Research - (2022) Volume 12, Issue 6
Received: 30-Jul-2022, Manuscript No. JBMR-22-71088;
Editor assigned: 01-Aug-2022, Pre QC No. P-71088;
Reviewed: 20-Aug-2022, QC No. Q-71088;
Revised: 25-Aug-2022, Manuscript No. R-71088;
Published:
30-Aug-2022
, DOI: 10.37421/2223-5833.2022.12.449
Citation: Chaudhary, Aadesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar Pokhriyal, Swati Gairola and Priya Saini. “Measuring Customers Awareness of Online Hotel Booking: A Study in Uttarakhand.” Arabian J Bus Manag Review 12 (2022): 449.
Copyright: © 2022 Chaudhary AK, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
In the modern world, the hotel industry in India has grown the most. The broad availability of internet apps has significantly altered the hospitality and tourism industries. Being polite is an act or behavior related to the interaction between a guest and a host in the hospitality industry. The hospitality and tourism industries are closely related. Hospitality is the behavior of receiving, hosting or having fun with the guest. Technology is advancing rapidly, and people are becoming more net-savvy. The hospitality industry has been primarily affected by this development in technology. Bookings are being made more accessible by online tools that allow customers to book their stay and efficiently plan their travel; hence, saving time and energy Customers are becoming more comfortable with online booking sites. Therefore, measuring the awareness level of online hotel booking apps was necessary. This study aimed to examine the preference for online hotel booking. The descriptive research was based on primary data; a modified questionnaire was used to measure customer awareness regarding online hotel booking apps. The Data were collected from 300 respondents convenience sampling method was used, between 18 to 40 years. The result of the study showed that male customers are more aware than female customers who use apps more than two times a year.
Online hotel Booking • Customer awareness • Preference
The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the critical drivers of growth in the services sector in India. With its diverse environment, terrains, and places with beautiful nature, India has a lot of potential for tourism. It also has a rich cultural and historical legacy. Like many other nations, India heavily relies on tourism as a source of foreign currency. Regarding digital tools for planning, booking, and enjoying a vacation, India is the nation with the most technologically advanced travelers (customers). The hotel industry is part of a larger enterprise known as the travel and tourism industry. The travel and tourism industry, one of the world's largest industries, comprises many businesses oriented toward providing necessary or desired products and services to travelers. While the hotel property's architecture and style for setting it are theirs, front office personnel play an integral role in defining its image. The variety of talents and skills required to satisfy customers' needs makes front office work exciting and rewarding. Many hotel booking applications (apps) are available to assist in finding hotels throughout the world. These applications put the entire world at our fingertips and make choosing and booking a hotel both simple and convenient. Many hotel chains offer direct booking apps, and even fewer do so via a third party. Our smartphones enable us to book a hotel room on mobile devices, and Our smartphones enable us to book a hotel room on mobile devices, and this medium is ideal Since it has several benefits and makes booking a hotel or a room online straightforward, customers could choose a hotel based on their likes and requirements and learn further about hotels situated in particular areas. Utilizing a hotel's registration process, visitors can plan dates. An internet travel agency offers info and images of accommodations and rooms regarding prices and specials, the number of nights spent the choice of hotel, extras, and payment, all in one location. Most visitors can make an online hotel accommodation from the airport. Before the internet, travelers made their reservations through a travel agent. Nowadays, neighboring resorts also assist in finding last-minute discounts and managing incentive programs. Here is the list of the best hotel booking apps in 2021.
Trivago
Trivago declares to be the leading hotel search and information website in the world and compares hotel rates gathered from more than 200 third-party booking sites globally. It saves time and effort from having to visit each of these websites separately. From cheap hostels to luxurious suites, it claims to have 45 million monthly users and one million daily searches. It costs more to use, and registration is not required.
Make My Trip
MakeMyTrip is one of the most popular apps for booking Hotels Room. It is an all-in-one app for Travelers that help book Train Tickets, Flights, Car Rental, Tour and Packages, making travel easy and convenient. It can book international Hotels, Domestic Hotels, apartments, villas and much more through this app. It is easy to use and trusted by 5 Million+ Users. It also offers tour packages that contain everything customers need, including accommodations, meals, transport costs, and activities. It also offers tour packages that contain everything customers need, including accommodations, meals, transport costs, and activities. It also offers tour packages that contain everything customers need, including accommodations, meals, transport costs, and activities.
Yatra
Yatra is another alternative to MakeMyTrip and Expedia Related apps that helps Book Hotels Online. It can search Hotel by Name, Stars, and Rating. The company Book hotels from a network of 70,000+ Domestic & 5,00,000+ International hotels. It also features Yatra eCash payment, through which we get the best offers and cashback on Hotel bookings and save money. Customers can also book E-Tickets for Monuments through this application, saving time and money while travelling to see monuments.
