Evaluating hotel websites through the use of fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a useful, effective and comprehensive approach to facilitate the evaluation of hotel websites. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines the literature evaluating e-commerce sites, particularly that is focused on hotel, tourism and travel. Moreover, 5 criteria and 19 sub-criteria are identified, and a two-step method is proposed for the assessment of hotel websites whereby the global weights of the proposed criteria are determined by the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, and hotel websites are ranked through the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal situation. Findings The results show that the leading criteria to effectively evaluate hotel websites are trust and information quality and that the most important sub-criteria are special discounts, assurance and reservation information. Practical implications This research offers practical advice to increase understanding of the determinants of an effective hotel website so that appropriate strategies can be developed to convert a website visitor into a customer. Originality/value The study aims to contribute to businesses operating in the tourism sector which seeks to increase the effectiveness of their websites by identifying criteria and proposing a methodology for hotel website evaluation.