PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS IN HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Service providers in the hotel industry are interested in identifying the factors that contribute to consumers' choice of hotel booking method. In an effort to determine these factors we used the predictive analytic tool of logistic regression. In particular, we concentrated on the choice of booking directly on a hotel website as compared to a third-party website. We found that consumers with children were 2.94 times more likely to use a hotel's website. We found that consumers who place a high importance on cost were 1.42 times more likely to use a third-party website for booking a hotel. These results could be useful for hotel marketing and sales representatives to better understand the preferences of their customers and improve the hotel reservation services provided. Predicting consumer needs and choices have the potential to optimize sales and increase profits.