1.
Factors
influencing
the
decision-­‐making
process
of
hotel
customers
buying
opaque
deals
A
dissertation
submitted
by
Ayush
Mittal
in
partial
completion
of
the
award
of
MSc.
Tourism
&
Hospitality
Management
‘I
hereby
declare
that
the
dissertation
is
submitted
is
wholly
the
work
of
Ayush
Mittal
Any
other
contributions
or
sources
have
either
been
referenced
in
the
prescribed
manner
or
are
listed
in
the
acknowledgements
together
with
the
nature
and
scope
of
their
contribution.’
School
of
Tourism
Bournemouth
University
2013

2.
Declaration
I agree that, should the University wish to retain it for reference purposes, a copy of my
dissertation may be held by Bournemouth University normally for a period of three
academic years. I understand that once the retention period has expired my dissertation
will be destroyed.
Confidentiality
I confirm that this dissertation does not contain information of a commercial or
confidential nature or include personal information other than that which would
normally be in the public domain unless the relevant permissions have been obtained. In
particular, any information which identifies a particular individual’s religious or political
beliefs, information relating to their health, ethnicity, criminal history or gender, has
been made anonymous, unless permission has been granted for its publication from the
person to whom it relates.
Ethical
and
Health
&
Safety
issues
I confirm that any ethical considerations associated with the proposed research
dissertation were discussed with my Supervisor and an appropriate research strategy was
developed, which would take them into account. I also confirm that any potential health
& safety risks were discussed with my Supervisor and, where necessary, appropriate
precautions were documented, including an appropriate risk analysis and the submission
to my Supervisor of an ethics checklist form.
Copyright
The copyright for this dissertation remains with me.
Requests
for
Information
I agree that this dissertation may be made available as the result of a request for
information under the Freedom of Information Act.
Signed:
Name: Ayush Mittal
Date: 02/09/13
Programme: MSc. Tourism & Hospitality

3.
Abstract
This research defines a unique type of hotel distribution channel, termed opaque selling.
In the past few years, hotel companies have adopted opaque selling strategies to sell their
unsold inventory at the last minute. The expansion of the opaque market in the UK hotel
industry has led to an exploration of factors influencing the decision making process of
hotel customers when buying opaque deals.
The research provides nascent literature about the research problem as this field has not
been greatly covered. Consequently, the study found a research gap and proposed
exploratory objectives to explore the research problem. The exploratory objectives were
examined through primary research, which involved methodological triangulation. A
questionnaire guide was designed for carrying out in-depth interviews and surveys. The
respondents were selected using purposive non-probability sampling for the interviews
and systematic random sampling for the surveys. 151 responses were received (including
141 surveys & 10 interviews). The primary data was analysed statistically and the
qualitative information supported the statistics to increase the validity of findings.
The research findings indicate that hotel customers buying opaque deals possess
differential characteristics in comparison to other hotel customers. Moreover, the
research points out that the decision to buy opaque deals is highly influenced by the
purpose of travel and the opaque deal users are highly price-sensitive. In addition, many
factors have been identified which influence the decision making process of hotel
customers when buying opaque deals.
The study do not only explore the influencing factors but also provides evidence for
understanding the opaque user’s characteristics and needs which will assist online
intermediaries and hotel companies to understand the buying behaviour of hotel
customers purchasing opaque deals. By comprehending the research results, the online
intermediaries and hotel companies will be able to formulate newer and better
distribution strategies accordingly.
Keyword: Decision-making process, opaque deals, UK hotel industry
Word Count: 19,469

4.
ii
Acknowledgement
This research could not have been possible without the assistance of the research advisor,
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, who supported and guided me all throughout the research
methodology. He helped me to frame an appropriate timeline for this research. More
importantly, he consistently indicated confidence in my work as well as advising me on
how to make improvements. His resourceful nature greatly assisted me in progressively
investigating about the research issue and ensuring that it is accurate to the highest level.
To him, I am eternally grateful.
I would additionally like to express my appreciation to Dr.Yeganeh Morakabati who has
helped me to analyse the statistical data. Furthermore, Natalia Lavrushkina played a
significant role throughout the dissertation period. Also, the administration of two hotels
where the primary research was conducted and the academic resources provided by
Bournemouth University were of invaluable help.
Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends who provided me with the moral and
emotional support I needed to complete my dissertation.

