A preliminary study on customer expectations of hotel hospitality: Influences of personal and hotel factors

This study attempts to explain the influence of personal and hotel factors on the expectation level of hotel hospitality as well as to propose a scale to measure commercial hospitality for hotel services. A total of 101 local and international hotel guests were involved in the study. The results revealed that the expectations of hotel hospitality are influenced by personal factors such as gender, purpose of stay, nationality, and private domain of hospitality. The hotel's star rating is the only hotel factor that might have strong association with hotel hospitality.     

The role of affinity and animosity on solidarity with Ukraine and hospitality outcomes

The tourism and hospitality industry has had to make some hard decisions during the year 2022. Many major hotel chains have had to decide whether to stay or pull out of Russia, and which policies to implement toward individual Russian guests at their hotels outside of Russia. This study investigates solidarity as an important factor to understanding the conflict and its ramifications for the hospitality industry. The authors explore whether solidarity with Ukraine is driven by affinity toward Ukraine, or by animosity toward Russia. Further, the study demonstrates that place solidarity impacts two specific outcomes in the hospitality industry. The paper concludes by outlining implications for scholars and practitioners.     

Generic dimensionality of hospitality in the hotel industry: A host–guest relationship perspective

The main objectives of this study are to identify the generic facets of hospitality for hotel services irrespective of their star rating, as well as to determine the impact of generic dimensionality on guest satisfaction. The responses of 305 local and foreign hotel guests in a questionnaire survey were analysed using a Structural Equation Modelling technique. The generic facets of hotel hospitality were identified as personalisation, comfort, and warm welcoming. Of the three, only personalisation and warm welcoming contributed significantly to predicting guest satisfaction. This study is aimed at adding to the body of related literature by sharing new insights on how the generic dimensionality of hospitality in its entirety differs from that of upscale hotel hospitality.     

What is hospitality?

Some health care organizations looking to improve customer satisfaction have tried to redefine their customers as guests, applying the concept of hospitality to their operations. It is not clear, however, just what hospitality means. This paper reviews the literature of hospitality and proposes a model of hospitality. Some implications for delivering hospitality in a customer service organization are discussed.     

The role of language in the online evaluation of hospitality service encounters: An empirical study

In an increasingly global travel market, hospitality services encounters involve growing interactions between providers and customers often belonging to different nationalities and cultures and speaking different languages. Extant hospitality management literature has explored the influence of language on service evaluations mostly in offline settings. This study innovatively captures the effect of the language used in online hotel reviews on online consumer ratings in two distinctively different destinations located in culturally different countries: Italy and Russia. Based on almost half a million Booking.com online reviews written by hotel guests in Moscow and Rome, we illuminate if and to what extent domestic vs. foreign language use affects online customer satisfaction. We find that the use of domestic language exerts a positive impact on online ratings in both countries. Implications for hospitality practitioners and managers, developers and managers of online review platforms, and customers of hotel services are discussed.     

A deeper look at national culture and leadership in the hospitality industry

Increased internationalization and demographic shifts have made multicultural management a prime concern for hospitality leaders. Past research suggests that cultural similarity between managers and subordinates impacts employees’ appraisal of their leaders and work-related attitudes. Extending this line of research, the purpose of this paper is to examine more closely how employees evaluate leaders with varying national cultures and identify any subsequent employee responses. First, the results of an open-ended questionnaire on cultural influences, perceived leadership and work-related outcomes administered to 112 hospitality managers and staff members in a highly multicultural environment are discussed. Next, perspectives drawn from in-depth interviews with 12 hospitality stakeholders help to synthesize the findings. The results suggest that this is a highly complex issue, which can have a significant impact on employee reactions their leaders and the service received by guests. Implications for hospitality leaders are discussed.     

Towards constructing the meaning of “aggressive hospitality”

ABSTRACT

“Aggressive hospitality” is an emergent phenomenon that is yet to be understood in the tourism field. This phenomenon involves social interaction between hosts and guests that imitates a hospitable encounter, but at the same time fails to demonstrate some characteristic(s) inherent to hospitable behavior. The underlying forces of the phenomenon are traced back to imperialism, high tourism dependence of the developing regions, staged authenticity, and the mutual gaze. The study focuses on two cruise destinations in the Caribbean region and utilizes over 1200 online reviews to construct the meaning of the phenomenon. Theoretical insights and practical implications are provided based on the findings.     

