Hotel booking process design & usability

Target audience 
This report is aimed at:
• Hotel groups or agencies who create their own bespoke booking engines or websites
• Travel distribution companies, such as GDSs (Global Distribution Systems), with online
booking-engine products
• Other companies, such as web design agencies, with an interest in online hotel
reservations
The report primarily focuses on the issues relevant for:
• Leisure bookers (B2C bookers)
Travel UCD - consultants in travel and hospitality website design 
http://www.travelucd.com 

© Travel UCD Limited 2003. All Rights Reserved.

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Hotel booking process design & usability 
Travel UCD – February 2003 
• Independent business travellers (B2B bookers), who exhibit similar behaviour as leisure
bookers
Travel agency systems and business travel booking-engines (which require travel policy rules)
are excluded from this analysis. Factors relating to group reservations are also excluded.
This report does not address the behind-the-scenes technical aspects of hotel reservation systems.
That makes it an ideal introduction to hotel reservation websites – for marketing, web design and
hotel industry personnel who have no specific industry or online web design knowledge.
Definitions 
The following website definitions are used throughout this report:
Travel agency website: A website that offers more products than simple hotel booking
functionality (e.g. car hire, flights) – for example Travelocity.com, Expedia.co.uk, Orbitz.com.
Hotel booking agency website: A website that takes hotel bookings / reservations as its primary
business – for example Hotels.com, Placestostay.com, Lodging.com
Hotel chain website: A website specifically for a hotel chain – for example Hilton.com,
Marriott.com