Hotel efficiency: A bootstrapped metafrontier approach

This paper introduces the metafrontier concept to account for the environmental and technological differences between various hotels groups. The interesting feature of the model is that it ensures that heterogeneous hotels are compared based on one homogenous technology. We test the model using a panel data sample of 78 Taiwanese hotels. The results clearly indicate that the size, ownership, and the classification of a particular hotel have a significant impact on its efficiency. More implications of the results are provided.     

Who benefits more from trade shows: Independent,franchised or chain-owned/managed hotels?

Large-scale events are opportunities for hotels to generate revenue. The literature has attested positive effects of events on hotel performance. However, while large-demand events are associated with room rate increases, hotel operation types may play a critical role in this “event-hotel performance” relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view theory, the chain value model and the theory of strategic groups, we hypothesize that independent and franchised hotels outperform chain-owned/managed hotels when events are held. The empirical application on over 950,000 observations between 2014 and 2019 shows that while chain-owned/managed hotels generally outperform independent and franchised hotels, this situation reverses in the presence of events. This result extends the resource-based view theory and the value chain model by including the short/long-term and corporate/property paradigm in the hotel industry.     

Dual-branded hotels: Resource-based entry strategies in agglomerated markets

Despite the growing importance of dual-branded hotels, research on this trend is lacking. This study investigates the effect of resource-based entry strategies for dual-branded hotels vis-à-vis incumbent market competition on performance. Using a hierarchical linear model, we found that best performance is achieved by dual-branded hotels that pursue a diversification strategy by entering the market with one brand above and one brand below the mode class of the market. Dual-branded hotels can thus achieve competitive advantage by exploiting superior financial resources and tourism destinations are able to gain monetary advantage from resources employed by dual-branded hotels. This study extends current research on dual-branded hotels by investigating entry strategies and contributes to the resource-based view literature by investigating dual-brands’ resource exploitation and resource spillovers in agglomerated markets.     

在线信息对酒店网上预订的影响研究——基于携程网酒店在线预订数据的分析

在线信息如何影响消费者购买决策是酒店在线服务的一个关键问题。文章基于携程网1092家酒店网上预订数据,通过对数线性回归模型,分析了酒店特征信息、顾客评论信息和预订平台推荐信息对4类不同等级酒店在线预订的影响。研究表明：顾客评论信息对各类酒店网上预订影响最显著,但对五星级酒店的影响最小;酒店特征信息对五星级酒店网上预订影响最大,其中客房价格信息对四星级、三星级和经济型酒店的影响不显著;推荐信息对四星级酒店影响很显著,但其中的用户评级对四星级以外的酒店无显著影响。文章通过对顾客评论信息中的5方面内容分析发现：顾客对酒店设施、服务水平、周边环境的评价均显著影响酒店网上预订,而客房卫生评价对酒店预订的影响不显著。该研究可为酒店在线分类管理与客户信息服务提供指导。     

A stochastic cost efficiency analysis of international tourist hotels in Taiwan

The one-stage stochastic frontier approach (SFA) is used in this study to simultaneously estimate cost efficiency scores and factors of cost inefficiency for 66 international tourist hotels in Taiwan during 1997–2006. An SFA model with three outputs and three inputs is defined. The three outputs are room revenue, food and beverage revenue, and other operation revenue while the three inputs are price of labor, price of other operation, and price of food and beverage. This model also takes into account five environmental variables, including dummy variable of the hotels located in non-metropolitan area, dummy variable of chain hotels, the number of tourist guides, the minimum distance from each hotel to Taoyuan international airport and the minimum distance from each hotel to Kaohsiung international airport. Empirical results show that international tourist hotels in Taiwan are on average operating at 91.15% cost efficiency. All nominal variables are transformed into real variables in 1997 prices by GDP deflators. Chain systems, tourist guides, and international transportation can significantly improve the cost efficiency of international tourist hotels in Taiwan.     

A Bayesian non-parametric stochastic frontier model

In this paper, we introduce a new Bayesian non-parametric stochastic frontier (SF) model that addresses the endogeneity problem and relaxes problematic assumptions regarding functional form, and distributional properties. The model can be seen as a competitor to DEA. We show how the model outperforms its parametric counterpart in all critical diagnostic tests. The application we use covers a unique sample of US hotels that operate within competitive clusters. We utilize the efficiency results obtained from this model to shed light on the extent to which performance spillover (i.e. agglomeration effects) may differ based on the varied characteristics of hotels within these clusters. We obtain interesting findings and discuss their implications for hotels contemplating future co-location strategies.     

Modelling growth and revenue for Swedish hotel establishments

This paper provides first estimates of the determinants of output growth of Swedish hotels based on establishment data. Growth of overnight stays is modelled as a function of initial size, age, type of accommodation, location and hotel prices measured as average revenues per guest nights. The empirical model accounts for potential endogeneity of hotel prices through the two-stage least absolute deviation model (2SLAD) and the instrumental variable quantile regression method. 2SLAD estimates show a positive and significant relationship between hotel prices and subsequent growth. The relationship is nonlinear with a decreasing impact as the price level increases. Growth of establishments is significantly higher for smaller and younger hotels. An important result is that city hotels, in comparison to tourist and other hotels – which are mainly located outside urban areas (in the mountains and at the sea) – exhibit significantly higher growth rates with a gap between 2.2 and 3.4 percentage points. Furthermore, the positive impact of hotel prices on growth is larger for high-growth establishments. Accommodation prices significantly decrease with the number of local competitors with a non-linear form and increase with size. City hotels and accommodation in the capital city have the highest revenues per guest night.     

