Online reservation of Eden spring resort Essay

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY The web has become an opportunity for the marketers to add value to products and services. The phenomenal growth and rising of the popularity of the internet and the World Wide Web has become a key to attract more consumers and businesses to engage the benefits of Electronic Commerce (E-commerce). This E-commerce is sited as any form of business transaction in which the parties interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact (Aldin, Brehmer & Johansson, 2004). This has transformed the traditional commerce and enhanced sales and exchanges of merchandise and information. It is not just considered as single entity of technology but a combination of technologies where applications, processes, business strategies are necessary to do business electronically. The availability of goods and services with the click of a mouse is changing the global setting. It is critical for companies to know how do they attract customers to their website, engage them to turn into paying customers and also retain them in returning to your website. Online communications techniques used to achieve goals of brand awareness, familiarity and favorability and to influence purchase intent by encouraging users of digital media to visit a web site to engage with the brand or product and ultimately to purchase online or offline through traditional media channels such as by phone or in-store (Chaffey, 2009). In the Philippines, e-commerce is mostly being implemented by major retailers and multinational corporations for bank-to-bank exchange. A number of Business-to-consumer transactions have emerged through the years such as auctions, online shopping, and online banking (Lacson, Pasadilla, 2006). This just shows that Filipino businesses welcome this new opportunity in selling goods since 16% of the population is using Internet. This new marketing strategy will not only benefit those big companies but also the small businesses who cannot afford to advertise their products. Just by creating a website in a very affordable cost would make the business grow in terms of sales and enhance the company image as well. As summer is fast approaching, everyone wants to relax and spend quality time with their family and have fun at the same time. One of these relaxation sessions that will come in mind is outing, nature-tripping and swimming. Eden Spring Resort was planned to be for private use only. Family gatherings, special occasion and some invited family friends. But as the time passed, they developed it and made it a business, a Resort, and as this resort started, many people may it be local or foreign appreciated the beauty of the resort. The nature, the view, the fresh air, the peaceful and quite environment enticed them so much that they want to come back and bring significant people from them to enjoy the same experience that they had. When their business started, we found out that the personnel of the Eden Spring Resort they’ve been using a manual reservation every time they have customers. we notice that the customer’s of the resort are having a hard time on how to reserved the resort like birthday parties, weddings, family reunion and different kinds of occasions. So our proposal is about the web based reservation of Eden Spring Resort. Through this research, we may be able to help the resort in the enhancement of their business in order for them to have many costumers and also they will have an organized filing of the different transactions. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Through this research project, we may be able to help the resort in their business and also to provide a hassle-free reservation for their customers. The aspects that are related to this research are the organized filing of reservations made by the customers, the level of the administrators’ computer literacy, assisting the management of the resort to be able to attain a smooth and systematic operation and procedures, to provide a dependable and accessible reservation system that will ensure their clients a quality service, the availability of management staff with related training and knowledge in modern information technology that will periodically update and improve service provider capability to sustain a quality and dependable internet connection. This study seeks to answer the following: 1. What are the possible transactions of the Eden Spring Resort that can be improved using the online reservation? 2. What are the needed information requirements of Eden Spring Resort in terms of: 2.1. Checking-In and out of  guests to rooms; 2.2. Reservation of different kinds of occasion (Birthdays, Weddings, Anniversary etc.). 3. What are the acceptance level of the developed online reservation of Eden Spring Resort in terms of: 3.1. Perceive of usefulness and 3.2. Perceive of ease of use? SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY Nowadays, computer plays an important role in our life, most especially to the people that are having their business. There are the people who will benefit on our research study: Owner. They will have an organized file with a complete data that they will be needed in the reservations. Employees. Their work will be much easier and faster. Present Researchers. This study will help them develop and improve their knowledge that they have learned and skills that they experience. This will also served as one of their requirements in passing this level. Future Researchers. This will serve as their additional reference for their research. