Determinants of online hotel reservation system use

More and more hoteliers have established Web sites for their hotels. One of their objectives is to set up a more efficient means for customers to make online room reservations. Customers\u27 perceptions of online reservation systems are the crucial determinants of their actual system use. It\u27s important to find out their perceptions. However, no research has been reported on customers\u27 perceptions of online reservation systems. This study developed a conceptual framework based upon previous research. The objective of the study was to determine customers\u27 perceptions of online hotel reservation systems and find out the relationships among the constructs in the conceptual framework. The study developed seven propositions to verify the relationships among the constructs in the conceptual framework. A randomly selected 2,000 faculty and staff members at five 4-year colleges in the Midwest of the US were asked to participate in the study. The reason for selecting them as a sample of the study is that they are Web users, potential and existing hotel customers. An online survey method was used in the study. The results of this study confirmed that there was a significant relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude toward online hotel reservation system. The results also showed that attitude was significantly correlated with intention to use the system and intention had a significant relationship with actual system use. Other relationships between the constructs were not significant and the according propositions were not supported at the level of .05. Multiple regression analysis showed that attitude accounted for 51% of the variance in the future use intention. PU, perceived ease of use (PEOU), and perceived accessibility (PA) were excluded from the regression model because they were not significant at the level of .05. Limitations and suggestions for future research are presented