The international hotel industry in Spain: Its hierarchical structure

This paper empirically analyzes the indebtedness of the main companies in the Spanish hotel industry. In particular, it introduces a method to analyze the structures and dynamics of the largest companies in this sector. The method combines the Pearson correlation coefficient with the nearest neighbour single linkage clustering algorithm (Mantegna, R. N. (1999). Hierarchical structure in financial markets. The European Physical Journal B, 11, 193–197). The Pearson correlation coefficient determines a metric distance between two different multidimensional time series that is then used to construct a Minimal Spanning Tree. From this tree, an ultra metric distance that is used to derive the Hierarchical Tree can be computed. From the analysis of the time series data of companies included in the SABI, or the Iberian Balance Sheet Analysis System 2005, it is possible to derive a hierarchical organization of the Spanish hotel firms. In particular, different dynamic clusters of companies, which correspond to their common production and indebtedness strategies, can be detected.     

Examining the determinants of hotel chain expansion through international franchising

This study proposes and tests an agency-based organizational model of internationalization through franchising in the hotel sector. Using data obtained from a Franchisor Questionnaire 2001-2008, we analyzed a panel of 117 observations of 17 U.S.-based hotels. Our analysis reveals that a hotel franchisor's decision to internationalize through franchising is positively related to the percentage of franchises, the ratio of franchised units to the total number of units. The article contributes to the literature by empirically modeling international franchising of hotels, which present unique characteristics among franchising companies, with a high investment capital requirement, maturity in the product life cycle, and a high level of standardization and globalization of operations. The unique characteristics of individual chains and their segment in the industry are particularly important, as revealed by both data analysis and expert opinion.     

Strategic groups in the hospitality industry: Intergroup and intragroup performance differences in Alicante, Spain

The hotel sector is currently immersed in a very uncertain, highly competitive environment, due to which it needs information for the correct management of its establishments. This information can be obtained from the classification of hotels in strategic groups. The present empirical research presents strategic groups in the hospitality industry as a useful tool for the planning and implementation of strategies by hotels that helps to determine their competitive strategies and advantages. This research paper additionally shows how the levels of performance between the hotels belonging to each group can be evaluated from strategic groups. In this study, the tool is applied to the hotel sector of the Spanish province of Alicante, a very important geographical area in the context of international tourism. The dimensions resource commitment and tourist activity scope have been used to define the strategic groups.     

Tourist districts and internationalization of hotel firms

The present paper brings together two lines of research that the literature has more often than not studied separately: the generation of externalities in industrial districts; and the international strategy based on location advantages. The application of industrial district approach principles serves to identify the tourist holiday districts situated along the Spanish coastline. This is followed by an analysis of the extent to which the degree of firm agglomeration specific to each district, as well as the presence of institutions generating specific technical knowledge, influence the globalization of the tourism sector, both regarding internationalized Spanish hotel chains and foreign hotels installed in Spain.     

Energy conservation in large-sized hotels: Insights from a developing country

Tourism can drive positive, transformative changes in modern societies, but also becomes a source of significant environmental externalities. This is often the case for developing economies where the problem is exacerbated by immature national sustainability agendas. Targeted research, accounting for the local context, is necessary to enable transition of developing countries towards more sustainable patterns of tourism development. This study targets the hotel sector in Iran, one of the most energy inefficient hotel sectors around the world, to explore its pathway towards environmental sustainability. The dominance of domestic ownership and control and the prevalence of international economic sanctions are the distinctive features of the Iranian hotel sector. The study pinpoints reconfigurations in technology, knowledge, legislation and behavioural norms as the determinants of the sector’s environmental sustainability quest. Domestic hospitality companies should champion transformative pro-environmental changes in the Iranian hotel sector until international economic sanctions are lifted.     

What determines multinational hotel groups’ locational investment choice in China?

China's hotel industry has been developed quickly from a small number of 137 only in 1978 to 14,237 in 2009. One of the main drivers of the rapid development of the hotel industry has been the expansion of multinational hotel groups (MHGs) into China. The purposes of this study are to analyze the factors that determine the location strategies of MHGs and to assess what factors determine MHG's investment strategies in regard to choice of location. The study finds that the market demand and market size measured by number of inbound tourists, tourist spending, and actual foreign direct investment, the business environment measured by GDP per capital, and dummy variables measured by policy and mega events are all significant factors in affecting MHG's locational choices for investment. These findings may provide some insights for MHG's future investment strategies in regard to location choice.     

