A Study on the Impact of Online Marketing Factors on Hotel Room Rates: Managerial Perspective Analysis

Abstract

The hospitality industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in Sri Lanka. In that modern hotel industry in its business concept necessarily brings in to sharp focus the thinking of the end customer, the customer of its products and services. Accordingly, the marketing concept has a dominant role in all of the hotel’s philosophy and business. Internet marketing is important to hospitality industry because of competition in the demanding tourist market, in order to retain the existing users of products and services and attract new ones. In Sri Lankan context most of serious hoteliers develop specific marketing activities through the internet. Because of the most powerful and most effective internet marketing activities can improve sales and attract new customers in the market. The research was studied on pull factors of online hotel room rates in Eastern province. The study based on the eastern area, which consist of same weather condition and having a same of services and facilities in most of hotels but different is online room rates. Those hotels have big variance in online room rates. First objective of this research is examining the factors on effecting room rates in online marketing. Second, one is to identify most important factor to decide hotel room rate in online marketing. Third, one is to identify the effective way of deciding room rates for hotels in online marketing. The data was analyzed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. A sample will be hotel managers are in different managerial levels, using stratified random sampling technique. It included Ampara, Trincomalee and Batticoloa districts in Eastern province. Primary data was collected by using questionnaire. Further, web blogs analysis and in-depth interviews used for collecting information as qualitative approach. Data was analysed using SPSS 21 version software.