eTourism: A comparison of online and offline bookings and the importance of hotel attributes

Abstract

Internet is an important tool for information searching and purchasing of products especially in tourism. This paper investigates the impact of demographic and travel characteristics of hotel guests on online and offline reservations. It also examines the importance of hotel attributes in selecting a hotel and the differences in priorities between guests who book their accommodation online and offline. Data was collected by surveys of guests in three hotels in Dubrovnik. The results of the study showed that the method of booking mostly depends on the nature of travel, and that the importance of hotel attributes does not differ much between different groups of guests.