Goibibo
In 2019-2020, Goibibo was one of India's most fabulous online hotels booking websites. It is also India's most crucial flight booking aggregator. The best part about booking with Goibibo is using the latest Goibibo Coupons to get great deals on flights, hotels, and more.
OYO Rooms
OYO Rooms, like Goibibo and Make MyTrip, are another excellent hotel booking site in India. This internet site guarantees a wide range of accommodations and customer-friendly services at affordable pricing. OYO Rooms now has a presence in over 230 cities across the United States. This unique platform has also revolutionized the internet hotel booking industry. It can compare hotel prices, choose the most affordable option, and check hotel ratings on OYO. On this website, book a hotel using a variety of methods. OYO wizard membership entitles discounted booking rates. It is one of India's top ten best hotel booking websites.
Trip Advisor
The biggest travel site in the world, Trip Advisor, assists 490 million visitors each month in planning the perfect trip. Travelers worldwide use the TripAdvisor website and app to read more than 760 million reviews and comments on 8.3 million hotels, restaurants, attractions, airlines, and cruises. It is an online travel company that helps people plan, book, and experience the perfect trip worldwide. Customers use TripAdvisor app to plan their vacation, compare prices on hotels, airlines, and cruises, book reservations for top restaurants, or schedule popular tours and attractions.
Ixigo
Ixigo is a 2007-founded travel and accommodation booking website in India. It compiles and contrasts current travel information, including prices and accessibility for flights, trains, automobiles, and lodging. Indeed provides you with the most rooms per search. It also makes evaluating the costs of various hotel rooms and other services simpler. Ixigo is a fantastic resource for finding hotels and hotel services overall. It is a capable and comprehensive travel meta-search technology which provides all travel-related information. It is India's most rapidly expanding travel platform. The customers find the best advice on organizing a vacation (domestic or foreign) on this site, along with thorough listings of hotels, restaurants, and attractions. The user-friendly ixigo website and app Using a platform, enthusiastic visitors may choose their chosen hotels and assess hotel rates before making a quick online reservation for inexpensive hotels.
Homestay
A "homestay" is a type of hospitality and lodging where visitors stay at a local's house while visiting a city. The stay could last from one night to more than a year, and it could be in exchange for money, cleaning services, or maintenance work on the host's house (home exchange). It serves as an illustration of sharing and group consumption. A farm stay enables us to remain on the farm; much like a homestay allows you to stay in the home.
Benefits of online hotel booking system
Before the internet, customers had to make reservations through a travel agent. An online travel agent nowadays has photographs of lodgings and rooms, information on rates and deals, and even information on nearby resorts. The best platform is an online hotel booking website/app because it offers several advantages and lets customers reserve a hotel or room online. It allows customers to choose a hotel based on their preferences and requirements and provides more information about hotels in particular locations. Customers can arrange their dates and length of stay, choose their room and extras, and make payments all in one place using a hotel registration system. The majority of customers have access to airport hotel booking services.
ο 24/7 service
ο Convenience
ο Time-saving
ο Best offers
ο Security
ο Payments are more accessible and faster
Therefore, if customers organize vacations and tours, we can get help from the best hotel booking websites in India, which offer various services. It can manage our complete trip using the best features on these websites and plans, and they also reserve all of the services customers will need for their trip or holiday on one of India's many hotels booking websites. India's most refined hotel booking services offer cabs, flights, train reservations, and sightseeing excursions. As, a result all the benefits are provided by these websites.
Vermeulen IE [1] found that, on average, exposure to online reviews increases consumers' consideration of hotels. The researcher included the positive vs. negative reviews, Hotel familiarity, and Reviewer expertise as independent factors because both positive and bad reviews raise customer awareness of hotels. Still, favorable reviews also alter consumers' perceptions of hotels. The impact is more significant for more minor well-known hotels. The review impact is only little - and favorably - influenced by reviewer expertise.
Beldona S [2] studied the variables that influence offline vs. online purchasing patterns for airline tickets. They found that major factors separating physical and online possibilities for buying airline tickets include age, education, Internet usage attitude, and time spent online.
Stock D, et al. [3] analyzed 2,830 recent travelers’ internet search choices and mobile device usage. Business travelers typically follow their company's hotel recommendations when looking for information about where to stay. At the same time, many of them use search engines or online travel agencies to find out more about the available hotels. For leisure travelers, however, recommendations from friends and coworkers rank higher than information on travel-related websites, search engines, and online travel agencies (OTAs). Once the data is acquired, however, tourists of all kinds tend to rely more on websites, OTAs, and Trip Advisor. The respondents frequently visited OTAs or online booking sites at the end of the decision-making process, where they could book their room.
Kim SH, et al. [4] studied the internet has indisputably overtaken traditional communication channels and distribution over the past ten years by removing all based on geographic boundaries and establishing itself as an intensely competitive marketing medium in the hospitality and travel sectors.
