Managerial attitudes towards environmental management among small and medium hotels in Kuala Lumpur

Empirical work on the acceptance of environmental impacts and responsibilities by hotels in developing countries is still relatively rare. There is also little work on understanding the relationship between business and environment among small and medium hotel companies. This research helps fill the knowledge gap by providing information on the responsiveness of small and medium hotels towards environmental management within the context of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, It explores the awareness and attitudes of small and medium hotel managers towards environmental management and their opinion on how things can be improved. Questionnaires containing Likert scale questions, supplemented by open-ended questions, were personally administered to willing participants. The findings indicate that respondents generally tend to provide positive response to the Likert scale questions, but refused or were unable to give clear answers to the open-ended questions which were designed to explore further the answers they provided. In practice, managers also did not go beyond the basic common sense of cutting their water and energy costs. These indicate a lack of clear and adequate knowledge about environmental management, and their tendency to be “politically correct” in relation to environmental issues. The paper ends with recommendations on how to improve the environmental management knowledge and know-how among managers of small and medium hotels.     

Environmental proactivity of hotel operations: Antecedents and the moderating effect of ownership type

This study examines the relative importance of three influential factors (stakeholder pressure, economic opportunities, and top managers’ personal environmental concern) in shaping managerial attitudes toward adoption of green programs in the hotel industry. The results, based on a sample of 235 top managers of hotels affiliated with three U.S. state hotel associations, suggest that stakeholder pressure is the most dominant predictor of managerial attitudes toward adoption of green programs followed by economic benefits and top managers’ personal environmental concern. In addition, the relationship between managerial attitudes toward adoption of environmental programs and organizational environmental commitment is found to be moderated by the ownership style. The relationship is stronger for independent hotels than for chain-affiliated hotels, indicating a more significant role of managerial discretion in implementing environmental strategies at the independent hotel setting than the chain hotel setting.     

Determinants of hotels’ environmental performance: Evidence from the hotel industry in Accra,Ghana

This study explores the factors that account for the environmental performance of hotels in the special context of a developing country, Ghana. It also examined the socio-demographic characteristics of managers and organizational characteristics that determine the environmental performance of Ghanaian hotels. A stratified random sampling method was employed to survey 200 hotel managers from different categories of hotels in Accra. Ninety-four per cent were independent, and Ghanaian-owned. Sixty-seven per cent had fewer than 20 rooms; only 45 had more than 100 rooms. Only 11.6% were affiliated to foreign multinational companies in any way. Six key factors that accounted for the environmental performance were extracted from a factor analysis. They included, in order of most practised, the environmental education and training for staff, measures to support for the host community, conservation project support, compliance with environmental regulations, waste management, and voluntary programmes. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that larger size and better class of hotels, as well as those with membership of the national hotel trade association, had better environmental performance as did hotels with better paid managers. Affiliation to foreign multinational chains did not predict better performance. A series of suggestions are made to improve the environmental performance of Ghana's hotels.     

Making innovation happen through building social capital and scanning environment

Both new service development and existing service improvement are critical tools for hotels to gain competitive advantages, but pursuing new services while simultaneously improving existing services is difficult for hotel managers. The success of highly proactive hotel managers has been credited to their ability to change the environment effectively, and such managers may be able to lead hotels to resolve the trade-off dilemma and deliver better services. To elucidate the contributions of proactive managers in making innovation happen, this study explored two key activities that hotels may undertake when prompted by the proactive managers, namely, environmental scanning and social capital building. The process involved in developing new services and improving current services was examined using empirical data collected from the general managers of 226 hotels in Taiwan. The results confirm that environmental scanning and social capital fully mediate the relationship between proactive personality of managers and capacity for service innovation as well as service improvement of hotels, indicating that hotel managers with a proactive personality are helpful at implementing innovation.     