Eliciting and analysing the basic assumptions of hospitality employees about guests,co-workers and competitors

The aim of this study is to explore the content and structure of hospitality employees’ assumptions about guests, co-workers, and competitors. A qualitative study was conducted whereby 20 hospitality employees were interviewed using repertory grid and laddering. Through content analysis we identified seven assumption dimensions (predictability, control, affect, responsibility, communication, competence, and ethics). The analysis further suggested that different dimensions are emphasised in relation to the hospitality product (e.g. predictability and control), the hospitality organisation (e.g. responsibility and competence), and the hospitality market (e.g. ethics). The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research and managerial practice.     

Influence of sustainable hospitality supply chain management on customers’ attitudes and behaviors

This study aims to identify the impact of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management actions on customers’ attitudes and behaviors including satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services utilizing data collected from U.S. consumers who frequently stay at hotels. Findings suggest that while both environmental and economic dimensions’ actions of sustainable hospitality supply chain management have positive influences on customer satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay a premium for sustainable hospitality goods and services, the social dimension actions are found to have a positive influence on customer satisfaction and a negative influence on customer willingness to pay a premium. Results also indicate that customer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between social dimension actions and customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction positively influences customer loyalty, which ultimately increases customer willingness to pay a premium. The implications of the research findings are provided.     

Non-verbal communication in hospitality: At the intersection of religion and gender

Given the criticality of successful bilateral (guest–employee) interactions in the increasingly internationalised hospitality business environment, the overarching aim of this study is to determine whether religion (Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity) plays a role in how hotel employees’ non-verbal communication is perceived by guests. In addition, we are interested in understanding perceptions of hotel employees’ non-verbal behaviour from the perspective of the intersection of religion and gender. This exploratory research is based on cross-sectional data collected from 384 hotel guests in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Results showed that Christian guests perceived proxemics, physical appearance and paralanguage of hotel employees less favourably than Muslim guests did. Effects of religion on kinesics and proxemics also depended on gender. Implications are discussed theoretically in terms of cross-religious discourse and practically in terms of workforce training.     

To dine or not to dine? Collective wellbeing in hospitality in the COVID-19 era

The hospitality industry has been hard hit by the ongoing pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. As restaurants develop comprehensive reopening plans, consumers may still have mixed feelings about simple things such as going out for a meal. This paper explores wellbeing perceptions of restaurant diners. Based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews, this paper reveals that wellbeing in hospitality is a collective concept comprised of multiple domains of a service system, including macro, meso, and micro levels. Furthermore, this paper provides strong support to show that wellbeing is not only sought collectively, but also is determined by consumers’ wellbeing perceptions of both themselves and others around them, and thus contributes to the wellbeing literature in the hospitality domain. Finally, this paper identifies potential concerns regarding crowding and behaviors of other guests, which extends the hospitality literature on perceived territoriality. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed in detail.     

The effects of customer-centricity in hospitality

Hospitality is a field in which guests’ specific needs and wants should always be given serious consideration by hoteliers. Putting the guest at the centre of all business efforts contributes to generating customer value and enhancing a firm’s competitiveness. Being customer-centric is paramount for hospitality establishments to create and sustain superior customer value. However, there is scant evidence in hospitality marketing literature of a clear understanding of the customer-centricity concept or of the possible effects of its implementation. Using a mixed-methods multiple case study approach, this research studies two different properties that, to some extent, are already engaged in customer-centricity practices through the use of advanced Customer Relationship Manager software. Results clearly show an increase in customer ratings, leading to possible profit implications; a cultural shift within the organizations studied connected with the customer-centricity phenomenon has also been reported.     

The service economy, de-industrialisation and the hospitality industry

This paper examines the popular view that the growth of services (and in particular, hospitality services) is both inevitable and desirable. It considers the terminological confusion surrounding the term ‘services’ and examines whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the continuing emergence of the ‘service’ as opposed to manufacturing-based economy. The view that the prosperity of the U.K. depends more on manufacturing than it does on services is considered, and conclusions are drawn for the hospitality industry.     

Situational and personal factors influencing hospitality employee engagement in value co-creation

This study explores the situational and personal factors affecting hospitality employees’ engagement in the co-creation of value. The concept of value co-creation emerged from the general co-creation literature, and little research has assessed how situational and personal factors enhance our understanding of value creation. To explore these underlying factors, a qualitative study involving in-depth and focus group interviews was conducted at three luxury hotels in Hong Kong and Macao. The research findings indicate five situational factors and five personal factors impact cocreated value for hotel guests in the luxury sector. Insights are provided into the potential use of these factors to better manage employee engagement and the customer experience to facilitate value co-creation. The implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.     