Lee H, et al. [5] with the lot of information that is now easily accessible, including images of hotels, guest rooms, public spaces, shops, meals, etc., and critically crucial independent traveler reviews, pre-booking on the internet is becoming increasingly popular should eliminate the danger from the procedure.
Kok ALM and Teoh BW [6] found that customers interested in making a hotel reservation can use it directly throughout the hotel websites or, optionally, via several online travel portals.
Chen M, et al. [7] argued that the rapid development of internet technology had contributed significantly to the explosive expansion of digital marketing and e-commerce. They Highlighted that factors such as versatility, availability, immediacy, and competitiveness have helped the internet become more popular among consumers as a medium platform distribution. It also said that service providers must know how to keep customers on their websites and convince them to purchase in the fiercely competitive online travel market.
Li L, et al. [8] studied the relationship between economy hotel website quality and online booking intentions. The result showed that usability, entertainment, and economy hotel sites were positively affected by e-trust.
Bala Subramaniam M and Lekha AS [9] Studies revealed that the price of the hotel rooms is an essential factor of online hotel booking apps, and they also found that most male customers are aware of online hotel booking apps with the help of friends.
Arthi S [10] found that 75% of the customers book hotels online through hotel websites and apps, whereas 57% of the customers are willing to go for offline traditional budgeted accommodation. It also revealed that it's a timesaving process for the customers.
Objectives of the study
• To measure the customers’ awareness level regarding their online hotel booking apps.
• To check the customers’ benefits of online hotel booking apps.
The methodology is planned to know and understand the customers’ awareness and benefits of online hotel booking. This will help to know benefits and awareness level regarding online hotel booking application?
Research design
In this study, Descriptive Research design in nature as it describes the awareness and preference of online hotel booking apps.
Sampling method
The sample is selected as per the convenience of the researcher randomly and is convenience sampling.
Sources of data collection
The data were collected through primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected from questionnaire and secondary data were collected through newspaper, magazines and televisions.
Scope of the study
• The study focuses on how the hotel industry contributes to national and state prosperity in India's tourist industry. These tourist destinations, which are profitable in India, attracted international visitors.
• The 300 customers of the study are all from the State of Uttarakhand (Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani and Rudrapur).
Limitations of the study
This study has certain limitations.
• The area of the study covers only Nagercoil town.
• Today’s findings may not hold true for the future.
• The study was only made up of the users of online shopping
Data analysis and interpretation
From Table 1, we can see that out of 300 respondents, 70% of the respondents are male, and 30% are female. The first highest age group is 27-31 years that is 30%, and the second-highest is 25% which is 32-36 years age group others are 22-26 years is 20%, 37-40 years is 15%, and the last is upto 21 age group is 10%. Most of the respondents' education is Postgraduate with 31.3%, Undergraduate with 27.7%, others with 24.7% and the last one is Ph. D with 16.3%. 31.3% of the respondents' income per month is upto 25000 highest, and they belong to the self-employed category occupation is 31.3% and lowest income is 50001-75000 that is belong to others occupation.
| Demographic Profiles | Categories | Frequency | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male | 210 | 70% |
| Female | 90 | 30% | |
| Age | Upto 21 | 30 | 10% |
| 22- 26 | 60 | 20% | |
| 27-31 | 90 | 30% | |
| 32-36 | 75 | 25% | |
| 37-40 | 45 | 15% | |
| Education | UG | 83 | 27.7% |
| PG | 94 | 31.3% | |
| Ph.D | 49 | 16.3% | |
| Others | 74 | 24.7% | |
| Income per month | Upto 25000 | 156 | 52% |
| 25001-50000 | 60 | 20% | |
| 50001-75000 | 30 | 10% | |
| 75001 and above | 54 | 18% | |
| Occupation | Student | 80 | 26.7% |
| Professional | 66 | 22% | |
| Self- employed | 94 | 31.3% | |
| Others | 60 | 20% | |
| Source: Primary Data |
Figure 1 shows that most of the respondents, 91%, aware the online hotel booking apps, and 9% of respondents are not aware the online hotel booking apps.
Figure 1. Customer awareness.
Figure 2 shows that most of the 30% of customers are aware on social media sites of online hotel booking apps, and 28% are aware through relatives. 16.3% are aware through friends, 12% are aware through television, 8.7% are aware from others, and the last one is 5% are aware from magazines.
Figure 2. Awareness of online hotel booking apps.
