Conflict and satisfaction in distribution channels: Hotel operators' perspectives in Cambodia

This study examines hoteliers’ perceptions of the level of satisfaction and sources of conflict with both traditional and online intermediaries (TI and OI) in Cambodia. It unveils the overall level of satisfaction of hoteliers with intermediaries in Cambodia, discusses the sources of conflict, and assesses whether there are differences in terms of the levels of satisfaction as well as sources of conflict between TI and OI. This study is focussed on the supply side, which is hoteliers. A mixed methods approach is used for this study and 42 hoteliers in Cambodia were interviewed in three different regions in Cambodia: Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, and Sihanoukville.  The study found that the overall level of satisfaction of hoteliers with intermediaries is very positive. The overall level of satisfaction of hoteliers with TI such as travel agencies and tour operators is perceived as satisfactory between "Somewhat good" and "Extremely good". Similarly, the overall level of satisfaction of hoteliers with OI such as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, and Ctrip is also perceived as satisfactory ranging from "Somewhat good" to "Extremely good".  The results also reveal that the most common sources of conflict with TI are price level-related conflict, payment-related conflict, and price-quality ratio-related conflict. The least common sources of conflict for TI were booking details-related conflict, commission-related conflict, and overbooking-related conflict. Likewise, the most frequent sources of conflict with OI are price level-related conflict, overbooking-related conflict, and complaint handling-related conflict and commission-related conflict, booking details-related conflict, and fulfillment of contract conditions-related conflict were the least frequent sources of conflict.  Some differences were found for the level of satisfaction and sources of conflict in terms of hotel attributes and respondents' backgrounds. Regarding the level of satisfaction, differences were found in the case of hotel size and hotel age with TI. Concerning the sources of conflict, differences were found in terms of respondents’ nationalities, hotel category, hotel size, and hotel age. It is surprising to note that no statistical differences were found in the case of hotel location, ownership, and respondents’ job titles.