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY This study focuses on the online reservation of the Eden Spring Resort. The researchers will interview the owner and the employees, and also we will give some questionnaires so that we can gather information’s that we will need. This study will be conducted in the Eden Spring Resort, located at Sitio Tab-ang, Barangay Pagatban, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental Philippines and this study is limited only for the year 2014–2015. The respondent of this study are the owner and the employees of the said resort. DEFINITION OF TERMS Electronic Commerce (E-commerce) – commonly known as E-commerce or eCommerce, is trading in products or services using computer networks, such as the Internet. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) – is an electronic communication  system that provides standards for exchanging data via any electronic means. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY The theoretical framework of this study will be anchored on the Rapid application development (RAD) of James Martin (1991). Rapid application development (RAD) is a response to processes developed in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method and other Waterfall models. One of the problems with these methodologies is that they were based on a traditional engineering model used to design and build things like bridges and buildings. Software is an inherently different kind of artifact. Software can radically change the entire process used to solve a problem. As a result knowledge gained from the development process itself can feed back to the requirements and design of the solution. The waterfall solution to this was to try and rigidly define the requirements and the plan to implement them and have a process that discouraged changes to either. The new RAD approaches on the other hand recognized that software development was a knowledge intensive process and sought to develop flexible processes that could take advantage of knowledge gained over the life of the project and use that knowledge to reinvent the solution. (Martin, 1991) As Shown in figure 1 there are four phases in RAD, they are: Requirements Planning Phase, user design phase, construction and cutover. Requirements planning phase combines elements of the system planning and systems analysis phases of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Users, managers, and IT staff members discuss and agree on business needs, project scope, constraints, and system requirements. It ends when the team agrees on the key issues and obtains management authorization to continue. During the User design phase, users interact with systems analysts and develop models and prototypes that represent all system processes, inputs, and outputs. User Design is a continuous interactive process that allows users to understand, modify, and eventually approve a working model of the system that meets their needs. The third phase is Construction phase which focuses on program and application development task. In RAD, however, users continue to participate and can still suggest changes or improvements as actual screens or reports are developed. Its tasks are programming and application development, coding, unit-integration and system testing. The last phase is cutover phase. This  phase resembles the final tasks in the SDLC implementation phase, including data conversion, testing, changeover to the new system, and user training. Compared with traditional methods, the entire process is compressed. As a result, the new system is built, delivered, and placed in operation much sooner. This approach will help us in developing our system that will help the Eden Spring Resort in their online reservations. FIGURE 1: Theoretical Framework of the Study CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY Instead of using manual system that can cause a huge compilation of data using file cabinet of which is time consuming for the personnel in searching and retrieving a certain file. The researchers therefore suggest the use of a system which will help the management in terms of their transactions. The conceptual framework of the Online Reservation of Eden Spring Resort is presented below. The first phase is the requirements planning phase, the first thing that the researchers will do is to differentiate the different transactions of the Eden Spring Resort. However, the researchers already observe the common problems occur in their current system before the actual study begins. Because of the problems identified, the researchers proposed a system that will help them. After the researchers identified the different problems and the different transactions, the researchers will identify the needed requirements on every transaction to be use in developing a system. The researchers will also interview the owner and the employees to know how their transactions are being conducted. The second phase is the user design phase, the information that the will be gathered in the requirements planning phase will be used in making the user design of the system. The information gathered will be the bases in determining the inputs and outputs of the system. Researchers will also include the flow of the information so that users will be guided upon using it. The third phase is the construction phase; the researchers will start creating the program for the system and documenting as well. The documentation will serve as a guide on how to use the system. System testing will be done also while in this phase. Users can suggest some changes or improvements while the system is being developed. The