This article was downloaded by: [190.82.172.

166]
On: 01 February 2013, At: 11:01
Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered
office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Anatolia: An International Journal of
Tourism and Hospitality Research
Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rana20
The effects of marketing
communication on the tourist's hotel
reservation process
Nicolau Miguel Almeida
a
, Joo Albino Silva
b
, Jlio Mendes
b
&
Patrcia Oom do Valle
b
a
Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Interdisciplinary Center for
Research and Innovation (C3i), Portalegre, Portugal
b
Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO),
Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
Version of record first published: 25 May 2012.
To cite this article: Nicolau Miguel Almeida , Joo Albino Silva , Jlio Mendes & Patrcia Oom do
Valle (2012): The effects of marketing communication on the tourist's hotel reservation process,
Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 23:2, 234-250
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2012.687690
PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE
Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any
substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,
systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.
The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation
that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any
instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary
sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,
demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or
indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
The effects of marketing communication on the tourists hotel
reservation process
Nicolau Miguel Almeida
a
, Joao Albino Silva
b
, Julio Mendes
b
and Patr cia Oom do Valle
b
*
a
Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Interdisciplinary Center for Research and Innovation (C3i),
Portalegre, Portugal;
b
Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics (CIEO),
Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
(Received 3 November 2011; nal version received 10 April 2012)
The paper analyses the tourists rst stay booking decision and the factors (such as
advertising, word-of-mouth, and travel agency recommendation) that most
signicantly inuence it. Three research hypotheses have been considered and a
logistic regression model has been specied. The factors advertising and word-of-
mouth have signicant power to explain direct-contact booking. Hence, there is not
only a strong association between rst stay booking and the Web, but also a very strong
association between the booking and the recommendation of someone close to the
tourist who has previously stayed at the hotel. This means that these are two important
sources of information for inducing the tourists decision in this respect. The research
contributes to both the understanding of the rst stay booking decision-making process
and the management of the hotel marketing communication media plan.
Keywords: booking; advertising; word-of-mouth; marketing communication media
Introduction
Marketing communication is a variable that tourism services companies use and control to
make their products and services known to prospect visitors and induce purchase
(Middleton, Fyall, Morgan, & Ranchhod, 2009; OConnor & Frew, 2002; Wong & Law,
2005). In the tourismindustry, hotel marketing communication is a key area because most of
hotels base their commercial activities on communication with outbound markets
(Gartner &Bachri, 1994; McCabe, 2009; Pearce &Tan, 2004; Wolfe, Hsu, &Kang, 2004).
In this particular context, the tourist is understood as a potential buyer that searches for,
evaluates, and stores information in all the stages of the buying decision process
(Gilbert, 1991; Gursoy &McCleary, 2004; McCabe &Stokoe, 2010; Sirakaya &Woodside,
2005). This process comprises behavioural responses such as information search on
destinations, travel and destination planning, and tourism services booking (Hyde, 2008).
Some authors believe that accommodation organizations and hotel chains try to
develop their markets and gain clients using, for that purpose, the following
communication tools: advertising, recommendation of satised customers and/or opinion
of leaders whose opinion can be disseminated to prospect customers on the hotel during a
key stage in the tourists booking decision-making process, and, nally, recommendation
by partner travel agencies (Buttereld, Deal, & Kubursi, 1998; Hudson, Snaith, Miller, &
Hudson, 2001; Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003; Webster, 1991). It has been argued that
ISSN 1303-2917 print/ISSN 2156-6909 online
q 2012 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13032917.2012.687690
http://www.tandfonline.com
*Corresponding author. Email: pvalle@ualg.pt
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research
Vol. 23, No. 2, August 2012, 234250
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

the Internet is an important medium in the marketing communication process
(Fr as, Rodr gues, & Castaneda, 2008; Lagrosen, 2005; Law, Qi, & Buhalis, 2010;
Lin & Lee, 2010; Pan & Fesenmaier, 2006; Park, Gretzel, & Sirakaya-Turk, 2007;
Schmidt, Cantallops, & Pizzutti dos Santos, 2008; Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009; Ye, Law,
Gu, & Chen, 2011). The effectiveness of these communication tools can be analysed in
terms of expected number of reservations by means of each tool or else of their
combination (Iyer, Soberman, & Villas-Boas, 2005).
It is quite common for hotels to incur high costs related to advertising and
commissions paid to partner travel agencies that assist them in the prospecting and
acquisition of customers, namely tourists who need accommodation. Therefore, it is
necessary to accurately assess the real impact of communication tools on booking
behaviour (Kotler, Bowen, & Makens, 2009). On the other hand, advertising, word-of-
mouth, and travel agencies, as factors inducing the tourists rst stay booking, generate
expectations of increasing customer demand for hotels. Customer demand can be
represented in occupancy rate, and this particular aspect inuences current management
decisions and behaviour. In this sense, the investigation analyses the rst stay booking
process in hotels, contributing to knowledge generation on the effect of communication
tools on tourist behaviour related to booking, a specic area in tourism-related studies that
has received up to the present little or no attention from researchers. More specically, the
purpose of the research is to identify which factor (advertising, word-of-mouth, and travel
agency, or, indeed, all of them) is most likely to inuence the direct contact between
tourist and hotel for a rst stay booking. In the context of the research, the distinction
between direct-contact booking and travel agency booking is important because the rst
one is thought of as preferable to the second one, which entails the payment of a
commission to the travel agency (Buhalis & Licata, 2002; Morgan & Trivedi, 2007;
Murphy, Schegg, & Qiu, 2006; OConnor & Frew, 2004; Pearce, 2008).
Being the rst time of the tourist at the hotel representing a situation of rst purchase
the decision on booking can be inuenced by diverse factors. The knowledge on
information sources used by the tourist as to decision on accommodation options is a
strategic tool in hotel management. This kind of knowledge and comparison of the relative
importance of information sources can be of assistance not only in the guidance and choice
of the most appropriate communication tools to get into, and keep, contact with the
prospect customer, but also in the future allocation of resources in communication.
Literature review
Hotels usually have to incur high communication costs without prior factual knowledge
about the effect of communication tools on rst stay booking. More specically, it is
imperative to assess the effects of these tools on direct-contact booking at the hotel
(as an alternative way to contact with the travel agency) for two complementary reasons:
on the one hand, hotels have to pay commissions to agencies for customer acquisition
services (Karamustafa, 2000; Law, 2009), and on the other hand, from a nancial point of
view, direct contact with the hotel is a much more attractive alternative to mediated
contact through the agency (Carroll & Siguaw, 2003; Cheyne, Downes, & Legg, 2006;
Kang, Brewer, & Baloglu, 2007; Lim & Hall, 2008).
The need of obtaining empirical evidence on marketing communication effectiveness
at three different levels (advertising, word-of-mouth, and travel agency), evaluated by its
effect in terms of rst stay at the hotel, motivated this study. This section reviews the
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 235
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

