoption and system usage on reservation process quality.
- Development of best practices for improving reservation inquiry conversion.
Excerpt from the Book
2.2.1 LETTER
The boom of online service caused and, still, causes diminishing numbers for letter usage as means of distribution over the last years. The ‘Annual Report of the Suisse Post’ (2002) gives evidence for this statement. While in 2001 ‘A-Post’ letters accounted for 869 million letters in Switzerland, the figure declined progressively by 28 million in 2002. Therefore, it can be assumed that this trend impacted the room reservation process in the hospitality industry as any other industry. Letters, whether handwritten or computer typed, do already belong to traditional, old-fashioned ways of communication in the hospitality and are, nowadays, less often used than ever before due to their slow transportation speed, high price and complex delivery process.
Ho, Jacobs and Cox (2003) carried out a study on letters as communication channel between hotels and customers in the year 1988. In a recent second study, the authors investigated the same variables again in order to evaluate the development of practices on letter communication since the first study. Results have shown that return memo forms became less often used than in past between hotels and customers. The findings also indicated that more than 46 per cent of hotels preferred to include a telephone number (in 1988, it was around 9 per cent) rather than a return memo form for further communication. Additionally, the authors discovered that neither significant usage improvement on response rates nor quality enhancements have been made between 1988 and the current findings. In 1988, more than 27 per cent of hotels did not respond to room reservation inquiries at all, whereas, the recent research still indicated a non-response rate of 21 per cent. According to Ho et al. (2003) the 27 per cent of the non-responses among hotels represented already missed revenues of around $31,000 for each hotel in 1988. Moreover, the authors highlighted that among the hotels who responded to the inquiry, improvements were made with regards to the response time. When 1988, the rate of response was 82 per cent four weeks after the initial guest inquiry, the current study included around 99 per cent of the answers.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the research context by reviewing literature on reservation quality issues and emphasizing the importance of the first service encounter for long-term hotel competitiveness.
2. Distribution Channels: Reviews current technology adoption in hospitality, defining key distribution channels such as telephone, e-mail, and the Internet, and discussing the challenges of channel efficiency.
3. The Room Reservation Process: Details the standard reservation workflow, from receiving inquiries to maintaining records, while highlighting critical failure points in the service encounter.
4. Formulation of the Hypothesis: Develops specific research hypotheses regarding the influence of hotel characteristics on channel efficiency and the prevalence of service errors.
5. Methodology: Describes the study's research design, including the construction of an online questionnaire targeting Austrian hotels and the statistical methods used for analysis.
6. Presentation of Results: Presents the findings from the survey data, including response rates and the statistical testing of the proposed hypotheses.
7. Discussion of Results: Interprets the research findings in the context of the Austrian hotel market and compares them with previous studies on Swiss hospitality.
8. Conclusion & Future Research: Summarizes the key insights regarding channel performance and recommends areas for future investigation and managerial focus.
Keywords
Distribution Channels, Reservation Process, Hospitality Management, Efficiency, Service Failure, E-mail, Telephone, Hotel Characteristics, Austria, Transformation Ratio, Yield Management, Customer Relationship Management, Technology Adoption, Service Encounter, Booking Inquiry
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this dissertation?
The dissertation examines the management of distribution channels—specifically telephone and e-mail—within the Austrian three- to five-star hotel industry, focusing on reservation process efficiency and service failures.
What are the key themes explored in this research?
Key themes include the impact of hotel category, size, and location on reservation efficiency, the frequency of service errors in the booking process, and the role of information technology in reservation management.
What is the main objective of the study?
The primary objective is to analyze the effectiveness of reservation inquiry processing and to identify focal points of service failure in order to provide recommendations for improved channel management.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author conducted a quantitative study using an online questionnaire sent to 800 Austrian hotels. Data analysis involved chi-square tests, factorial analysis, regression analysis, and ANOVA to identify correlations between variables.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body reviews literature on distribution channels, details the classical reservation process steps, formulates testable hypotheses, presents research methodology, and reports the findings and statistical analysis of reservation errors.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
The research is best characterized by terms such as Distribution Channels, Service Failure, Reservation Process, Hospitality Management, Efficiency, and Booking Inquiry.
How does hotel location impact reservation efficiency according to the findings?
The study found that hotel location significantly impacts telephone reservation efficiency, with hotels in big cities demonstrating higher room transformation rates than those in resort destinations or other areas.
Does the study confirm that the telephone is more efficient than e-mail?
While the study observed that telephone inquiries achieved a slightly higher average transformation rate than e-mail inquiries, the statistical analysis showed that this difference was not significant, leading the author to reject the hypothesis that the telephone is definitively more efficient.
What role does 'Spam' play in the e-mail reservation process?
Spam is a significant challenge for e-mail reservations in Austrian hotels, with advertisements representing nearly half of all incoming e-mails, which negatively impacts employee productivity and overall reservation response effectiveness.
- Quote paper
- Bsc Patrick Kullmann (Author), 2003, Managing Distribution Channels in 4 to 5 Star Hotels in Austria, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/71513
