Presentation done by Miha Bratec, during IFITT Doctoral Summer School 2015, in Vienna, Austria.

1. 7/27/2015
1
DEMISTIFYING THE ROLES, POSITIONS AND
(INTER)RELATIONSHIPS IN HOTEL ONLINE
CHANNEL DISTRIBUTION SPACE: FROM
INTUITIVE DECISION MAKING TOWARDS
PROPER UNDERSTANDING
Author: Mag. Miha Bratec, M.Sc
Supervizor: prof. Tanja Mihalič
Institution: FELU, Slovenia
WHY?
• Hands-on experience in the field
• Intuitive vs. Knowledge-based
• Passion for the sector & curiosity/willingness to
“demystify the myth”
• An excellent playground for the eclectic use of research
methods

2. 7/27/2015
2
WHAT?
•
WEBSITE OTA
FLASH
SALE
REVENUE
MANAGEMENT
HOSPITALITY
PERFORMANCE/COMPETITIVENES
S
MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
INTERMEDIARIES
WHAT (Standpoint May 2015)?
• Research Problem 1: Hotel Website & its relevance in 2015
• Research Problem 2: Exploring the value & role & threats
of Flash-Deal Websites (Groupon, Voyage Prive, Secret
Escapes, Megabon,…)
• Research Problem 3 (key): Co-competition of direct &
indirect online channels. Understanding their correlation &
determinants of success. What is the perfect channel mix
that maximizes the profit margin, revenue strategy &
performance?

3. 7/27/2015
3
FEEDBACK RECEIVED
• (over)ambitious research goals
• enough sub-topics to fill up to 5 additional PhD projects
• need to narrow down the field and questions
• lack of relevant theoretical foundation(s)
• very relevant and highly promising research field
• contemporary and publishable topic
ACTIONS TAKEN
• narrowing down the topic
• extending the literature review to the fields of
multichannel use in retailing & marketing, and tourism
intermediation
• “further eclectisation”: deciding for (quasi) experimental
case-study approach in combination with quantitative
survey and in-depth interviews

4. 7/27/2015
4
WHAT (re-shaped)
• Research Problem 1: Exploring the value & role & threats of
Flash-Deal Websites (Groupon, Voyage Prive, Secret
Escapes, Very Chic, Megabon,…)
• Research Problem 2: Management attitudes towards the 3
major online channels. What shares should they and what
shares do they actually represent?
• Research Problem 3 (key): Co-competition of direct &
indirect online channels. Understanding their correlation &
determinants of success. What is the optimal channel mix
that maximizes the profit margin, revenue strategy &
performance?
METHODOLOGY
• 3 SUB-TOPICS
• 3 DIFFERENT APPROACHES

5. 7/27/2015
5
• Research Problem 1: Exploring the value & role & threats of Flash-
Deal Websites (Groupon, Voyage Prive, Secret Escapes,
Megabon,…)
• BACKGROUND: a virtually new channel, not really described in the
hospitality theory & mainly used intuitively.
• IDEA: Obtaining data/understanding, how hotel managers use/should
use, perceive and evaluate the potential & threads of flash-deal
websites.
• RESEARCH TECHNIQUE IDEA: Qualitative in-depth interviews with 5
hotel managers and 5 experts (“20 extraordinary hospitality marketing
minds”) in the field as published by HSMA Europe
• DESIRED OUTCOME: A snap-shot on current use and perception of
Falsh-deal sites by the hotel managers. Understanding in what
circumstances and how often hoteliers use them and summing up the
conclusions in a conceptual model
Research Problem 2: Management attitudes towards the 3 major online
channels. What shares should they and what shares do they actually
represent?
• BACKGROUND: Internet adoption, emerging issues in distribution,
lack of competences, hotels lost and acting intuitively.
• IDEA: Snapshot of reality, how the hotels perceive and use different
internet channels (Website, OTAs, Flash Websites), use them and
which strategies they adopt to increase the profitability. What shares
these should and actually do represent.
• RESEARCH TECHNIQUE: Quantitative survey (or UNLIKELY 10-20 in-
depth qualitative interviews.)
• DATA: Convenience sample of hotels in SLO, CRO, IT, AT.
• DESIRED OUTCOME: A snapshot on online channel management
practices in Central Europe.

6. 7/27/2015
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• Research Problem 3 (key): Co-competition of direct & indirect online
channels. Understanding their correlation & determinants of success. What is
the perfect channel mix that maximizes the profit margin, revenue strategy &
performance?
• BACKGROUND: linking and adding value to both research questions
above.
• IDEA: Observing how the different channels inter-relate and trying to
figure out a perfect mix between them.
• RESEARCH TECHNIQUE: Quasi-experimental (ex-post-facto
experiment) case study approach - analyzing the performance data
after the changes in the channel mix.
• DATA: Hands on work with hotels, supervising their changes in the
channel mix, revenue reports, financial indicators, web statistics, etc.
• DESIRED OUTCOME: A “main” conceptual model of online hotel space
that would be available for further empirical testing and quantification
STILL ON MY
MIND…SWEET
DILEMMAS
• Key discipline?
• Still to broad?
• Methodological profeciency?
• Formulation of hypotheses,
scales, etc.
• Quest for the title…

7. 7/27/2015
7
Thank you for your constructive criticism!
“Veni, vidi, vinci”