literature on the relationship between marketing communication and the tourists booking
decision, based on which some research hypotheses are formulated.
The effects of marketing communication on the tourists booking decision
Marketing communication is as old as the market. However, the marketing environment
has changed so much during the last decades that the needs of advertisers, in particular as
to what they are supposed to communicate, have also greatly changed (Castro, 2007).
Marketing is more intensely dependent on communication, despite the fact of its long
acknowledged critical importance. The notion of communication is applied to any element
that can be conveyed to the prospect customer, has the potential to attract its attention and
stimulates the starting of the buying decision process (Duncan & Moriarty, 1998;
Heinonen & Strandvik, 2005). Hotels usually have a strong need of substantiating the
effectiveness of marketing communication decisions (Daun & Klinger, 2006) while
adjusting their media plans to the communication objectives and justifying expenditures
with rst stay booking numbers (Iyer et al., 2005).
The hotels operation results are usually obtained through the measurement of business
performance, which, in turn, depends on the comparison between the hotels budget and
nancial results. The process reveals itself inadequate if non-nancial indicators are not
included in the analysis (Haktanir & Harris, 2005). In fact, the evolution in management
thinking and practice, as well as the need of control, led to the demand of taking into
consideration non-nancial measures of performance (Patiar & Mia, 2009;
Sainaghi, 2010). Atkinson and Brown (2001) claim that occupancy rate is a non-nancial
measure of performance, which is very important for the management of hotels. Reece
(2010) points out that besides occupancy rate, tourism rms should consider the average
price by room in measuring the business performance. Other researchers have a broader
perspective on this issue. For instance, Phillips (1999) proposes a multidimensional
contingency model of hotel performance, arguing for that effect that managers should
develop an assessment model of performance suited to the specic needs of the hotel,
exible enough to accommodate changes in the external environment, to optimize
resources, and to acknowledge the importance of key stakeholders (namely clients and
employees). Molina-Azorine, Pereira-Moliner, and Claver-Cortes (2010) approach
performance in terms of nancial results and operation indicators. They propose the use
of three variables for the measurement of performance occupancy rate, gross operational
prot, and gross operational prot per room a very easy-to-understand operationaliza-
tion of the performance construct. On the other hand, Sainaghi (2011) uses the RevPAR
measure (revenue per available room) claiming that this indicator synthesizes average
price per room and occupancy rate.
The fact remains that it is neither easy nor consensual the issue of business
performance measurement in the hotel industry. Some authors refer to the concept of
efciency as a proxy for performance (Barros, 2005; Barros & Dieke, 2008; Peypoch &
Solomandrasana, 2008), and occupancy rate is generally used as a measure of hotel
efciency (De Cantis & Ferrante, 2011). Sainaghi (2010) conducted a literature review
and found that occupancy rate and operational performance indicators efciency are the
principal internal variables inuencing hotel performance.
While not being the only measure of business performance, the fact is that most hotels
measure it by means of bookings, which, in turn, are expressed in occupancy rates.
Inaccordance withsuch data, organizations set their level of expectations regardingbooking
increase and volume, and the factors they believe to inuence tourists rst stay booking
236 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

behaviour (Wolfe et al., 2004). Marketing effectiveness depends on strategies that tourism
companies formulate as response to behaviour patterns of target tourism consumers at a
given moment in time (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2007).
Findings in consumer behaviour research and theory corroborate the notion that each
factor generates a certain effect on the buying decision process, by means of stimuli
affecting thought and action (Woodside, 2005). In the case of tourism, the tourists
decision involves choices related to destination, accommodation, transportation, activities,
and attractions, among others (Decrop & Snelders, 2005). Prior travel experiences and
characteristics of the travel ahead inuence the information search process, as well as the
purchase of tourism products and services (Soo, Vogt, & Mackay, 2007). Information
processing theory is pivotal in every model of consumer behaviour, and generally it
recognizes key stages in the consumers buying behaviour process, namely problem
recognition, search for information, evaluation of alternatives and choice, the purchase,
and the post-purchase stage (Gabbott & Hogg, 1994; Hawkins, Best, & Coney, 1995;
Sirakaya & Woodside, 2005). Information sources are a key factor in the reducing of the
feeling of uncertainty that the tourist may be experiencing towards the destination and the
hotel, thus assisting in the fullment of expectations. The understanding of the tourists
process of information search and processing provides the ground for marketing
campaigns that inuence tourists (Seabra, Abrantes, & Lages, 2007). The realization of
how important is the information that the tourist receives from each source depends on the
amount of information available, the amount of information to which the tourist is
exposed, and the amount of information the tourist has (Moutinho, Ballantyne, & Rate,
2011).
As to hotels, marketing strategy formulation is likely to give prominence to advertising
(Jones, Aiken, & Boush, 2009), word-of-mouth, and travel agency recommendation
(Tak & Wan, 2005), since any of these variables may induce the booking process
(Buttereld et al., 1998; Hudson et al., 2001; Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003; Stringam &
Gerdes, 2010; Webster, 1991). Thus, hotels assess the communication tools to understand
to which extent resources should be allocated to any specic tool and media. Note also that
in the booking decision process, the tourist is free to choose how to make a reservation: the
tourist may contact the hotel directly or in any other way, namely through the travel
agency (Dabas & Manaktola, 2007; Meidan & Chiu, 1995).
The review of marketing communication literature shows that there is little research on
the inuence of advertising, recommendation of former customers, positive opinion based
on information from reliable sources, and travel agencies inuence on visitor behaviour.
In fact, there is no empirical research on motivational factors affecting rst stay booking in
hotels, and no empirical evidence on the causeeffect relationship between sources of
hotel information accessible to the visitor and rst stay direct-contact booking has been
found.
The effect of advertising on the tourists booking decision
Literature reviewshows that much attention has been paid to the measurement of marketing
effects, and specically to advertising, on consumer behaviour (Bird & Ehrenberg, 1970;
Charlton, Ehrenberg, & Pymont, 1972; Kim, Hwang, & Fesenmaier, 2005; Rotfeld, 2007).
Advertising can indeed induce the decision-making if the message captures the prospect
consumers attention, i.e. by means of being heard, seen, or read in a mediumto which (s)he
has been exposed, and in such a way that there is information adding something to what (s)he
might already know about the product or service (Castro, Armario, & Franco, 2002).
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 237
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

