Hotel web site evaluation and business travelers´ preferences

Although web sites applications are not new in hospitality industry, their evaluations are not well established within hotel sector. While there are no literature has converged on a universal definition, web sites effectiveness that will be referred in this study is on their ability to meet users´ preferences, mainly business travelers. Thus, this paper aimed to investigate the business travelers´ preferences on web sites attributes and the effectiveness of current hotels web sites in Glasgow in meeting these preferences. The results of a fieldwork and on-line survey were subjected to statistical analysis and these revealed some interesting findings. It was found that business travelers´ preferred web sites to present all basic features that will enable them to do secure on-line transaction. Extra features such as on-line forum, employment opportunities, environmental policy and corporate information were least preferred. The study also found that hotel web sites in Glasgow were highly rated in terms of `web site graphics´, `contact information´, `privacy statement´ and `term and condition´ but poorly rated in terms of `virtual tour´, `tell a friend feature´, `on-line forum´, `what´s new´, `hotel environmental policy´ and `safety and security tips´.