Environmental Tactics Used by Hotel Companies in Mexico

Summary

The impact which environmental law and management has had in the hospitality industry is substantial. Hotels have begun conservation and recycling programs as a means of reducing energy cost and solid waste. A significant number of environmentally related regulatory and consumer pressures are being imposed upon the hospitality industry. The purpose of this study is to begin to explore the environmental programs that hotel corporations in Mexico are adopting. Eight managers at eight hotel corporations in Mexico were included in the study. The corporation hotels located in Mexico started to implement environmental strategies in 1995, and the most common reason was because of the legal pressures they faced. Efficient use of lighting and eliminating use of diesel in the boiler were the most frequently sited strategies. Seven hotel managers benefitted from the application of these strategies, while one indicated he did not benefit. The hotel managers feel social, legal, and political pressure in Mexico to implement environmental strategies but consider consumer pressure unimportant. They believe these strategies are not very important when facing competitors, and only one manager mentioned that in the future the competitive threat will be important in developing environmental consciousness.     

Managing green marketing: Hong Kong hotel managers’ perspective

In view of the serious environmental problems we are currently facing, taking action to protect our planet is becoming more persuasive and important. Along with various environmental initiatives, the concept of green marketing emerged in the late 1980s. Some hotels have taken various initiatives to position themselves as green hotels, including the use of eco-labels as a marketing ploy to attract customers. Nevertheless, some of the hotels that use these green marketing strategies have been accused of “green washing”. The main aim of this study is to investigate Hong Kong hotel manager perceptions of the relative importance of different green marketing strategies. Questionnaires containing 30 attributes were distributed to this effect. The findings reveal that hotel managers equally perceive “Hotel green marketing should begin with green product and service design”, “Hotels provide products and services that do no harm to human health” and “The Internet is an effective channel to market a hotel's green initiatives to customers directly” as the top green marketing ploys. Independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA were also used to examine significant differences in the way hotel managers with different professional backgrounds and individual demographic characteristics rate the importance of hotel-related green marketing strategies. The findings indicate that lower-grade hotels tend to adopt lean green marketing strategies, whereas hotels with larger sizes or formal environmental management systems are likely to adopt shaded or extreme green marketing strategies. The study also provides a number of insights to help hotel managers and especially marketers better understand the implementation and importance of different green marketing strategies, thereby allowing them to employ suitable measures to avoid the “green washing” designation and attract more green-conscious travellers.     

基于TRA理论的酒店员工信息技术心理研究

本文以TRA理论和TAM模型为基础,通过针对中国三星级以上酒店员工的信息技术采用心理的实证研究,探讨了目前酒店员工信息技术采用认知、态度和意向等基本心理状况．比较了不同的客观环境和个体特征下酒店员工信息技术采用心理的差异,在中国酒店业的技术进步和人力资源管理方面提出了有价值的结论。     

Use numbers not words! Communicating hotels’ cleaning programs for COVID-19 from the brand perspective

After hotels in many countries were forced to close in government-imposed lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an inherent need to communicate how they deal with the coronavirus to motivate guests to visit. However, lack of knowledge about how to persuasively communicate about hotels’ cleaning programs for COVID-19 can challenge the industry’s survival. We investigated how hotels that position their brand as a particular personality (sincere vs. exciting) could benefit from different communication styles (inclusion of numerical vs. verbal quantifiers) when presenting their COVID-19 cleaning procedures. Study 1 explored tourists’ central attitudinal responses toward hotels’ cleaning programs. Study 2 demonstrated that sincere hotel brands would benefit from using numerical and verbal quantifiers to communicate their cleaning policies, whereas exciting hotel brands would benefit only from numerical quantifiers. Our results invite hotel managers to use their brand personality positioning to influence tourists’ attitudes and intentions in a pandemic context.     

From innovation to sustainability: Sustainability innovations of eco-friendly hotels in Taiwan

Sustainable innovation is a critical attribute in modern hotel management, as is widely recognized by experts and hotel managers alike. This paper develops and tests a new integrated theoretical model of associations among innovation diffusion, environmental marketing strategy, sustainability innovations, and the organizational environment. This research also considers the mediating effect of environmental marketing strategy and the moderating role of the organizational environment. The results of a study that included 367 managers of eco-friendly hotels in Taiwan provide support for this model across various dimensions of hotels’ sustainable innovation. The present study found relationships among innovation diffusion, environmental marketing strategy and sustainability innovations, and a mediating effect of environmental marketing strategy. The results also confirmed that the organizational environment moderates the relationship between innovation diffusion and environmental marketing strategy. That is, a supportive organizational environment will enhance the effect of innovation diffusion on environmental marketing strategy.     