Cutler and Javalgi (1992), Daun and Klinger (2006), Siu and Fung (1998), and Withiam
(1986) state that most hotel clients are foreigners and usually get access to information
through advertising. In this sense, advertising is a very important communication tool in the
hospitality industry. Usually, most tourism companies use brochures as a sale piece,
containing a short introduction and promotional elements (Chiou, Wan, & Lee, 2008;
Molina & Esteban, 2006). More recently, technological improvements in media have been
allowing ad virtual experiences (panoramic viewings, interactive animations, and pictures)
directly impacting the tourist. These virtual experiences have as much as or more meaning
than the information (s)he receives from friends, relatives, brochures, or travel agencies
(Chiou et al., 2008).
Siu and Fung (1998) argue, however, that nothing is known on the effect of advertising
on customer behaviour related to the hotel booking process. Buttereld et al. (1998) found
that advertising plays a paramount role in generating visitors top of mind awareness of the
tourism product and service, and yet it has not been possible, due to current data available,
to estimate its true impact on the visit to the destination and tourist spending. Munoz (2000)
highlights common difculties in assessing the impacts of advertising communication in
media, in face of better informed consumers that can easily use alternative communication
tools. Since then, only Bhagwat and Debruine (2008) have concluded from empirical
research in accommodation and tourism businesses (especially hotels) that on average an
increase of 1% in advertising induces an increase of 0.81% on tourism products and
services sales, providing evidence of the effectiveness of advertising as a communication
tool with the potential to improve business performance. Not even Kim et al. (2005) or
Pratt, McCabe, Cortes-Jimenez, and Blake (2010) show evidence of the level of ad impact
on hotel booking because their research objectives focused on ad impact on destination
choice.
Kotler et al. (2009) refer to a communication process in which the starting point is the
evaluation of all potential interactions between visitors and the hotel, related to the
transmission and reception of information on accommodation core and augmented
services. In face of this, the hotel sets a communication plan based on advertising, ad
message, and medium, meant to inuence the visitors booking behaviour. According to
Esteban (2005), this process is meant to inuence the exposed prospect visitor, as well as
to raise the interest on the accommodation services available. The World Wide Web is
currently an important communication tool for hotels, hugely contributing to an easy and
prompt access to information on service offerings, which is crucial in assisting the visitors
buying decision process (Jones et al., 2009; Kes, 2011; Middleton & Clarke, 2001;
Middleton et al., 2009; Rosenkrans, 2009). For the last 15 years, marketing
communication has been using the Internet as a means of promotional communication,
as much as the TV and the Radio (Kes, 2011). In addition to the Web, hotels have other
suitable means to convey the ad message to the target visitor such as mass media
(outdoors, TV, radio, general and special interest magazines, newspapers), point of sale
advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, and personal sales (Belch & Belch, 2009; Star &
Quelch, 1992).
On the other hand, the choice of ad communication media and contact intensity with
target visitors is made based on costs and expected effectiveness, being the case that not all
media are equally effective in transmitting the message and a fortiori in achieving the
communication objectives (Star & Quelch, 1992). Esteban (2005) believes that the choice
and use of advertising media are associated with their presumable impact, i.e. the number
of times each visitor of the target audience is likely to hear, see, or read the message.
238 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

In short, the literature review suggests the importance of assessing the
effectiveness of advertising as a communication tool used by hotels when it comes to
change rst stay booking behaviour of prospect clients. Therefore, a rst research hypothesis
is proposed:
H1: Advertising has a positive effect on direct contact rst stay booking at the hotel.
The effect of word-of-mouth recommendation on the tourists booking decision
The term word-of-mouth describes either positive or negative verbal communication
between a supplier an independent specialist, a relative, or a friend and a prospect
client (Datta, Chowdhury, & Chakraborty, 2005 quoting Helm & Schlei, 1998). Word-
of-mouth communication, on the other hand, became the primary means through which
consumers obtain information on services (Bolton & Drew, 1991; Clow, Kurtz,
Ozment, & Ong, 1997). East, Hammond, Lomax, and Robinson (2005) claim that
word-of-mouth messages have greater impact on brand choice than advertising.
The Internet has been gradually changing the strength of word-of-mouth
communication, and evidence exists of greater effectiveness in comparison to ad
media communication (Eduards, 2006).
Many tourism consumers read online reviews (such is the case with tripadvisor.com
and travelindustrywire.com) before online decision-making on destination and hotel
booking (Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009). There is evidence that management and proper use
of online message boards and forums are a market environment opportunity for managers
of accommodation businesses due to their inuence on consumer preferences
(Litvin, Goldsmith, & Pan, 2008; Park & Kim, 2008; Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009).
Vermeulen and Seegers (2009) note that positive virtual messages have a positive impact
on consumer behaviour, while the negative ones have little impact, though should not be
ignored. Still word-of-mouth impact on perception and behaviour depends on the
nature of the relationship between communicators and receivers, the scope, the strength,
and transmission of the message, in addition to personal and contextual factors
(Sweeney, Sontar, & Mazzarol, 2008).
Gretzel (2006), Storbacka, Strandvik, and Gronroos (1995), and Bansal and Voyer
(2000), among other researchers, claim that word-of-mouth recommendation is
becoming increasingly relevant in the hospitality industry, as a result of the growing
importance of long-term relations between organizations and customers. As to hotels,
word-of-mouth recommendation is assessed through regular customer satisfaction
surveys (Anderson, 1998; Gerdes, Stringam, & Brookshire, 2008). Customer
satisfaction and positive opinions of individuals that, though not having experienced
by themselves in the hotel services, do have good references of them are likely to
impact on recommendation. Barsky and Labagh (1992), Godes and Mayzlin (2009), and
Yucelt and Marcella (1996) stress the fact that satised clients with the services
delivered may recommend the hotel to prospect customers through word-of-mouth
communication. If the recommendation has been effective in the pooling of visitor
actions towards the rst stay booking decision, than it might be said that it has
generated a positive effect. In accordance, a second research hypothesis can be stated in
the following way:
H2: Word-of-mouth recommendation has a positive effect on direct contact rst stay
booking at the hotel.
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 239
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