Knowledge Transfer in Hotel Firms: Determinants of Success in International Expansion

This study analyzes the determinants of knowledge transfer success in the international expansion of hotel firms. First, international growth strategies, followed by hospitality firms and their relationship to knowledge transfer, are discussed. Next, we address the determinants of knowledge transfer success in international expansion by discussing the relevance of the topic and potential barriers that may lead to failures. This leads to the presentation of four research hypotheses. The hypotheses are then empirically tested from the international expansion of Spanish hotel chains. The results demonstrate the influence of the absorptive capacity, the cultural aspects, and the motivation of the knowledge sources.     

The impact of regulation and ownership structure on market orientation in the tourism industry in China

The nature of market orientation and its impact on business performance and other related outcomes have been extensively researched in a range of service contexts including tourism. In contrast, our understanding of the factors that influence market orientation is still limited. This paper reports on a study that contributes to our understanding of the determinants of market orientation within the tourism sector by focusing specifically on the role played by two strategically important variables, namely government regulation and ownership structure. The study analyses two national samples of hotels and travel services in the rapidly growing tourism industry in China. The hotel sector has been open to foreign investment for two decades and has a diversified ownership structure, whereas the travel services sector has been dominated by government owned firms and relatively closed to foreign investment. The results of the survey suggest that of the two new antecedents, only government regulation has a significant role to play in driving market orientation. Internally, access to appropriate managerial and marketing capabilities was identified as a significant predictor of the development of market orientation.     

Towards an economic analysis of trans-/multinational hotel companies

The hotel industry is by nature international. As international trade and international tourism expand it is more than likely that international ties will become even more important in the trade. The analysis below argues for a more detailed analysis of the nature of the corporate strategies adopted in the international sphere. This will enable more direct connections to be made between general developments at macro level and applications at operational and corporate levels. The paper starts by defining the current approach taken to analyse hotel multinational companies (MNCs) and then goes on to look at the role of economies of scale in the debate. It closes by suggesting a way forward in the analysis of this important part of the hotel industry.     

Social responsibility and total quality in the hospitality industry: does gender matter?

This empirical study examines the role of gender diversity in top management teams (TMTs) and their impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is an underexplored topic within the hotel sector. Based on stakeholder theory, we argue that the relationship between gender diversity and hotel performance is indirect and mediated by CSR. Our study also analyses how the implementation of total quality management (TQM) and CSR influences hotel stakeholder results, and hence business performance. Using a sample of Spanish hotels, we provide evidence that gender diversity in TMTs increases the level of implementation of CSR within the hotel industry. The results show that the impact of gender diversity on hotel performance is mediated by CSR. The findings also suggest that the adoption of TQM and CSR management philosophies improves the capacity of hotels to benefit their stakeholders, and that this improvement has a positive effect on hotel performance.     

Knowledge-based resources and innovation in the hotel industry

Although the study of innovation in the hotel industry is a key issue, little is known about the determinants of innovation in this sector, as most innovation research has focused on manufacturing firms or knowledge-intensive services. Furthermore, although research suggests that knowledge is a critical asset for achieving innovation performance, few studies have explored how knowledge operates in the hotel industry. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence about the role played by a set of knowledge-based resources in determining innovation activity in tourist accommodation firms. Data from 109 companies operating hotels in Spain suggest that intangible assets should be considered in this sector when attempting to explain the innovation capacity of firms.     

Do hotel REIT companies face investment constraints? A comparison with C-corporation hotel companies

This study investigates whether corporate investment by REIT hotel companies (hotel REITs hereafter) is more constrained than investment by C-corporation hotel companies (hotel C-corps hereafter). The investments of hotel REITs and hotel C-corps are examined by comparing the sensitivities of investment to cash flow and investment opportunities between the two groups. Results show that the sensitivity of investment to cash flow is positive and significantly higher for hotel REITs than for hotel C-corps, suggesting that hotel REITs are likely to experience more constraints on their corporate investment. This finding suggests that hotel firms and owners should be more cautious about electing to be a REIT if they are planning large investments in the future. In addition, this finding has policy implications; even a small reduction in the rate of mandatory dividend payouts could significantly increase hotel REITs’ corporate investments.     

Relation between social-environmental responsibility and performance in hotel firms

In the present work we first theoretically contextualise the importance of social and environmental responsibility in the firm, at the same time analysing the relation between this variable and firm performance, for which the literature provides contradictory results. In the hotel sector this controversy is particularly relevant, given the intense relations and dependencies that this industry has with its environmental context. Subsequently, we conduct an empirical study centring on the Spanish hotel sector, whose findings point to a strong and positive relation between both variables.     

