TITLE:
First Impressions in a Mobile World: How Hotel Sites Compare with OTAs, Aggregators and Peer to Peer Accommodations on Website Performance
AUTHORS:
Betsy Stringam, John Gerdes
KEYWORDS:
Hotel, OTA, Load Time, Website, Performance
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Service Science and Management,
Vol.12 No.4,
June
11,
2019
ABSTRACT: This study compares the load time for hotel and hotel company websites with the load times for online travel agencies, aggregators and peer to peer accommodation websites. A traveler’s first impression of a hotel company is likely to be their first visit to the website on either their computer or mobile device. Prior research has shown that a slow loading website leads to user frustration and can cause consumers to abandon a website in favor of faster loading sites. Sites with a slower load time are at a competitive disadvantage. This study compares load times for 261 hotel and hotel company websites, 91 online travel agencies, 26 aggregators, and 40 peer to peer accommodation websites on both mobile and desktop platforms. The study found significant differences between website types for desktop load times. The management implications are discussed.