The effect of travel agency recommendation on the tourists booking decision
There is communication between the hotel and the visitor when (s)he contacts with the
travel agency with the purpose of gathering information on travel options and prices
(Chan & Wong, 2006). Travel agencies may induce the increase of reservation volume,
and are acknowledged as major distributors of hotels (Dube & Renaghan, 2000; Kracht &
Wang, 2010).
On the inuential role of the travel agency as a source of information, Hudson et al.
(2001) claim that hotel recommendation by the agency is a key inuence on the decision of
visitors while searching for information at the agency. Because of the growing use of the
Internet in tourism and direct communication between companies and consumers (namely
website communication), the travel agency is becoming increasingly aware of the threat
that current and emergent information and communication technologies may represent for
players of the tourism distribution chain, thus trying to achieve competitiveness by means
of a more effective use of these technologies. It has been acknowledged that the
intermediary role of the travel agency has been battered by the rise of new communication
technologies (Cheyne et al., 2006). On the other hand, safety and security concerns,
privacy, and quality issues are factors that most inuence the tourists online booking
behaviour (Ku & Fan, 2009).
Medina-Munoz and Garcia-Falcon (2002) argue that travel agencies have operational
conditions that enable them to develop exible travel packages, thus meeting customers
specic needs and preferences, and easily make hotel reservations. But, in fact, there is not
empirical evidence on the inuence of travel agencies recommendations on the volume of
hotel reservations. This study proposes a negative relationship between the two variables,
that is:
H3: Travel agency recommendation has a negative effect on direct contact rst stay
booking at the hotel.
H3 assumes a negative relation between the two variables because, if the travel agency
recommends the hotel, it is expected that it also makes the reservation, not the customer.
As to H1 and H2 the opposite situation is expected, since in such circumstances there is no
intermediary between the visitor and the hotel. In this study, it is taken as very important to
assess the relationship between travel agency recommendation and direct contact rst stay
booking at the hotel because the hotel chain under analysis has invested a lot in adverting
(mainly through its Web page) during the last decade, with the purpose of reducing
bookings through travel agency intermediation and therefore increasing its opportunities
of direct booking at the hotel. Taking H3 into consideration, it is possible to assess whether
or not this objective is being achieved.
Methodology
The data were obtained by a survey applied to visitors that have made a rst stay booking
at one of a group of ve hotels in the tourism region of Arade (Algarve, Portugal), an area
known for its beaches of Alvor and Tres Irmaos, as well as for its typical shing
village of Alvor, located at approximately 74 km from Faro International Airport
(Algarve). The hotels are all units belonging to the same Portuguese hotel chain, which is
at the same time the major group of the accommodation industry in Portugal. This group,
whose identity is kept undisclosed at the owners request, owns twenty-three hotel units in
Portugal and twenty-two abroad. One unit is a 5
*
hotel with 195 rooms, and four units have
a 4
*
classication with a total of 299 rooms, 13 suites and 132 tourism apartments.
240 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

They all perform well in terms of occupancy rate per room. Percentages are usually higher
to occupancy rates registered for the Algarve region and Portugal (Madeira and Azores
included). 60.52% of total bookings in the ve hotel units have been a rst stay booking
(rst time purchase) and 59.48% are a repeat booking.
The Arades region integrates the municipalities of Portimao, Lagoa, Silves, and
Monchique. The Arade river and its watershed area are important environmental resources
adding to the regions highly diversied heritage (cultural, historical, and etnographic) and
related richnesses (gastronomy and events), all contributing to attractiveness and tourism
growth. The ve hotel units are located in the vicinity of the large beach area where
Alvor and Tres Irmaos can be found, as well as of the small shing village of Alvor,
in the municipality of Portimao.
The unit of analysis is the tourist who makes a rst stay booking in one of the ve
hotels through advertising in the media and business cooperation with travel agencies in
charge of the distribution of accommodation products. Several media types integrate the
marketing communication plan of the ve hotel units under the following categories:
newspapers and/or magazines, Web, catalogues, and others. The research does not focus
on the audiences by media vehicles, therefore no detail will be provided for the
designation of each vehicle.
Each hotel is taken as a data source, providing for that effect information on tourist
country of residence, email address, type of stay (rst or repeated stay). The listing
ascended to a population of 6910 tourists for a rst stay booking in the ve hotels, during
January and March 2007. For a population of 6910 individuals, 4% margin of error and
95% condence level, the minimum recommended sample size is 560 cases. Five hundred
and sixty individuals of 18 years of age or more have been randomly included in the
sample, taking into account the proportion of email contacts made with hotels by visitor
nationality. The process of random sampling, using Excels Randbetween function,
counted 381 valid questionnaires constituted of respondents of both genders with
residence in Portugal (37.5%), England (55%), and Germany (7.5%), the last two being the
main outbound regions to the Algarve.
The questionnaire has been designed in electronic form and implemented by the hotels
through email at the beginning of the last week of May, encompassing all rst stay
bookings registered during this week. The questionnaire has ve sections of questions.
The rst section inquires on the type of reservation (either by direct contact or travel
agency intermediation); the second on the type of communication that assisted the visitor
in the booking process (advertising, word-of-mouth recommendation, and/or travel
agency recommendation). As far as advertising is concerned, the visitor has also been
asked on the specic media type used (newspapers/magazines, Web, catalogues, and other
types). On word-of-mouth recommendation, there were questions on the particular form it
took (whether it involved someone closely related to the visitor with or without prior stay
in the hotel, or someone else with or without prior stay at the hotel). The third group of
questions focused on how long before the booking did the visitor learn of the hotels
existence, while the fourth inquired on the main motivation for the stay at the hotel
(open question).
Table 1 shows the distribution of responses to the questions. It can be observed that
most rst stay bookings do not happen as a result of direct contact with the hotel, but of
intermediation of a travel agency (62.7%). High percentages of tourists have learned of the
hotel by word-of-mouth communication (42.3%), advertising (39.1%), and travel agency
recommendation (34.7%). Among the motives for selecting the hotel, leisure
expectations (27.3%) and location have shown to be the most important. A signicant
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 241
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

percentage of visitors had knowledge of the hotel for over six months before the stay
(38.9%); however, it is equally high the percentage of those who responded to know of it
no more than a month before (33.9%).
Statistical analysis procedures
To test the research hypotheses, a logistic regression model (logit) has been specied. This
type of model enables the analysis of the relation between a binary dependent variable and
one or more independent variables (Jaccard, 2001; Long, 1997; Menard, 2001). Logistic
regression enables prevision of the dependent variable values and assessment of the
relevance of one or more independent variables. From a mathematical point of view, the
logistic regression model is a exible function that permits meaningful interpretation in
several areas, namely business (Hosmer & Lemeshow, 2000). In this research, the aim is to
estimate a logit model suitable for evaluating the association among the independent
variables advertising, recommendation, and travel agency and the dependent
variable visitors booking procedure. This analysis is complemented with bivariate
crossings and corresponding association coefcients.
Dummyvariables have beendenedtoallowthe operationalizationof boththe dependent
and independent variables of the logit model. Thus, the reservation procedure variable (y) has
been coded 1 if the visitor has made the rst stay booking at the hotel (H) directly and 0 if
it has been made through the travel agency. Dummy variables A, R, and TA use code 1 for
visitors that believe advertising, recommendation, andtravel agency, respectively, inuenced
their rst stay booking by means of direct contact. The same variables will use code 0
in the opposite case. The results of the model are then used in the testing of hypotheses.
The analysis is complemented with a set of bivariate crossings and corresponding association
coefcients of the diverse modes of the variables advertising and recommendation, and
the dependent variable. The analysis used SPSS software, version 19.
Results
Table 2 shows main results of the estimation of the logistic regression model. As it can be
seen, all coefcients are statistically signicant (p , 0.05), and variables A and R show a
positive associated coefcient. The results indicate that being aware of the hotel through
advertising or word-of-mouth recommendation increases the probability of the rst stay
Table 1. Sample characteristics.
Variables Response distribution
Reservation procedure Direct contact: 37.3%; travel agency: 62.7%
Did you know of the hotel
via advertising?
Yes: 39.1%; No: 60.9%
Did you know of the hotel
via word-of-mouth?
Yes: 42.3%; No: 57.7%
Did you know of the hotel
via travel agency?
Yes: 34.7%; No: 65.4%
Main motive for staying at the hotel Leisure: 27.3%; location: 21.1%; value for
money: 8.9%; external environment: 7.4%
Prior knowledge of the hotel Less than 1 month: 33.9%; between 1 and 6
months: 27.2%; more than 6 months:
38.9%
242 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