last phase or the forth phase is the cutover phase, researchers will let  the users test the program to observe some errors and eliminate them to make the system work successfully and to meet the needs of the user. Users can still suggest some changes or improvements while the system is being tested. After it will be tested and no more errors or bugs were found, the system will now ready for deployment. FIGURE 2: Conceptual Framework of the Study REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES The application of the Internet in the business world has become a major trend in practice and generated a hot stream of research in the recent literature. The Internet, as a collection of interconnected computer networks, provides free exchanging of information. Over 400 millions of computers or more than 400,000 networks worldwide today are communicating with each other (Napier, Judd, Rivers, and Wagner, 2001). As such, the Internet has been becoming a powerful channel for business marketing and communication (Palmer, 1999), and for new business opportunities – as it is often called as â€Å"e-business† or â€Å"e-commerce† today (Schneider & Perry, 2001). This new e-business or e-commerce virtual marketplace allows small companies competing with business giants by just having a better web presentation of their products/services. Under the same wave, online customers can enjoy a wider choice of products or services, more competitive prices, and being able to buy their favorite items/services from the sellers located thousands miles away. It provides communication between consumers and companies and through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), buyers and sellers can exchange standard business transactions such as invoices or purchase orders with remarkable ease. The role of website quality in attracting online bookings and empirically test their proposed model with potential lodging customers. Authors indicate that information completeness and ease of use are important determinants of website quality. (Jeong et al.2005) According to the study of airfare reservation system, airfare reservation systems over attributes like information quality, system use, system quality, services quality, and customer loyalty. Their results show that North American-based websites outperform Asian-based ones.(Law and Leung 2002) The online booking in the hospitality industry (including  Hotel/motel, airlines, travels packages, etc.) is increasing at a very rapid speed recently, especially at the lower rate end. (Deegan & Horan, 2003) The hotel industry is certainly full aware of this trend and fully willing to contribute its share in this effort. In fact, the industry has realized that during those early forays into cyberspace, the industry didn’t view e-booking strategically (many hotels simply considered online room bookings at the time as a way to pick up additional business by selling distressed inventory through those online travel agencies), and handed over too much control of inventory and pricing to those third party online travel agencies. Now the industry is in the unenviable position of trying to take back the reins after early shopping patterns have been established. While the pressure to sell their inventory rooms online will be continuing, the industry has developed its new online stra tegy striving to get a better grip on this emerging marketing channel. (Jiaqin Yang, Jan Flynn & Krista Anderson) Online hotel reservations are becoming a very popular method for booking hotel rooms. Travelers can book rooms from home by using online security to protect their privacy and financial information and by using several online travel agents to compare prices and facilities at different hotels. People can book directly on an individual hotel’s website. An increasing number of hotels are building their own websites to allow them to market their hotels directly to consumers. Non-franchise chain hotels require a â€Å"booking engine† application to be attached to their website to permit people to book rooms in real time. One advantage of booking with the hotel directly is the use of the hotel’s full cancellation policy as well as not needing a deposit in most situations. (John Burns) According to Stuart study entitled â€Å"International Reservations Systems – Their Strategic and Operational Implications for the UK Hotel Industry†, presented details of the method and results of an investigation of the role and influence of international re servations systems within the UK hotel industry. The research comprised three questionnaire surveys of the use of computer reservations systems and distribution services by UK hotels. These were analyzed and produced an indication of general use of systems and the contribution which these currently make to hotel groups and consortia. The work also included a study of developments in access methods and changes in buyer behavior as observed by representatives of computer reservation and  distribution system, travel agency, hotel representation and intermediary companies. (Stuart 1995) According to this study, the system allows the guests to do their booking online by them self. Some of task that the system can do are providing a query for arriving date and the length of staying, providing the number of On rooms, view all available rooms and provides user the ability to choose one or more of them, recording the number of on rooms, view all available rooms and provides the user the ability to choose one or more of them, recording kind of guests and how many going to be in the single room, providing the cost of booking, asking