An Examination of the Relationship between Online Travel Agents and Hotels: A Case Study of Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com

Lee, Hee Andy, Denizci Guillet, Basak and Law, Rob (2013) An Examination of the Relationship between Online Travel Agents and Hotels: A Case Study of Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54 1: 95-107. doi:10.1177/1938965512454218

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Author Lee, Hee Andy
Denizci Guillet, Basak
Law, Rob
Title An Examination of the Relationship between Online Travel Agents and Hotels: A Case Study of Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com
Journal name Cornell Hospitality Quarterly   Check publisher's open access policy
ISSN 1938-9655
1938-9663
Publication date 2013-01-01
Year available 2013
Sub-type Article (original research)
DOI 10.1177/1938965512454218
Open Access Status DOI
Volume 54
Issue 1
Start page 95
End page 107
Total pages 13
Place of publication Thousand Oaks, CA United States
Publisher Sage Publications, Inc.
Language eng
Subject 1409 Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
Abstract Although traditional travel agents have played an important role as proxies enabling travelers to make connections with hotels, the emergence of the internet has changed the traditional relationship between hotels and travel agents. Instead of a traditional agent-principal relationship, online travel agents (OTAs) seem to act as more than just intermediaries and more as business partners or vendors. Scholars have previously observed troubled, if not hostile, relationships between hotels and OTAs. This article reports a case study analyzing online comments on the 2009 feud between Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com. This analysis identified eight themes in three overall categories: the background to the feud (i.e., characteristics of the hotel industry, current business environment, Expedia's business practices), the perspectives of hospitality industry professionals on the feud (i.e., wake-up call for hoteliers, Choice Hotels' decision), and expectations concerning the nature of the relationship between hotels and OTAs (i.e., a symbiotic relationship between hotels and OTAs, experience of dealing with guests who book through OTAs and Expedia, and recommendations for hotels). Chief among the study's conclusions is that hotels must find ways to make the most effective possible use of available technology and distribution channels, and perhaps even form consortia to share information about third-party distribution channels.
Keyword Agency problems
Bargaining power
Choice Hotels International
Expedia
Online travel agents
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Provisional Code
Institutional Status Non-UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article (original research)
Collection: UQ Business School Publications
 
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Citation counts: TR Web of Science Citation Count  Cited 31 times in Thomson Reuters Web of Science Article | Citations
Scopus Citation Count Cited 34 times in Scopus Article | Citations
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