booking occurring by direct contact. More specically, the odds ratio value of variable A
(1.201) means that the probability of a visitor booking the hotel directly (y 1) induced
by advertising is about 1.2 times higher than the probability of a visitor booking the hotel
directly induced by the travel agency (y 0). Similar analysis stands for variable R with
an odds ratio value equal to 1.165. The associated coefcient with the dummy regressor
TA has a negative signal, which suggests the negative effect of this variable on the
probability of the booking being made directly at the hotel.
The results shown in Table 2 are now used to test the research hypotheses. The
coefcients of variables A and R are positive and statistically signicant, meaning that the
tourist having knowledge of the hotel through advertising and recommendation has a
positive effect on the probability of booking directly. Thus, hypotheses H1 and H2 are
corroborated. Furthermore, the coefcient of variable A is higher than variable Rs, which
indicates that advertising has a greater effect on the probability of rst stay booking by
direct contact when compared to recommendations. With respect to the coefcient of
variable TA, results show that it is both negative and statistically signicant, indicating
that travel agency recommendation of the hotel has a negative effect on direct contact rst
stay booking, hence conrming H3.
Table 2 results assisted additionally in the calculation of the probability of direct
contact booking as a function of the three independent variables; for that purpose it is
enough to assign the values of the dummy variables in the different situations. Results
point to: if the tourist is not exposed to any of the media under consideration (in which case
all dummy variables take the value 0), the probability of directly booking a rst stay is
0.34; if the tourist is exposed only to advertising, the probability of directly booking a rst
stay is 0.54; if the tourist is exposed only to word-of-mouth recommendation, the
probability of directly booking a rst stay is 0.51; if the tourist is exposed only to travel
agency recommendation, the probability of directly booking a rst stay is 0.08.
Results shown in Table 3 allow a better understanding of the associations between that
pair of variables. As can be observed, all bivariate crossings are statistically signicant
(p , 0.01). From the table it is also clear that most tourists who did their booking directly
in the hotel were exposed to advertising and word-of-mouth recommendation (57.6% and
53.5%, respectively). On the contrary, 90.1% of the tourists who did their booking directly
in the hotel did not contact a travel agency. It is interesting to note that there is a signicant
dependence relationship between the booking procedure and tourists nationality.
Actually, most of tourists who did their booking directly in the hotel are Portuguese
(56.3%). By contrast, the large majority of tourists (89.1%) that did their booking through
a travel agency are British or German.
In addition, Table 4 presents the results of bivariate crossings between the dependent
variable visitors booking procedure and variables advertising and word-of-mouth
recommendation, considering all elements detailed in the constructs.
Table 2. Logistic regression results.
Variable
Coefcient
(unstandardized)
Coefcient
(standardized) SE
Wald
statistic
Sig.
( p)
Exp(
k
)
odds ratio
a
A (advertising) 0.830 0.184 0.311 7.105 0.008 1.201
R (recommendation) 0.690 0.153 0.322 4.591 0.032 1.165
TA (travel agency) 21.745 20.388 0.356 23.988 0.000 0.678
Constant 20.664 20.148 20.338 3.854 0.050 0.862
a
Computed using the standardized coefcients.
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 243
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

In relation to advertising, results indicate that it may induce the means of promotion of
the hotel in the media (newspapers and/or magazines, Web, catalogues, and/or others. It
may be concluded that there is a strong association between the visitors direct contact rst
stay booking and the medium Web through which (s)he might have been exposed to the ad
message (w 0.684). The strength of the association between the booking procedure and
the contact with the message by means of the catalogue is also meaningful (w 0.345);
similar analysis stands for newspapers and/or magazines (w 0.253) and other media
(w 0.371). Therefore, the detailed analysis of the relation between advertising and rst
stay booking by direct contact shows that all promotion media have a signicant positive
effect on booking behaviour, but most importantly the Web.
Concerning word-of-mouth communication, recommendation by individuals with
positive opinions on the hotel can be represented by very different situations, as shown in
Table 3. Results suggest a strong association between the visitors rst stay booking
procedure and the recommendation made by a close relationship that has previously stayed
at the hotel (w 0.735). The association coefcients corresponding to the remaining
recommendation situations are also signicant, although obtaining smaller values.
Therefore, word-of-mouth recommendation signicantly inuences direct contact rst
stay booking, and all forms of recommendation are relevant; but the most relevant of them
is the recommendation made by someone closely related to the visitor that previously
stayed at the hotel.
Conclusion and implications
This research contributed to add new knowledge about the effect of advertising, word-of-
mouth communication, and recommendation of hotel accommodation by the travel agency
on tourist rst stay booking in hotels in a Sun and Beach sub-region of Algarve, one of the
most prominent tourism destinations of Portugal. It has made possible the analysis of the
Table 3. Association between marketing communication tools and booking procedure.
Booking procedure
Marketing
communication tool
Direct
contact
Travel
agency Association measures
Advertising (A)?
Yes 53.5% 30.5% Pearson Chi-square 19.748; p 0.000
No 46.5% 69.5% w 0.228; p 0.000
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Recommendation (R)?
Yes 53.5% 35.6% Pearson Chi-square 11.771; p 0.001
No 46.5% 64.4% w 0.176; p 0.001
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Travel Agency (TA)?
Yes 9.9% 49.4% Pearson Chi-square 61.422; p 0.000
No 90.1% 50.6% w 20.042; p 0.000
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Nationality
Portuguese 56.3% 10.9% Pearson Chi-square 96.469; p 0.000
British or German 43.7% 89.1% w 0.503; p 0.000
Total 100.0% 100.0%
244 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

