Travel and Hospitality Website Benchmarking Report
A. Report Purpose
The purpose of this report is to gain a better understanding of what comprises a well thought out travel and hospitality website. This benchmarking report will analyze four popular travel and hospitality websites based on certain evaluative attributes. These attributes will then be ranked in a manner explained further in the methodologies section (B1). Through analysis of the four websites chosen and our respective findings, various design insights (C6) will come to the forefront as more useful or less useful than others. The term usefulness will be elaborated on in section C1. This research will allow us, in building a travel and hospitality website, to
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We chose seven attributes, which we felt encompassed what the typical consumer would look for in a travel web site. They were:
1) Ease of Use/Usability/Navigability/Site Map
2) Info Content/Pricing Info/Content/Updates
3) Appearance/Layout/Structure/Consistency/Graphics
4) Site Speed/Download Time/Reliability
5) Buying Online/Simplicity of Purchase/Member
6) Site Support/Help Desk
7) Products/Selection/Ability to Compare
Each attribute has multiple descriptors because it is of our opinion that they are closely related. The "Description of Attributes Measured" section (C3) will describe these attributes in further detail.
Each of the attributes was applied to the four web sites, and was rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best. Furthermore, each of the attributes was weighted, these weights can be found in the "Weighting Scheme" section (C4).
Once all the information was gathered, conclusions were drawn on the quality of four web sites. Finally, drawing on those conclusions, advice was given to the consumer on the web sites, so they can make a more informed decision when choosing which of the top travel web sites they should use. These can be found in the "Findings" and "Advice" sections, which immediately follow. B2. Findings The goal of this "Findings" section is to set forth the information we gathered regarding each website after following our research
Criteria Used in Evaluating Web Resources. (2014, January 1). Retrieved November 5, 2014, from http://unfccc.int/essential_background/library/items/1420.php
Note that the scoring does not judge the value of any user-defined attributes you proposed, unless one contained
Before the days of the Internet, if a family wanted to travel to a far-off, exotic locale, they would have to either find a local travel agent or call a travel agency and plan their getaway. In the 1990’s, the Internet became a staple of everyday life and began entering many homes. As the availability of the Internet increased, so did the services available to clients. With the increasing availability of the World Wide Web the travel industry found itself faced with revolutionizing changes. All of the tools that were once solely available to travel agents now became readily available to anyone with access to the Internet and a search engine. Websites quickly formed around the idea of providing consumers with quick vacation planning ideas at low costs. Getting
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