Effects of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on online hotel booking decisions: the mediating role of social adjustive attitude and utilitarian attitude / Delores Pammie Joeh

There is a rapid growth of internet-based travel search hotel reservation via websites. It becomes a powerful search engine for hotel users. Online hotel reservations include reservations made by the customer directly online or based upon customers accessing information online provided by the hotel or its agents (such as travel agents or tour operators). By examining the hotel's online (web) presence, customers can now search for, select, and book hotels online. Sabah is one of the best tourist destinations in the country and the tourism industry is developing very fast. This study examines the predictive power of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness towards online hotel booking decision among tourists in Sabah. This study also examines the mediation effect of social-adjustive attitude and utilitarian attitude on its relationship between customers' online hotel booking decision in Sabah. A total number of two hundred and one questionnaires were used in the study. The data were then analyzed using PLSSEM. The final findings revealed that social-adjustive attitude did not possess any predictive power towards online booking decision. The utilitarian attitude was also found to have no mediating effect on the relationship between perceived ease of use and online booking decision. On the other hand, the utilitarian attitude was found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived usefulness and online booking decision. Though the results revealed that customers' online booking decisions were not influenced by social-adjustive attitude, it still contributes to the current literature, especially regarding Sabah's hotel online bookings.