Expectations of returned Chinese graduates and hotel managers regarding entry-level work in the hotel industry in China

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations of returned Chinese graduates with an Australian degree regarding their work situation in the Chinese hotel industry and the expectations of hotel managers in China regarding the graduates’ job attitude. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were undertaken. The results showed that most graduates were relatively satisfied with their current work situation in the Chinese hotel industry. However, managers argued that returned graduates have unrealistic expectations about the work requirements in the industry. The study found that universities and hotels in China need to assist the returned Chinese international students with their reentry.     

Don't change my towels please: Factors influencing participation in towel reuse programs

Towel reuse is the flagship of hotel environmental practices. This paper examines the effects of consumer demographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics influencing a two-stage decision making process including participation and support to a towel reuse program. A meta-analysis shows that 53% of customers are willing to financially support green hotels. A survey of 1304 Greek and foreign hotel customers in tourism hot spots in Greece reveals that 72% of hotel customers would adopt a towel reuse program while 44.1% are willing to pay extra an average of 2.15 euros per day to support it. Younger customers and customers that book high-priced hotels or with higher length of stay exhibit higher willingness to pay extra for towel reuse programs. As rising water and energy shortages in specific tourism hotspots bring hotels' environmental integration under increased scrutiny, the focal findings hold significant implications for hotel managers and tourism policy makers.     

Satisfaction and positive emotions: A comparison of the influence of hotel guests’ beliefs and attitudes on their satisfaction and emotions

This research provides a comparative study of two comprehensive servicescape models to explore the underlying influence of various hotel elements on guests’ satisfaction with, and emotional responses to, their hotel stays. Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this research sought to identify the differences in guests’ beliefs and attitudes about the elements of hotels’ public areas, rooms, ambiance, social, and green practices in determining their satisfaction and emotions. Two structural models were developed illustrating the theorized interrelationships between identified constructs. Data collected through an online survey from 310 guests stayed in upscale hotels with four-star ratings were used for the analysis. Results from two structural models revealed that the model with attitudes is a better predictor of guest satisfaction and emotions than the model with beliefs. Further, emotionally attached guests engage more in WOM than did satisfied guests. Hotel managers need to offer experiences that consist of elements that matter to customers since customers’ attitude towards various service elements determine their satisfaction and emotional attachment with hotels. Additionally, in order to get brand promoters through WOM recommendations, hotels need to focus on emotionally attached customers than satisfied customers.     

Can Response Management Benefit Hotels? Evidence from Hong Kong Hotels

With the growing influence of online reviews, more hotels are adopting online response management, but whether this works and benefits a hotel has rarely been studied. In this research, we study the impact of response management on hotel online ratings using data retrieved from TripAdvisor with a focus on Hong Kong hotels. We find that (1) high class hotels are more likely to adopt response management; (2) there is no significant difference among different hotel classes in terms of response rate; and (3) targeted response management has a significant positive effect on hotel ratings. In addition, Asian customers tend to give lower ratings than Western customers. We outline specific implications for hotel managers and their online management and offer suggestions for future research based on the empirical findings.     

Perceptions of management difficulty factors by expatriate hotel professionals in China

Successful overseas hotel operations depend on technically competent and culturally adaptable expatriate managers. This study reveals that expatriate hotel professionals from many different countries are now working in China. It examines and analyses the perceptions of six management difficulty factors by the expatriate hotel professionals. Staff attitude and lack of competence of the local managers are identified as the most difficult management factors, followed by language barriers, cultural differences and lack of local management support. Government policy change is perceived as the least difficult factor. The empirical findings of this study can be used by the Chinese tourism authority to improve the business environment for foreign investment and management; and by multinational hotel corporations to strengthen training programs in preparing expatriate managers for management assignments in China.     

Attitude Towards Green Hotel by Hoteliers and Travel Agency Managers in Taiwan

Analysis is performed by green hotel features: energy conservation, water conservation, waste management, green purchasing, and corporate social responsibility. Questionnaires were distributed to managers of hotels and travel agencies via snowball-sampling. Findings show that hoteliers have higher green hotel attitudes than travel agency managers. By gender, female managers have higher green hotel attitudes. Managers with less work experience have higher green hotel attitudes. Managers who work for upscale hotels have higher green hotel attitudes than managers of typical hotels and travel agencies. Managers working in south or east Taiwan have higher green hotel attitudes than those in north or central Taiwan.     