5.
iii
Table
of
Contents
Word
did
not
find
any
entries
for
your
table
of
contents.
In
your
document,
select
the
words
to
include
in
the
table
of
contents,
and
then
on
the
Home
tab,
under
Styles,
click
a
heading
style.
Repeat
for
each
heading
that
you
want
to
include,
and
then
insert
the
table
of
contents
in
your
document.
To
manually
create
a
table
of
contents,
on
the
Document
Elements
tab,
under
Table
of
Contents,
point
to
a
style
and
then
click
the
down
arrow
button.
Click
one
of
the
styles
under
Manual
Table
of
Contents,
and
then
type
the
entries
manually.

6.
iv
List
of
Figures
Figure
1.1:
Changes
in
hotel
adr,
revpar
and
occupancy
levels
since
2005ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
1.2:
Dissertation
assembly
.....................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.1:
Increase
in
buying,
comparing
and
making
travel
&
lodging
reservations
...
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.2:
Online
purchase
behaviour
model
..................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.3:
Hospitality
distribution
channels
.....................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.4:
Method
of
booking
hotels
by
travellers
in
uk
.
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.5:
Opaque
or
top
secret
hotel
deal
sample
.........
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.6:
Price
degradation
cycle
...................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.7:
Opaque
hotel
booking
process
........................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.8:
Advantages
&
disadvantages
of
ohbm
to
consumers
.....
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
2.9:
Advantages
and
disadvantages
of
ohbm
to
hoteliers
.....
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
3.1:
Factors
affecting
consumer
behaviour
............
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
3.2:
Factors
influencing
hotel
choice
......................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
3.3:
Hospitality
consumer
decision-­‐making
model
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
3.4:
Shifts
in
desired
and
actual
state
....................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
3.5:
Intervening
factors
before
purchase
decision
.
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
4.1:
Proposed
factors
influencing
decision
of
opaque
consumers
.
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
4.2:
Proposed
decision
making
model
for
opaque
consumers
.......
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
5.1:
Methodology
at
a
glance
.................................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.

7.
v
Figure
5
2:
Types
of
questionnaires
..................................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
5.3:
Sampling
technique
for
this
research
..............
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.1:
Analysis
process
..............................................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.2:
Total
responses
...............................................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.3:
Age
of
respondents
.........................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.4:
Gender
of
respondents
...................................
ERROR!
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NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.5:
Income
level
....................................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.6:
Factors
influencing
hotel
choice
......................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.7:
Web
skills
........................................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.8:
Purpose
of
travel
.............................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.9:
Influencing
factor
for
opaque
users
................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.10:
Control
on
opaque
deals
...............................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.11:
Level
of
agreement
of
wom
among
opaque
users
........
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.12:
Level
of
agreement
of
wom
among
opaque
users
........
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6
13:
Risk-­‐taking
characteristics
.............................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.14:
Adventurous
and
impetuous
characteristics
.
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.15:
Overall
satisfaction
........................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
6.16:
Buy
opaque
deal
again?
................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
7.1:
Objective
1
......................................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
7
2:
Objective
2
......................................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Figure
7.3:
Opaque
deal
phrases
.......................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.

8.
vi
List
of
Tables
Table
1.1:
Change
in
occupancy
levels
..............................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
3.1:
Comparison
between
sources
of
information
..
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
5.1:
Qualitative
vs.
quantitative
characteristics
......
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
5.2:
Pseudo
names
..................................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.1:
Kolmogorov-­‐smirnov
z
test
for
purpose
of
travel
.............
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6
2:
Chi-­‐square
test
for
price
...................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.3:
Mann-­‐whitney
test
for
control
.........................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.4:
Chi-­‐square
test
for
web
skills
............................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.5:
Mann-­‐whitney
test
for
wom
.............................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.6:
Mann-­‐whitney
test
for
economic
situation
......
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.7:
Friedman
test
for
perceived
risk
.......................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.8:
Friedman
test
for
differential
characteristics
...
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.9:
Characteristics
of
opaque
users
.......................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.10:
Proposed
factors
influencing
..........................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.
Table
6.11:
Motivating
conditions
.....................................
ERROR!
BOOKMARK
NOT
DEFINED.

9.
7
List
of
Abbreviations
ADR Average Daily Rate
Assymp. Sig. Asymptiotic Significance
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BHA British Hospitality Association
CRS Central Reservation System
DMP Decision Making Process
EO Exploratory Objectives
GBP Great Britain Pound
GDS Global Distribution System
ICT Information and Communications Technology
NYOP Name Your Own Price
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development
OFT Office of Fair Trading
OHBM Opaque Hotel Booking Model
ONS Office for National Statistics
OTA Online Travel Agent
PMS Property Management System
QUAN Quantitative Data
QUAL Qualitative Data
RevPAR Revenue per Available Room
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences
UK United Kingdom
WOM Word Of Mouth
ZMOT Zero Moments Of Truth