Negotiation is an essential part of the user journey in online booking experiences, while it is often perceived as non-engaging and stressful because of the great amount of details that need to be taken care of, which would result in frustration and other negative experience. Aiming to increase the user engagement in the booking negotiation process, this study explored the applicability of gamification in an online booking negotiation tool for booking artists, by following the MDA game design framework (mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics) and taking a three-round user-centred iteration. The resulting gamification design was built as hi-fi clickable prototype and was evaluated by 30 participants with both qualitative and quantitative methods, in comparison to a prototype of conventional negotiation tool with the same functionality but without gamified elements. Although limitation existed in the study due to the given resources, the results showed an overall advantageous performance of the gamified version over the conventional version, and therefore indicated a positive influence of gamification upon user engagement, when being applied to an online booking context. The findings from the design iteration as well as the results from the final evaluation provided implications for future studies. / Förhandlingar är en väsentlig del av användarresan i online bokningsupplevelser, medan det ofta uppfattas som oengagerande och stressigt på grund av den stora mängd detaljer som måste tas hand om, vilket leder till frustration och annan negativ upplevelse. Med syftet att öka användarengagemanget i bokningsförhandlingsprocessen undersökte denna studie tillämpningen av gamifieringen i ett online-bokningsförhandlingsverktyg för bokning av artister genom att följa MDA-spelkonstruktionsramen (mekanik, dynamik, estetik) och ta en treårig användarcentrerad iteration. Den resulterande gamifieringsdesignen byggdes som en hi-fi-klickbar prototyp och utvärderades av 30 deltagare med både kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder i jämförelse med en prototyp av ett konventionellt förhandlingsverktyg med samma funktionalitet men utan gamend-element. Trots att det fanns begränsningar i studien på grund av de givna resurserna, visade resultaten en generellt fördelaktig prestanda av den gamifierade versionen över den konventionella versionen, och indikerade därför ett positivt inflytande av gamifieringen vid användarengagemang när den applicerades i en online-bokningskontext. Resultaten från designteerationen samt resultaten från den slutliga utvärderingen gav indikationer för framtida studier.

Society today is becoming increasingly digitalised. This has led to several daily routines that used to be handled either via telephone or face to face, are nowadays being handled via the internet. Important actors in society such as authorities but also companies open their web-sites at the internet, thereby enabling more options for people to interact with them, however the elderly group (+65 years) of users is not being included in the digitalization due to various reasons. The purpose of this study is to explore whether differences in user experience can be found within the elderly group and why. Furthermore, the purpose is to contribute with more material for future development of relevant interfaces. Initially, a group of seniors answered our surveys. Thereafter, the study deepened by doing interviews and observations of seniors when interacting with an online booking system. The result presents a number of factors such as previous experiences but also age related factors that affects the informants’ interaction with the interface. / Samhället präglas idag av en ökad digitalisering, vilket har lett till att ett flertal vardagliga ru-tiner som tidigare skötts antingen på plats med personal eller via telefon numera sköts via internet. Viktiga samhällsaktörer såsom myndigheter men även företag upprättar sina webbplat-ser på internet och därmed möjliggörs fler sätt för människor att interagera med dem. Dock inkluderas inte den äldre (+65 år) användargruppen i digitaliseringen av olika anledningar. Syftet med studien är att förklara huruvida skillnader i användarupplevelse går att finna inom den äldre (+65 år) populationen. Vidare är syftet att bidra till ökat underlag för framtida ut-veckling av relevanta gränssnitt. Initialt fick en grupp pensionärer besvara våra enkäter. Utöver enkätens data fördjupades arbetet genom att utföra intervjuer och observationer av pens-ionärer när de interagerade med ett bokningssystem online. Resultatet presenterar en rad fak-torer såsom tidigare erfarenheter men även åldersrelaterade faktorer som påverkar informan-tens interaktion med gränssnittet.