the users if they want additional service; such as, dinner or breakfast, storing the guests detail; like, name, address and telephone, asking the user for confirmation, final confirmation views with the detail of booking and the guests can review or cancel the booking. (Louw, Door Janne, 2006) 658 Apartelle Online Reservation System, short term base lodging is the main reason that a hotel has been established. In the Philippines, wherein many foreign people go and have a vacation, hotel is always their first destination to have relaxation after long hours of travel in an airplane. Because of the rapid increase of foreigners visiting the Philippines for a vacation, a common sight is the establishments ad sophisticated hotels for competitive advantage. The 658 Apartelle Online Reservation Management System is not only a database for guest list but also an online reservation system, where potential guest can have online reservation which will automatically be sent to the database of the 658 Apartelle. Based on the proponent’s observation and interview, they have found many problems such as time consuming logging of the guest list names to the log book, difficulties in making reservations and difficulties in retrieving information on their previous guests because of the papers that are scattered everywhere and misplacing of the guestless records. (Bituin Abi, August 2010) A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, where visitors are being attracted to take their holiday or vacation. It refers to places, towns or sometimes commercial establishments operated by a single company. On the other hand, a hotel is differentiated as an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Computer programmers are continuously developing a system  application to better serve resort or hotel guests because some hotels and resorts are becoming fully automated while others are still striving for the similar setting. The researchers introduce a â€Å"LAN-Based Reservation with Billing System for Hacienda Gracia Resort and Hotel† to improve its reservation and billing system. The advent of new technology gave rise to easy and hassle-free interaction between and among humans. This is why most hotel and resorts prefer to employ computerization in their business. (Lagman , September 2012) RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES This section includes research design, research environment, research respondents, and data gathering procedure, research instrument and statistical treatment of the study. Research Design The researchers used the descriptive method in which the employees and the owner are the respondents in the Eden Spring Resort.   This method will be used in acquiring the response of the questionnaire and interview as the main tools in gathering the desired information that is needed for the study and getting the responses of the respondents regarding the information for the development of the online reservation of Eden Spring Resort. Research Environment This study was conducted at the Eden Spring Resort that was located in the Sitio Tab-ang, Barangay Pagatban, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental Philippines. The owners of this establishment are Mr. Dominador Torillo Ortaliz also known as Dennis and Mrs. Elizabeth Nodado Ortaliz also known as Beth. Eden was a combination of the names of the owners, Elizabeth and Dennis. They started constructing the Eden Spring Resort in mid of February but they started their business on June 14, 2012. Research Respondent The owner and the employees will serve as our respondent of our study. They are the one who will be frequently using the system. Data Gathering Procedures After asking permission to the owner of the establishment, we will be giving the questionnaires to the owner and the employee, we will also conduct an interview to them about the different problems encountered by the resort. Research Instruments The tool used by the researchers to gather the information’s needed is the questionnaires. The questionnaires are used to gather some data to the management of the resort regarding the current reservation or different transactions made by the Eden Spring Resort. Statistical Treatment of the Study This research study will use weighted mean formula in determining the acceptance level of the developed computerized recording system. Where: WX = weighted mean f = frequency x = values n = total number of respondents ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY This study will have (2) parts. Part 1 contains the Thesis write up which consists of three (3) chapters. Chapter I presents the problem and scope of the study. This covers the Rationale of the Study, Statement of the Problem, Significance of the Study, Scope and Limitation of the Study, Definition of Terms, the Theoretical Framework of the Study and its Schematic Diagram, Conceptual Framework of the Study and its Schematic Diagram. It also discusses further on the Review of Related Literature and studies of the research problem. It explained the research methodology, which comprises the Research Design, Research Locale, Research Respondents, Research Instruments, Data Gathering Procedure, and Organization of the Study. Chapter II includes the Presentation and Analysis of the Data Gathered from the respondents. The Data were presented in tabular form which were analyze and used as basis were implications can be drawn. Chapter III was the summary of Findings, Conclusion, and Recommendation, after which the program design. Part 2 contains the System Design, Flow Chart, Data Dictionary, and System  Requirements.