Abstract:

To survive in the current competitive business environment, hoteliers need to cut down their distribution costs and adopt the electronic distribution channels such as the Internet. However, Malaysian hotels have been relatively slow in adapting to this development in addition to the current preference of using traditional method of room reservation by hotel patrons. Therefore, identifying the profiles of online room reservations and their concerns are important for the future of hotel operators in Malaysia. Based on a sample of 193 respondents from a local public university faculty staffs, the findings indicated that online bookers are mainly highly educated and Internet proficient. In adopting online reservation, they would look for fast, reliable and convenient system. Price is a key motivator to purchase online.