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We see this world rich with culture, emotion, and human connections. The human built world can afford a sense of beauty, sublimity, and resonance, and through our advancements in technology also bringing the advancements in society. At the center of these advancements are interactions, conversations, connections, collaborations, and relationships, within and across multiple disciplines, with and without technology. For the last decades, as the computer technologies have been developing, the importance of human-computer systems interaction problems are also growing with the passage of time. This is not only because of the computer systems performance and characteristics have been improved, but also due to the growing number of computer users and of their expectations about general computer systems capabilities as universal tools for human work and life facilitation. Interface design is important for several reasons and the current growth of the different web applications are characterized by an increasing availability of online different services or products trading and different search facilities like flight search web sites, provided by most commercial airlines. In this study we will therefore create an understanding of the most important interaction design principles for the designers of online booking systems. The research methodology used in the research is design and creation. The method components used in this study are documents and interviews. The theoretical study has identified some important aspects covering the human computer interaction, usability of interactive interface, user feedback and the user-centered design approach for the development of such online booking systems. These aspects have been verified through the three interviews with the interviewees having different experience levels. The result shows that the interaction design is really important in designing of interactive online booking system. Therefore, the designers of such systems need to have an understanding of the most important design principles like the usability and functionality of the system, the approach should be iterative in design, provide proper feedback, minimum steps in booking process, risk management, and user-centered approach should be included in your design principles. It is also important for the designers of online booking systems to be aware of the usability factor of the system. The cognitive psychology is also vital for designers to understand how users think and perceive things. Designers need to have a good balance between context and graphics of the interface of such systems. The result also has been shown in the design of prototype with the most important interaction design principles and other factors. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

While physical activity has many important benefits on our health and well-being, many people find it hard to establish and maintain long-lasting exercise routines. Technology can be an effective tool to combat this issue by increasing users’ motivation to exercise and encouraging them to make healthier choices. In this qualitative study, we explored the persuasive effect and potential of an online booking system (OBS) implemented in a gym in the South West of United Kingdom to limit the amount of people in the facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of our research was to examine gym members’ experiences of the system, how it had impacted their motivation to exercise, and to explore how their experiences could be used in a digital system aiming to promote regular gym-use and long-lasting exercise routines. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, carried out with five gym members. The results demonstrate that all informants had ambivalent feelings towards the OBS, with both positive and negative attitudes towards the system. Three key findings were identified. First, the system forced the users to adapt their exercise routines and daily activities in general to its new constraints which, in some instances, reduced their motivation to exercise. Second, the activity of booking and scheduling gym sessions gave the users a sense of commitment and determination, which increased their motivation to adhere to their planned exercise regime. Third, the users experienced the increased familiarity in the gym as a positive outcome of the OBS. Based on the empirical findings, we proposed a set of recommended features and three key components which can be beneficial to include in a digital system aiming to increase gym user’s motivation to exercise, and that could come of use to designers developing interactive systems for gym settings.

Nowadays many travelers choose to book their trips via online booking sites instead of visiting physical travel agencies. This has changed the way the physical travel agencies operate their businesses and has forced them to adapt to new strategies in order to stay alive in this new reality of the industry. The comfort of the digitization pushes the world toward internet and online services, which implicitly mean that physical shops has become less important even in tourism industry where potential travelers go to digital platforms to reach out for information as well as to plan and choose their destinations. The aim of our study was to investigate how digitization has affected the way passengers book their package holidays and how it affects physical travel agencies and their businesses. With the help of our method, which consist of interviews and a questionnaire, we were able to collect empirical data for compilation and analyses and thus to draw our final conclusions. / Idag väljer många resenärer att boka sina resor via onlinebokningssidor istället för att besöka fysiska resebyråer. Detta har förändrat resebyråernas sätt att vara som verksamhet och även fått de att tänka ut nya tillvägagångssätt och strategier för att kunna hålla sig aktiva inom den turistiska marknaden. Vi lever i en alltmer digitaliserad värld där det mesta skall göras online, detta har lett till att fysiska verksamheter är mindre märkbara inom sina områden eftersom potentiella resenärer tar sig till digitala plattformar för att både nå ut till information samt för att planera och bestämma sina resmål. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur digitaliseringen har påverkat resenärernas sätt att boka sina paketresor samt hur digitalisering berör fysiska resebyråer och deras verksamheter. Med hjälp av våra två metodval som består av intervjuer och en enkät kunde vi samla vårt empiriska material som sedan sammanställdes och analyserades vilket ledde till våra slutliga slutsatser.