effectiveness of these marketing communication tools through the assessment of their
association to the tourists decision process on rst stay booking at the hotel. In particular,
through the research it has been possible to know which tools tourists who make a rst stay
reservation directly at the hotel choose, and, in turn, which ones inuence tourists who
book through the travel agency. An analysis of data showed how tools can be ranked in
terms of effectiveness in the rst stay booking process with direct contact, and regarding
advertising and recommendation, the media types most associated to this booking process.
Thus, the study has been a way to ll in the gap found in literature on the marketing
communication effectiveness for hotels that want to gain new customers. Although
previous research had already provided evidence on the importance of marketing
communication for that purpose, no factual information existed as to the effects different
tools have on tourist booking decisions.
An important conclusion of this study is that advertising investment and word-of-
mouth recommendation increase the probability of direct contact booking, hence the non-
rejection of H1 and H2. It is worth noting that these results conrm previous studies on the
potential of advertising (Buttereld et al., 1998; Cutler & Javalgi, 1992; Daun & Klinger,
2006; Esteban, 2005; Siu & Fung, 1998; Withiam, 1986) and recommendation in the hotel
industry (Barsky & Labagh, 1992; Godes & Mayzlin, 2009; Yucelt & Marcella, 1996).
Such ndings have been completed by means of bivariate analyses that showed the high
relevance of Web advertising and recommendation of person closely related to the tourist
who has preciously experienced the hotel. In this sense, accommodation organizations,
such as hotels, should pay greater attention to the design and up-keeping of the website as a
way to enhance the opportunities of direct contact with customers. At the same time, it is
recommended that hotels focus on the overall delivery of service quality, being widely
known that tourist satisfaction with the accommodation organization impacts on positive
recommendation. Another important conclusion is that the recommendation through the
travel agency decreases the probability of visitors who directly make a reservation in the
hotel, preferring instead to do it with the intermediation of the travel agency. This option is
less attractive to hotels because of commission fees agencies charge for the service.
The research has limitations that provide the opportunity for new investigation. Firstly,
the eldwork was focused on a particular geographic area in Arade (Algarve), very well
Table 4. Details of variables advertising, word-of-mouth recommendation, and association to
the booking procedure.
Variable Concept Concept detail w Sig. ( p)
Advertising Communication medium
to which the tourist
Newspapers and/
or magazines
0.253 0.000
has been exposed to Web 0.684 0.000
(seen, read, or heard Catalogues 0.345 0.000
the hotels ad message) Other media types 0.371 0.000
Recommendation Recommendation mode
through which the tourist
learned a positive opinion
Close relation with
prior stay at
the hotel
0.735 0.000
on the hotel Close relation with no
prior stay at the hotel
0.282 0.000
Other individual with
prior stay at the hotel
0.282 0.000
Other individual with
no prior stay at the hotel
0.202 0.000
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 245
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

known for its beaches of Alvor and Tres Irmaos, and integrating no more than ve hotel
units of the biggest Portuguese hotel chain. Secondly, from a demographic point of view,
only rst stay visitors at those units have been surveyed. Therefore, results can only be
generalized to similar accommodation units and tourists. This means there is still the need
to further investigate the subject on a much broader scale and better understand the effects
of the marketing communication tools on tourist behaviour, specically in terms of
reservation inuence and decision. On the other hand, there was no segmentation
procedure applied to the sample, and the eldwork took place between January and May
2007, integrating high and low season visitors, which may raise some doubt on the
homogeneity of tourist motivations. In this sense, it would be most convenient to repeat
the research in two different seasonal periods and then compare data and results. Finally,
the logistic regression model has been specied with only three variables related to the
research problem. Socio-demographic and psychographics variables have not been
considered, and it is expected that these categories of variables contribute to both the
broadening and deepening of the analysis, and thus a better understanding of the research
subject. For example, the inclusion of this type of variables can bring us to the conclusion
that, for some types of clients (for example, foreigner and in leisure travel), a higher
investment in travel agency instead of advertising may boost reservations. This type of
question could be asked with a more comprehensive model and clearly deserves further
research.
References
Anderson, E.W. (1998). Customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Journal of Service Research,
1(1), 57.
Atkinson, H., & Brown, J.B. (2001). Rethinking performance measures: Assessing progress in UK
hotels. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 13(3), 128136.
Bansal, H.S., & Voyer, P.A. (2000). Word-of-mouth processes within a service purchases decisions
context. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 166177.
Barros, C. (2005). Measuring efciency in the hotel sector. Annals of Tourism Research,
32, 456477.
Barros, C., & Dieke, P.U.C. (2008). Technical efciency of African hotel. International Journal of
Hospitality Management, 27, 438447.
Barsky, J.D., & Labagh, R. (1992). A strategy for customer satisfaction. Cornell Hotel and
Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 33(5), 3240.
Belch, G.E., & Belch, M.A. (2009). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing
communication perspective (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Bhagwat, Y.N., & Debruine, M. (2008). Advertising efciencies in hospitality and tourism industry.
International Conference Proceedings: 14011413, Faculty of Economics and Business,
University of Zagrebe, Zagreb, June 1114.
Bird, M., & Ehrenberg, A. (1970). Consumer attitudes and brand usage. Journal of the Market
Research Society, 12, 233247.
Bolton, R., & Drew, J. (1991). A multistage model of customers assessments of service quality and
value. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(March), 375384.
Buhalis, D., & Licata, M.C. (2002). The future eTourism intermediaries. Tourism Management,
23, 207230.
Buttereld, D.W., Deal, K.R., & Kubursi, A. (1998). Measuring the returns to tourism advertising.
Journal of Travel Research, 37(August), 1220.
Carroll, B., & Siguaw, J. (2003). The evolution of electronic distribution: Effects on hotels and
intermediaries. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 3850.
Castro, E.C., Armario, E.M., & Franco, M. (2002). Comunicaciones de marketing: Planicacion y
control. Madrid: Ediciones Piramide.
Castro, J.P. (2007). Comunicacao de marketing (2
a
Edicao.). Lisboa: Edicoes S labo.
246 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

Chan, E.S., & Wong, S. (2006). Hotel selection: When price is not the issue. Journal of Vacation
Marketing, 12(2), 142159.
Charlton, P., Ehrenberg, A., & Pymont, B. (1972). Buyer behaviour under mini-test conditions.
Journal of the Market Research Society, 14, 171183.
Cheyne, J., Downes, M., & Legg, S. (2006). Travel agent vs internet: What inuences travel
consumer choices? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 12(1), 4157.
Chiou, W.-B., Wan, C.-S., & Lee, H.-Y. (2008). Virtual experience vs. brochures in the advertising
of scenic spots: How cognitive preferences and order effects inuence advertising effects on
consumer. Tourism Management, 29, 146150.
Clow, K.E., Kurtz, D.L., Ozment, J., & Ong, B. (1997). The antecedents of consumer expectations of
services: An empirical study across four industries. Journal of Services Marketing, 2(4),
230248.
Cutler, B.D., & Javalgi, R.G. (1992). A cross-cultural analysis of the visual components of print
advertising: The United States and the European community. Journal of Advertising Research,
32(1), 7188.
Dabas, S., & Manaktola, K. (2007). Managing reservations through online distribution channels:
An insight into mid-segment hotels in India. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 19(5), 388396.
Datta, P.R., Chowdhury, D.N., & Chakraborty, B. (2005). Viral Marketing: New form of word-of-
mouth through Internet. The Business Review, 3(2), 6975.
Daun, W., & Klinger, R. (2006). Delivering the message: How premium hotel brands struggle to
communicate their value proposition. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 18(3), 246252.
De Cantis, S., & Ferrante, M. (2011). Measuring seasonality: Performance of accommodation
establishments in Sicily through the analysis of occupancy rates. In A