Innovation activity in the hotel industry: Evidence from Balearic Islands

The paper provides empirical evidence on technological activity in the Spanish service sector, in particular for the tourist accommodation in the Balearics. The study wants to fulfil the lack of analyses in the field of tourism. Commonly, the study of innovation activity has been carried out from a manufacture perspective, for that reason the paper discusses the precise definition of innovation in accommodation services. The data refer to a large representative sample of hotels in Balearic Islands (Spain), providing a homogeneous set of information. The results show as higher-categories hotels are more innovative than lower-categories hotels; an aggregated measure of technological innovation presents a rate over the average for hotels that belong to a chain, and that for hotels under management contract. Half of innovative companies adjust the human capital skills and abilities. The hotel industry is a supplier-driven sector that innovates introducing R&D embodied technology rather than undertaking internal R&D activities.     

Emerging Definitions of Boutique and Lifestyle Hotels: A Delphi Study

Despite growing interest in the boutique and lifestyle sector of the lodging industry, there is not an accepted definition of either “boutique hotel” or “lifestyle hotel.” Boutique and lifestyle hotel strategies provide hotel companies with important points of differentiation in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The current study determined definitions using a Delphi analysis of responses from a diverse group of experts from the lodging industry. Forty-one panel members were involved in the process that was undertaken with three rounds of questions. The study determined that boutique hotels are best characterized as small, stylish hotels that offer high levels of service. Lifestyle hotels are described as innovative and provide more of a personal experience than so-called “branded” hotels.     

基于可持续发展视角的中国旅游业利用外资策略

从分析旅游业可持续发展投资的内涵入手,刻画旅游业外商直接投资与可持续发展的关系,剖析影响中国旅游业吸收可持续发展投资的主要因素,研究提出利用外资的系统策略:制定以可持续发展为目标的投资激励政策;将促进可持续发展纳入投资促进机构的目标体系;提高投资服务水平;塑造地区旅游形象;建立多种形式的可持续发展投资合作伙伴关系;建立具体指标体系和报告制度,对旅游业可持续发展投资进行评估和监督。     

Stock market reactions to entry mode choices of multinational hotel firms

This paper contends that when entry mode choices are aligned with the characteristics of the host country, investors are likely to respond more positively to the expansion announcement than when there is no or little alignment. Empirical results from the international hotel industry support this contention. The findings specifically reveal that the announcements of new management contracts in developing countries, and new franchise agreements in developed countries, cause superior abnormal returns. The study also further supports the notion that control and ownership need to be treated as separate dimensions in the entry mode literature.     

Strategy,training and performance fit

The importance of human resource qualification for the tourism industry in general and for hotel firms in particular has been a recurrent theme for several years now. The present paper deals with training policy in hotels and has as its aim to know the extent to which their strategic orientation influences: (1) the investment that firms make in training; (2) the preparation of formal plans; and (3) the type of training developed. It is also our intention to check whether this strategy-training link has an impact on hotel performance. With that aim in mind, an attempt will be made to see whether the effect of training on business results is direct or materializes through a number of intermediate variables such as client satisfaction or changes in the behavior of employees (indirect effect). A comprehensive analysis of the literature was conducted to identify the main research and establishing the hypotheses to be tested. Our paper used a sample of Spanish companies with the partial least squares (PLS) method being applied for the analysis. The results show that the development of a training policy oriented to human capital development in the case of hotels following a differentiation strategy leads to improved business results both directly and indirectly, while simultaneously influencing investment as well as formality in training activities.     

The Egyptian Government's Role in Re-Establishing the Hotel Industry in Cairo (1953–1957)

This article analyzes the role of the Egyptian Government in reviving and improving the Egyptian hotel industry in the revolutionary period. It provides a case study of a country with large political problems, but at the same time pursuing a dream—a dream that was expensive and demanding. Tourism was understood to be an important tool in promoting political stability and providing some legitimacy to a political system opposed by the major powers in the world. This study will examine the Egyptian Government's role in re-establishing the hotel industry as an important economic sector in Egypt during the period from 1953 to 1957, which was considered a critical political period. The year 1953 marked the beginning of the official plans to increase the hotel facilities in Cairo with the establishment of the Tourism Department; and 1957 marked the end of Suez Crisis of 1956. The study utilized unpublished U.S. Department of State documents that show that the hotel industry was used as tool to put pressure on the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1952–1970) to accept U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and was one of the main issues negotiated between the two countries after the Suez Crisis.