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Purpose -The tourism sector is influenced by many factors, which affect not only the tourism economy but also induce changes in tourists, transforming their behaviour. Hotel establishments, part of the tourism system, operate in an environment which suffers influences and is highly competitive. Due to this, it is important to have strategic planning that allows anticipating changes or threats, namely paying attention to consumers' needs and expectations. The goal of this study is to analyze consumer behaviour regarding Portuguese hotel establishments, identifying trends that are influencing the sector, from the demand perspective. Methodology -An online questionnaire was applied to guests of hotel establishments, with 305 valid answers. The questionnaire was developed in line with the decision-making process, by identifying the motivation, planning process, reservation, satisfaction, recommendation, and perspectives on the future of the hospitality industry. It also includes questions to draw the sociodemographic profile of the consumer. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis of the collected data was performed through the SPSS software. Findings -Results suggest that the Internet is relevant for tourists to plan and book their stay, and the most significant attributes for their decision-making are service quality, price, and location. It was further concluded that technology and personalization are the areas that create more expectations in the consumers concerning the future of hotel establishments. Considering the characteristics of the new generations, namely the millennials, who have higher technology requirements, hotel managers should consider a greater integration of technology in their establishments in order to increase the quality of the guest experience and, consequently, their satisfaction. In addition, it is recommended that hotel establishments not only sell rooms but an experience, which should be more personalized and integrated with the local community. Contribution -The empirical study allowed obtaining a broad view on how consumers behave in the pre and post experience, as well as to know the attributes that they consider important for the choice of accommodation, and their satisfaction. This analysis allows managers to deepen their knowledge about their clients, better understanding how they plan and book their stay, as well as identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the accommodation, useful for understanding where they should allocate or withdraw resources.
Breda et al. (Tue,) studied this question.