The main topic of this diploma thesis is the complete design of the web application for booking and selling package tours and other related services offered by the travel agency. The first part of this thesis describes the theory basis for the proposition, creation (production) and the implementation of the web applications with the emphasis on the methodology and technology used in this diploma thesis. The second part of the thesis consists of an analysis of current state in the travel agency and this analysis is the foundation of the last part of this thesis which contains the design of the design web application.

Les notions de plateforme, de marché bifaces ou même multi-faces sont aujourd’hui au cœur des discussions économiques du fait de l’explosion du e-commerce lié à l’essor des nouvelles technologies de l’information. Ces plateformes en lignes offrent de nouvelles opportunités et soulèvent de nombreuses questions (stratégie tarifaire, règlementation, etc.). Les deux premiers chapitres de cette thèse s’intéressent aux plateformes de réservation en ligne et plus particulièrement à l’impact concurrentiel des clauses de parités tarifaire. Ces dernières, mises en place par les plateformes, imposent aux vendeurs de proposer son bien ou service via la plateforme au meilleur prix disponible sur tous les autres canaux de ventes. Dans le premier chapitre, je montre que, d'un point de vue théorique, l'effet concurrentiel des clauses de parité est majoritairement négatif mais peut devenir positif en fonction du pouvoir de négociation de chacun des acteurs. Dans un second temps, une analyse empirique reposant sur une base de données unique de plus de 6 millions de prix, me permet de montrer que la suppression des clauses de parité à Paris a engendré une baisse tarifaire moyenne des hôtels de -3,1% à - 4,5%. Cette baisse peut en partie s'expliquer par une augmentation des stratégies de discrimination tarifaire. En effet, les hôtels ont augmenté de 1,4 à 2,3% la discrimination entre plateformes et ils ont augmenté de 2,1% à 3,6% leurs stratégies de discrimination inter-temporelle. Le dernier chapitre de cette thèse est dédié à l'analyse des amendes décidées par l'Autorité de la Concurrence entre 2006 et 2018 pour des pratiques de cartels. Nous montrons que ces amendes sont sous optimales car elles ne satisfassent pas les critères de dissuasion et de compensation. / The Internet technology and the web economy create new types of markets and new relationships between market players. The majority of these new markets can be associated to platforms where two or more sides of the same market meet. Such “multi-sided” industries raise specific issues. Determining the optimal pricing strategy for both the platform and the users selling goods through the platform is one of the main challenges of this new economy. The first two chapters of my thesis analysis Price Parity Agreement (PPA) from a theoretical and an empirical point of view. I first study the effect of Price Parity Agreements from a theoretical perspective. I demonstrate that PPAs on the online booking market are detrimental to consumers if platforms have most of the bargaining power. They attenuate competition between platforms, lead to higher commission fees and higher hotel rooms’ prices. However, MFN clauses may also be welfare improving when hotels own the bargaining power and competition between them is high. The second chapter is dedicated to an empirical analysis of the effects of PPAs. Using a before-after design and controlling for external shocks, I demonstrate that the end of Price Parity Agreements imposed by public authorities to OTAs causes a decrease of about 3.1% to 4.5% in the average level of prices set by hotels. This decrease may be explained by an increase of price discrimination. I show that the level of price discrimination across OTAs increases by 2.3% to 1.4% after the drop of Price Parity Agreements and that the degree of inter-temporal price discrimination also increases by 3.6% to 2.1%. The last chapter of my thesis is focused on the analysis of the financial fines imposed by the French Autorité de la Concurrence to cartels in France between 2006 and 2018. We show that the level of these fines is sub-optimal and doesn’t meet the deterrence objective in the majority of the cases.