How psychological and contextual factors contribute to travelers’ propensity to choose green hotels?

Despite the growing popularity of green hotels, there remains a dearth of research examining travelers’ intentions to choose green hotels. The study addresses this research gap by developing and testing an integrated model of green hotel behavior in an emerging market of India. We use a sequential approach of SEM and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis on 347 responses collected from Indian travelers to gain a more in-depth understanding of the role of biospheric value, green trust, willingness to pay premium, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in determining green hotel intentions. The findings show that presence of green trust is a significant and necessary condition for green hotel choice. Additionally, absence of willingness to pay premium, biospheric value, attitude, and subjective norm were found to deter travelers from choosing green hotels. These findings offer unique insights for managers in developing marketing strategies to enhance travelers’ green hotel adoption.     

Environment management in the hotel industry: does institutional environment matter?

Limited theoretical attention has been paid to understand the underlying drivers of hotels’ engagement in environment management (EM). By using institutional theory, this study provides an integrated model that captures various social drivers of hotels’ engagement in EM. The associations between the three dimensions of institutional environment and hotel environmental practices were empirically tested, as well as the moderating role of hotel characteristics. A total of 414 usable surveys representing 414 hotels were collected from hotel managers in China. The results demonstrate positive associations of hotel EM practices with supportive state regulations, shared industry standards, competitors’ EM practices and expectations from various stakeholders such as employees, local community, and investors. Particularity, the strength of positive relationships between specific institutional pressures vary across hotel sizes and scales. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed     

How do hotel managers react to rating fluctuation?

Rating fluctuation is inevitable for hotels listed on hotel booking platforms, which induces potential consumers’ perception of uncertainty and risk. Managerial response is expected to be effective in enhancing the interaction between hotels and consumers. However, how hotel managers react to rating fluctuation remains unclear. In order to fill this gap in the literature, we collect customer reviews and managerial responses from a leading hotel booking platform and build a panel dataset (hotel*month). The empirical results suggest that (1) rating fluctuation induces more managerial responses and requires more response time; (2) upscale hotels are more likely to conduct frequent and timely responses when facing rating fluctuation; and (3) hotels tend to respond more frequent and timely once rating fluctuation is observed by a larger audience. This study concludes by presenting theoretical contributions to the literature and practical implications for operators of hotel booking platforms and hotel managers.     

Customer Satisfaction,Training and TQM

Abstract

Managers within the hospitality industry make frequent reference to TQM principles. The extent to which these principles are applied effectively within the human resource management area of hospitality however remains under-researched. By applying TQM principles, this paper focusses on the relationship between customer service and training drawing upon comparative data from Western and Thai hotels. The paper also examines the perceptions of staff towards of hotels' guest-orientation and the provision of quality guest services. The researchers found that guest assessments of the performance of hotel frontline staff depend on their services function (e.g., front-office, housekeeping). The service quality skills needed by frontline staff were also found to differ in the case of Western and Thai hotels. Such differences merit proper consideration on the part of managers within the major hotel chains. The various findings may assist hospitality managers to determine appropriate strategies for the enhancement of guest services particularly in cross-cultural settings.     

The effects of mentoring on role stress,job attitude,and turnover intention in the hotel industry

In response to a dearth of mentoring studies in the hospitality literature, this study develops and tests a research model to investigate the influence of mentoring functions on role stress, job attitude, and turnover intention in the hotel industry. The data were collected from employees who had experienced mentoring programs at super-deluxe hotels in South Korea. This study conceptualized mentoring activity as having three main functions, including career development, psychosocial support, and role modeling. Structural equation model (SEM) analyses were used to explore the statistical significance of the paths between these functions and the main outcome variables. The psychosocial support function showed a significant relationship with all variables in the model (i.e., a positive effect on job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but a negative effect on role conflict, role ambiguity, and turnover intention). The relationships were not significant between the career development function and role ambiguity, between role modeling and role ambiguity, or between role ambiguity and turnover intention. The results will enable a better understanding of the effects of hotel mentoring programs and indicate directions for improving their outcomes. The findings can help hotel managers in developing more effective mentoring programs.