Adoption Propensity in the Hotel Industry : an Empirical Study

By Pongsak Hoontrakul Sasin of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand and Sunil Sahadev Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, India & Sasin of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand First Draft : June 2004 Current Draft : December 15, 2005 ABSTRACT The information and communication technologies are revolutionizing the hospitality sector over the years. This study looks at the propensity for adoption of ICT based facilities in the hotel industry. There is a large variation in the propensity of adoption of ICTs among the hotels in the industry. In this study the factors that influence a hotel’s propensity to adopt ICTs is analyzed. The factors are broadly divided into the location related factors and the firm related factors. The study also proposes a methodology to measure the propensity of adoption of technologies by the hotels. The analysis of the relative impact of the factors is carried out through a survey amongst 95 hotels from seven locations in the Thailand. The study concludes by arguing for greater impetus to promote ICT adoption among hotels due to its impact on reducing the level of ‘tourism leakage’.