. Matias, P. Nijkamp, &

M. Sarmento (Eds.), Tourism economics: Impact analysis (pp. 261280). London:
Physica-Verlag.
Decrop, A., & Snelders, D. (2005). A grounded typology of vacation decision-making.
Tourism Management, 26, 121132.
Dube, L., & Renaghan, L.M. (2000). Marketing your hotel to and through intermediaries.
Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 41(1), 7383.
Duncan, T., & Moriarty, S.E. (1998). A communication-based marketing model for managing
relationships. Journal of Marketing, 62(April), 113.
Esteban, I.G. (2005). Marketing de los Servicios (4

a
Edicion.). Madrid: ESIC Editorial.
East, R., Hammond, K., Lomax, W., & Robinson, H. (2005). What is the effect of a
recommendation? Marketing Review, 5(2), 145157.
Eduards, S. (2006). From the Guest Editor: Special issue on electronic word-of-mouth and its
relationship with advertising, marketing and communication. Journal of Interactive Advertising,
6(2), 12.
Fr as, D.M., Rodr gues, M.A., & Castaneda, J.A. (2008). Internet vs. travel agencies on pre-visit
destination image formation: An information processing view. Tourism Management, 29,
163179.
Gabbott, M., & Hogg, G. (1994). Consumer behavior and services: A review. Journal of Marketing
Management, 10(4), 311324.
Gartner, W.C., & Bachri, T. (1994). Tour operator role in the tourism distribution system:
An Indonesian case study. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 6(3/4), 161179.
Gerdes, J. Jr., Stringam, B.B., & Brookshire, R.G. (2008). An integrative approach to assess
qualitative and quantitative consumer feedback. Electronic Consumer Research, 8(4), 217234.
Gilbert, D. (1991). An examination of the consumer behaviour process related to tourism.
In C. Cooper (Ed.), Progress in tourism, recreation and hospitality management (pp. 78105).
London: Belhaven Press.
Godes, D., & Mayzlin, D. (2009). Firm-created word-of-mouth communication: Evidence from a
eld test. Marketing Science, 28(4), 721739.
Gretzel, U. (2006). Consumer generated content: Tend and implication for branding. EReview of
Tourism Research, 4(3), 911.
Gursoy, D., & McCleary, K. (2004). An integrative model of tourists information search behavior.
Annals of Tourism Research, 31(2), 353373.
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 247
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

Haktanir, M., & Harris, P. (2005). Performance measurement practice in an independent hotel
context: A case study approach. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
Management, 17(1), 3950.
Hawkins, D.I., Best, R.J., & Coney, K.A. (1995). Consumer behavior: Implications for marketing
strategy. Chicago, IL: Richard D. Irwin.
Heinonen, K., & Strandvik, T. (2005). Communication as an element of service value. International
Journal of Service Industry Management, 16(2), 186198.
Helm, S., & Schlei, J. (1998). Referral potential-potential referrals: An investigation into customers
communication in service market., Track 1 Market Relationships, Proceedings 27th EMAC
Conference, Marketing Research and Practice, pp. 4156.
Horner, S., & Swarbrooke, J. (2007). Consumer behavior in tourism (2nd ed.). Amsterdam,
The Netherlands: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hosmer, D., & Lemeshow, S. (2000). Applied logistic regression (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Hudson, S., Snaith, T., Miller, G., & Hudson, P. (2001). Distribution channels in the travel industry:
Using mystery shoppers to understand the inuence of travel agency recommendations.
Journal of Travel Research, 40(2), 148154.
Hyde, K.F. (2008). Information processing and touring planning theory. Annals of Tourism
Research, 35(3), 712731.
Iyer, G., Soberman, D., & Villas-Boas, J. (2005). The targeting of advertising. Marketing Science,
24(3), 461473.
Jaccard, J. (2001). Interaction effects in logistic regression (Sage University Papers Series on
Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-135). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jones, S.A., Aiken, K.D., & Boush, D.M. (2009). Integrating experiences, advertising and electronic
word of mouth. Journal of Internet Commerce, 8(3), 246267.
Kang, B., Brewer, K.P., & Baloglu, S. (2007). Protability and survivability of hotel distribution
channel: An industry perspective. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 22(1), 3750.
Karamustafa, K. (2000). Marketing-channel relationships. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant
Administration Quarterly, 41(4), 2131.
Kes, Y. (2011). Current approach in E-advertisement. International Journal of Business and
Social Science, 21(2), 124137.
Kim, D.-Y., Hwang, Y.-H., & Fesenmaier, D.R. (2005). Modeling tourism advertising effectiveness.
Journal of Travel Research, 44(1), 4249.
Kotler, P., Bowen, J., & Makens, J. (2009). Marketing for hospitality and tourism (3rd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Kracht, J., & Wang, Y. (2010). Examining the tourism distribution channel: Evolution and
transformation. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality and Management, 22(5),
736757.
Ku, E.C.S., & Fan, Y.W. (2009). The decision making in selecting online travel agencies:
An application of analytic hierarchy process. Journal of travel & Tourism Marketing, 26,
482493.
Lagrosen, S. (2005). Effects of the internet on marketing communications of service companies.
Journal of Service Marketing, 19(2), 6369.
Law, R., Qi, S., & Buhalis, D. (2010). Progress in tourism management: A review of website
evaluation in tourism research. Tourism Management, 31, 297313.
Law, R. (2009). Disintermediation of hotel reservation: The perception of different groups of online
buyers in Hong Kong. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 21(6),
766772.
Lim, W.M., & Hall, M.J. (2008). Pricing consistency across direct and indirect distribution channels
in South West UK hotels. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 14(4), 331344.
Lin, Y.-L., & Lee, T.J. (2010). The impacts of online reservation system in London City Hotels.
Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 19, 8296.
Litvin, S.W., Goldsmith, R.E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and
tourism management. Tourism Management, 29, 458468.
Long, J.S. (1997). Regression models for categorical and limited dependent variables (Advanced
Quantitative Techniques in the Social Sciences Series 7). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCabe, S., & Stokoe, E. (2010). Have you been away? Holiday talk in everyday interaction. Annals
of Tourism Research, 37(4), 11171140.
248 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

