Abstract

Taking into consideration that the tourism industry is becoming more advanced and directly
associated with the development of technology, we conducted primary research on how
satisfied and comfortable guests feel using online platforms for reservations. Our
research is based on the analysis of 200 questionnaires that were collected in a 3-month
period from hotel guests in the area of Sunderland and Newcastle. Our primary target
was to identify the reasons that many people do not trust the online reservations and on
the other hand, to find out why many people get attracted to them.
The results revealed that the amount of people who prefer making their own reservation
through an online platform is more than those who trust tour operators to create an
organised holiday package. Moreover, we pointed out that the most significant reason
why people do not use the online system is the refusal to upload their card details. Also
intriguing is the fact that a vivid website attracts more than others and how guests deal
with the rapid development of online reservations.
Our presentation discusses these results and in combination with the theoretical research, it
presents an example of an online platform that could increase the amount of people who
want to create their holiday themselves. Moreover, we discuss the results of the
differences between tour operators and the online platforms according to existing
research and the collected data. Finally, we discuss the protection of personal data
according to books and articles and how a future online reservation system should be
protected and made more attractive for the general visitor.