Tables 2 shows the total no of respondents is 300, which is the majority no. of 90 respondents are aware of the online hotel booking app through social media and 84 respondents are aware through relatives. 49 respondents are aware through friends, 36 respondents are aware through television, 26 respondents are aware from others, and the last one is 15 respondents are aware from the magazine.
| Particulars | No. of Respondents | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Social Media sites | 90 | 1 |
| Magazine | 15 | 6 |
| Relatives | 84 | 2 |
| Friends | 49 | 3 |
| Television | 36 | 4 |
| Others | 26 | 5 |
Tables 3 shows that majority 80% of the respondents is more than twice time’s visited the hotel in a year through the app, 11.7% of respondents is twice time visit in a year through online hotel booking app, and 8.3% of respondents is once time visit in the hotel in a year through the apps.
| Particular | No. of Respondents | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Once | 25 | 8.3% |
| Twice | 35 | 11.7% |
| More than Twice | 240 | 80% |
Figure 3 shows that most of the respondents, 29.7%, preferred Oyo rooms & 24% preferred goibibo, and trivago is 10% used by other respondents. Make my trip respondents are 9.7%, Yatra preferred by 9% respondents, 8% respondents are others, Ixigo respondents are 7%, and the last is 4.3% Trip advisor apps preferred by respondents.
Figure 3. Customers preference of online hotel booking apps.
Table 4 shows that 89 respondents preferred Oyo rooms & 72 respondents preferred goibibo, and trivago respondents 30 used which is preferred trivago apps. Make my trip respondents are 29, Yatra preferred by 27 respondents, 24 respondents are others apps preferred, Ixigo respondents are 16, and the last is Trip advisor apps prefer 13 respondents.
| Apps | No. of Respondents | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Trivago | 30 | 3 |
| Make my trip | 29 | 4 |
| Oyo Room | 89 | 1 |
| Goibibo | 72 | 2 |
| Yatra | 27 | 5 |
| Trip Advisor | 13 | 8 |
| Ixigo | 16 | 7 |
| Others | 24 | 6 |
Figure 4 shows that most of the respondents, 33.7%, benefit from 24/7 service & 27% is reasons for benefits by time-saving, and payment easier & faster are 16.3%. Best offers respondents are 39%, security respondents are 7.7%, and the last is convenience, 6% of respondents.
Figure 4. Benefits of online hotel booking apps.
Tables 5 shows that most of the respondents, 101, benefit from 24/7 service & 81 respondents are reasons for benefits by time-saving, and payment easier & faster respondents are 49. Best offers respondents are 39, security respondents are 23, and the last is convenience; 07 respondents showed the benefits of online hotel booking apps.
| Factors | No. of Respondents | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 24/7 service | 101 | 1 |
| Time saving | 81 | 2 |
| Convenience | 07 | 6 |
| Security | 23 | 5 |
| Best offers | 39 | 4 |
| Payment are more accessible & faster | 49 | 3 |
• It found that out of 300 customers' 270 (90%) were aware of online hotel booking apps, whereas 30(10%) were unaware of online hotel booking apps. Therefore, it concluded that most male customers are more aware of online hotel booking apps than female customers.
• It was observed that 91% were aware of online hotel booking, whereas 9%were unaware of online hotel booking apps. Therefore, it is concluded that most customers are aware of online hotel booking apps.
• It showed that the respondents' qualifications of 27- 31(30%) age group are 31.3% of postgraduate groups. Hence, it concluded that most of the respondents are postgraduate students.
• It showed 52% of respondents up to 25000 incomes per month, which is in the self-employed category since it concluded that most of the respondents' income is 25000 that belonged to self-employed occupation.
• It analyzed the source of information regarding online hotel booking apps out of 300 respondents, social media sites that is 90, 84 relatives, 49 friends, 36 television, 26 others and 15 magazines. Therefore, it concluded. The highest number of social media sites provides information on online hotel booking applications.
• It analyzed that 80% of respondents more than twice the time visiting a hotel through hotel booking apps. Hence, it concluded that most of the respondents are fully satisfied with their hotel booking app services.
• It found that customer preference of online hotel booking apps out of 300, 89(29.7%) prefer Oyo rooms, 72(24%) preferred goibibo, 30(10%) preferred trivago, 29 (9.7%) prefer to make my trip, 27 (9%) prefer yatra, 24(8%) prefer others app, 16(5.3%) prefer ixigo and 13(4.3%) prefer trip advisor. Since it concluded that customers prefer Oyo rooms for hotel booking because it provides reasonable and budget-friendly.
• It showed the benefits of online hotel booking apps; out of 300 respondents, 101(33.7%) Benefits of 24 hours 7 days available, 81(27%) time savings benefits, 49(16.3%) payments are more accessible and faster, 39 (13%) best offers benefits provide, 23 (7.7%) security provide and 7(2.3%) convenience benefits of booking apps. Therefore, it concluded that 24hrs 7 days available and provided the benefits for online hotel booking
Limitations of the study
This study has certain limitations
• The area of the study covers namely: Dehradun, Haridwar, Haldwani and Rudrpur.
• The number of respondents was 300.
• It can’t be assured that this study applies to other states.
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