McCabe, S. (2009). Marketing communication in tourism and hospitality: Concepts, strategies and
cases. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Medina-Munoz, D.R., & Garcia-Falcon, J. (2002). Building the valuable connection: Hotels and
travel agents. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 43(3), 4652.
Meidan, A., & Chiu, H.-L. (1995). Hotel reservation methods A discriminant analysis of practices
in English Hotels. Hospitality Management, 14(2), 195208.
Menard, S. (2001). Applied logistic regression analysis (Sage University Papers Series on
Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-106), (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Middleton, V., & Clarke, J. (2001). Marketing in travel and tourism (3rd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier.
Middleton, V.T.C., Fyall, A., Morgan, M., & Ranchhod, W.A. (2009). Marketing in travel and
tourism (4th ed.). Oxford: Butterworh-Heinemann.
Molina-Azorine, J.F., Pereira-Moliner, J., & Claver-Cortes, E. (2010). The importance of the rm
and destination effects to explain rm performance. Tourism Management, 31, 2228.
Molina, A., & Esteban, A. (2006). Tourism brochures: Usefulness and image. Annals of Tourism
Research, 33(4), 10361056.
Morgan, M.S., & Trivedi, M. (2007). Service intermediaries: A theoretical modeling framework
with an application to travel agents. Journal of Modelling in Management, 2(2), 143156.
Moutinho, L., Ballantyne, R., & Rate, S. (2011). Consumer behaviour in tourism. In L. Moutinho
(Ed.), Strategic management in tourism (2nd ed.). London: CAB International.
Munoz, O. (2000). Marketing tur stico. Madrid: Editorial Centro de Estudios Ramon Areces.
Murphy, J., Schegg, R., & Qiu, M. (2006). An investigation of consistent rates across Swiss hotels
direct channels. Information Technology & Tourism, 8, 105119.
OConnor, P., & Frew, A. (2002). The future of hotel electronic distribution: Expert and industry
perspectives. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, (June), 3345.
OConnor, P., & Frew, A. (2004). An evaluation methodology for hotel electronic channel of
distribution. Hospitality Management, 23, 179199.
Pan, B., & Fesenmaier, D.R. (2006). Online information search: Vacation planning process.
Annals of Tourism Research, 33(3), 809832.
Park, D.-H., & Kim, S. (2008). The effects of consumer knowledge on message processing of
electronic word-of-mouth via online consumer reviews. Electronic Commerce Research and
Applications, 7, 399410.
Park, Y.A., Gretzel, U., & Sirakaya-Turk, E. (2007). Measuring web site quality for online travel
agencies. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 23(1), 1530.
Patiar, A., & Mia, L. (2009). Transformational leadership style, market competition and
departmental performance: Evidence from luxury hotels in Australia. International Journal of
Hospitality Management, 28, 254262.
Pearce, D.G., & Tan, R. (2004). Distribution channels for heritage and cultural tourism in
New Zealand. Asia Pacic Journal of Tourism Research, 9(3), 225237.
Pearce, D. (2008). A needs-functions model of tourism distribution. Annals of Tourism Research,
35(1), 148168.
Peypoch, N., & Solomandrasana, B. (2008). Aggregated efciency and productivity analysis in the
tourism industry. Tourism Economic, 14, 4558.
Phillips, P.A. (1999). Performance measurement systems and hotels: A new conceptual framework.
Hospitality Management, 18, 171182.
Pratt, S., McCabe, S., Cortes-Jimenez, I., & Blake, A. (2010). Measuring the effectiveness of
destination marketing campaigns: Comparative analysis of conversion studies. Journal of Travel
Research, 49(2), 179190.
Ranaweera, C., & Prabhu, J. (2003). On the relative importance of customer satisfaction and trust as
determinants of customer retention and positive word of mouth. Journal of Targeting,
Measurement and Analysis for Marketing, 12(1), 8289.
Reece, W.S. (2010). The economics of tourism. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Rosenkrans, G. (2009). The creativeness and effectiveness of online interactive rich media
advertising. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 9(2), 1831.
Rotfeld, H.J. (2007). Is there a strategy behind buying advertising time and space? Journal of
Consumer Marketing, 24(3), 131132.
Schmidt, S., Cantallops, A.S., & Pizzutti dos Santos, C. (2008). The characteristics of hotel websites
and their implications for website effectiveness. International Journal Hospitality Management,
27, 504516.
Anatolia An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 249
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3

Sainaghi, R. (2010). Hotel performance: State of the art. International Journal of Contemporary
Hospitality Management, 22(7), 920962.
Sainaghi, R. (2011). RevPAR determinants of individual hotels: Evidences from Milan.
International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 23(3), 297311.
Seabra, C., Abrantes, J.L., & Lages, L.F. (2007). The impact of using non-media information sources
on the future use mass media information sources: The mediating role of expectations
fulllment. Tourism Management, 28, 15411554.
Sirakaya, E., & Woodside, A.G. (2005). Building and testing theories of decision making by
travellers. Tourism Management, 26(6), 815832.
Siu, W., & Fung, M. (1998). Hotel advertisements in China: A content analysis. Journal of
Professional Services Marketing, 17(2), 99108.
Soo, H.J., Vogt, C.A., & Mackay, K.J. (2007). Relationship between travel information search and
travel product purchase in pretrip context. Journal of Travel Research, 45(3), 266274.
Star, S.H., & Quelch, J. (1992). Pol tica de comunicacion. Harvard Business School,
22(Septiembre), 504516.
Stringam, B.B., & Gerdes, J. Jr. (2010). An analysis of word-of-mouth and guest comments of online
hotel distribution sites. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, 19(7), 773796.
Storbacka, K., Strandvik, T., & Gronroos, C. (1995). Managing customer relationships for prot:
The dynamics of relationships quality. International Journal of Service Industry Management,
5(5), 2138.
Sweeney, J., Sontar, G., & Mazzarol, T. (2008). Factors inuencing word of mouth effectiveness:
Receiver perspectives. European Journal of Marketing, 42, 344364.
Tak, R.H., & Wan, D. (2005). Factors affecting consumers choice of travel agency: The case of
Singapore. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 19(4), 112.
Vermeulen, I.E., & Seegers, D. (2009). Tried and tested: The impact of online hotel reviews on
consumer consideration. Tourism Management, 30, 123127.
Webster, C. (1991). Inuences upon consumer expectations of services. Journal of Services
Marketing, 5, 517.
Withiam, G. (1986). Hotel advertising in the 80s: Surveying the eld. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant
Administration Quarterly, 27(1), 3255.
Wolfe, K., Hsu, H.C., & Kang, S.K. (2004). Buyer characteristics among user of various travel
intermediaries. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 17(23), 5162.
Wong, J., & Law, R. (2005). Analysing the intention to purchase on hotel websites: A study of
travellers to Hong Kong. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 24, 311329.
Woodside, A.G. (2005). Market-driven thinking: Achieving contextual intelligence. Burlington:
Elsevier.
Ye, Q., Law, R., Gu, B., & Chen, W. (2011). The inuence of user-generated content on travel
behavior: An empirical investigation on the effects of e-word-of-mouth to hotel online bookings.
Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 634639.
Yucelt, U., & Marcella, M. (1996). Service marketing in the lodging industry: An empirical
investigation. Journal of Travel Research, 34(4), 3238.
250 N.M. Almeida et al.
D
o
w
n
l
o
a
d
e
d

b
y

[
1
9
0
.
8
2
.
1
7
2
.
1
6
6
]

a
t

1
1
:
0
1

0
1

F
e
b
r
u
a
r
y

2
0
1
3