Decentralisation of Hotel and Tourism Industry: Effects of Blockchain Technology in Hotel Booking Systems
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Blockchain technology is a decentralised, distributed ledger that has become popular (Kwok & Koh, 2019). Various industries have accepted the popularity of blockchain technology (BCT) and initiated the search for alternative use cases such as digital payments, inventory management, capacity planning, and credential management (Kwok & Koh, 2019). The tourism sector is one of the sectors that is increasingly affected by the emergence of BCT and organizations are looking for ways to integrate BCT to improve the above-mentioned use cases (Thees et al., 2020). This study explored how the integration of BCT into hotel booking systems can impact customers, especially their economic benefits and satisfaction. The outcome of the study aims to trigger increased adaptation of BCT by helping the hotel and tourism industry to acknowledge the potential benefits of the technology. This study utilized a qualitative research approach underlined by social constructivism. It utilized netnography and document analysis to look at over 1600 user-generated content and 25 organizational documents. The results of the study showed that BCT will be viable to adapt in some use cases while increasing economic benefits and satisfaction. On the other hand, the execution of BCT is very limited due to a lack of adaptation in the industry. In conclusion, it was found that even though theoretically it is possible to increase guest satisfaction and economic benefits, there are lots of grey areas inside the hotel and tourism industry related to BCT.