COVID-19 and hospitality 5.0: Redefining hospitality operations

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected the global hospitality industry. The hygiene and cleanliness of hotels has become the focal point in the recovery plan during COVID-19. This study investigates the effects of past disasters on the global hospitality industry, and how the industry responded to them. Since past pandemics and epidemics identified hygiene and cleanliness as an important factor, this study further explores the role of technology in ensuring hygiene and cleanliness. Hence, this study further examines the scalability of Industry 5.0 design principles into the hospitality context, leading to Hospitality 5.0 to improve operational efficiency. The study further delineates how Hospitality 5.0 technologies can ensure hygiene and cleanliness in various touchpoints in customer’s journey. This study serves as a foundation to understand how synergy between humans and machines can be achieved through Hospitality 5.0. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Zimbabwean hospitality students’ experiences of sexual harassment in the hotel industry

This study investigates the experiences of Zimbabwean hospitality management students in relation to sexual harassment. The students were asked to draw their responses from their industrial attachment year which is part of their four-year degree program. Guided interviews were conducted with 77 final year hospitality management students who had undertaken their industrial attachment in the hotel industry. Findings reveal that sexual harassment is not uncommon in Zimbabwean hotel workplaces. Coworkers, managers and customers were identified as perpetrators. The lack of sexual harassment training in the Zimbabwean hospitality, as well as the non-response of managers to some sexual harassment cases are possible indicators of the inadequacy, or complete lack of sexual harassment policies in Zimbabwe's hotel industry. The researcher suggests that human resource managers in the hotels should formulate, in consultation with Zimbabwean law and labour relations experts, sound sexual harassment policies. Continuous educational training for all employees and managers is also necessary to encourage more employees to report cases and to deter offenders.     

Subconscious influences on perceived cleanliness in hospitality settings

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now and for years to come, guests at hospitality venues will have heightened awareness with regard to formulating their perceptions of cleanliness. While perceived cleanliness has received attention in our existing body of literature, this conceptual paper integrates potential subconscious influencers on cleanliness perceptions into our understanding. Specifically, findings contained in various streams of research suggest that a number of factors can have subconscious influences on individuals’ perceptions of cleanliness in service environments. Such factors include the degree of lighting, the presence of plants / greenery, the shininess of surfaces, the use of ambient scents, the use of white bedding, and the presence of cleaning staff. Evidently, the sooner hospitality venues (particularly airlines, lodging operations, restaurants, and cruise ships) are perceived as clean and safe, the faster they will recover from the pandemic. As such, this paper is rich with both practical and research implications.     

The contributions of economics to hospitality literature: A content analysis of hospitality and tourism journals

This paper aimed to develop a concrete understanding of economics topics and methodologies that have been applied to hospitality research and to suggest areas for further research. Content analysis of 292 full-length articles was performed. The results showed that the contributions of economics to hospitality literature were largely empirical and microeconomics-related. Most of the research topics focused on market analysis, which involves demand and supply modelling and price determinants, followed by performance analysis, involving efficiency and productivity studies. Limited contributions of macroeconomic topics to hospitality were determined, highlighting the lack of studies on the impact of government or public policies on the hospitality industry. Moreover, the application of game theory to market structures was found to be limited, creating a vacuum in terms of understanding the competitive and cooperative behaviours of hospitality firms. As a contribution to the literature, the study provides suggestions for future research.     

Literature in strategic management in the hospitality industry

This literature review of the research in strategic management in the hospitality industry covers the 2 year period of 2002–2003. Using a contingency model framework for the analysis the research reported in refereed journals in the field of hospitality is reported. Additionally, research that considered the context of the hospitality industry but published in non-hospitality refereed journals was also included. Key issues and needs in the area are provided at the conclusion.     

Leadership competencies for hospitality management staff in Thailand

This study investigates factors that influence leadership in Thailand's hospitality industry. The results show that interpersonal skills are the most important competency for Thai hospitality managers. There were significant effects of age, managerial experience, and hotel management types on the importance of levels of leadership competencies. The few studies which exist on Thai hospitality management competencies are combined with the results of this study to propose a leadership competency framework that can be used as a basis for further developing an internationally competitive Thai hospitality industry.