Solid waste management in small hotels: a comparison of green and non-green small hotels in Wales

Solid waste generation and disposal is one of the most negative impacts of small hotels on the environment. Small hotels often pay little attention to their environmental responsibilities. This research builds upon an earlier work by the same authors considering solid waste management (SWM) issues in small Welsh hotels. It considers the Welsh Assembly Government's Green Dragon Environmental Standard (GDES) as an environmental management system developed specifically to target small and medium-sized enterprises and help them with aspects of environmental management, such as SWM. It explores SWM practices in green (i.e. GDES-accredited) and non-green small hotels and develops a best practice SWM model for them. Semi-structured interviews were used to investigate hoteliers’ attitudes and the barriers to implement sustainable SWM practices. The findings revealed that most non-GDES small hotels were highly reliant on landfill for the disposal of solid waste and felt negatively about the implementation of more sustainable SWM alternatives. In contrast, GDES small hotels used landfill as a last resort and targeted other waste hierarchy options in preference. The study develops a best practice model for policymakers (local authorities and UK central government) to influence and encourage better SWM practices in small hotels.     

Facilitating Benchmarking with Strategic Grouping and Data Envelopment Analysis: The Case of International Tourist Hotels in Taiwan

For a performance measure to be instructional in future operations, selecting the right strategic groups of firms from which appropriate benchmark targets are to determined is important in the development of business strategies. The immediate question is how to group firms and choose the best benchmark. In this study, a revised context-dependent data envelopment analysis model is applied to identify multilevel strategic groups. Empirical data are obtained for 56 international tourist hotels in Taiwan. Five strategic groups are identified in terms of efficiency frontiers, and the hotels within the groups are ranked by attractiveness scores that reveal their competitiveness. The hotels are also assessed by progress scores that reveal the effort needed for them to advance to a higher level. By integrating both these scores, a clear benchmarking path is designed for each hotel. This path can guide inefficient hotels to identify suitable role models for excellence.     

Types of agglomeration effects and location choices of international hotels in an emerging market

When international chain hotels are seeking new locations in which to establish new properties, local knowledge of those locations is essential for success. By incorporating agglomeration and internationalization research, this study investigates how international hotels can acquire that local knowledge from the existing hotels. The study presents two different kinds of hotel agglomerations (same-country-of-origin and higher-differentiation agglomerations) as sources of local knowledge and shows how international hotels might select their locations based on types of agglomerations and their entry strategies. The study employs conditional logistic regression, using a sample of international hotels in China. Results indicate that international hotels, especially those with franchising, are more likely to choose a location where the hotels from the same country of origin are highly located. Because they share the same culture and business practices, new hotel entrants may more easily assimilate the local knowledge that compatriot hotels have accumulated.     

Hotel Attributes and Consumer Satisfaction: A Cross-Country and Cross-Hotel Study

The main purpose of this study was to identify the influence of the consumer’s country of residence on hotel service attributes’ contribution to consumer satisfaction. The hospitality services of Disneyland Paris in Paris, France, were analyzed in the context of the study. Data came from their seven hotels and comprised 47,885 valid questionnaires. The Tetraclasse model was applied to identify hotel attributes’ contribution to satisfaction and compare them for consumer segments from eight European countries and between hotels. Results showed that the four service attributes’ contributions are influenced by country of residence and vary between hotels.     

Is there structure in the selection interview? Evidence from hotels in Switzerland

Many studies have shown that structured interviews have better predictive validity than unstructured interviews. The aim of this study was, then, to examine if recruiters in Swiss hotels use structured interviews to select candidates. Results obtained on 150 recruiters indicate that selection interviews are rather unstructured. They also show that selection interviews are more structured in larger hotels than in smaller hotels and in chain hotels than in independent hotels. Finally, and contrarily to one of the hypotheses, selection interviews are not more structured in four-star and five-star hotels than in three-star hotels.     

The causality examination between demand uncertainty and hotel failure: A case study of international tourist hotels in Taiwan

The hotel business is highly sensitive to economic cycles, as the industry faces high frequency and high fluctuation of uncertainty over the demand for lodging services. Without a thorough consideration on the issue, hotels may undergo a business crisis. This research therefore investigates the influence of demand uncertainty on hotel failure by using the operation data of international tourist hotels in Taiwan during 1995–2008. The analysis applies two stages of estimation. The first stage employs a first-order autoregressive model, AR(1), to model lodging demand uncertainty. The second stage estimates the likelihood of hotels’ failure by using a logit model. The results are supportive to determine that the demand uncertainty causes hotel failures.     

Managing solid waste in small hotels

Collectively, small hotels constitute a significant solid waste management (SWM) problem. Little research has focused on the SWM practices of small hotels. In the United Kingdom, much of the solid waste generated by small hotels goes to landfill. This study uses a constructionist approach to investigate SWM issues in small hotels in a local authority in Wales and examines the role of the public sector in helping small hotels manage their solid waste effectively. The results revealed that only a minority of small hotels were considering the adoption of sustainable SWM practices, either because hoteliers felt negatively about sustainable SWM alternatives or perceived challenges – an issue which necessitates government intervention. At the time of this study, the public sector provided only very modest services to enhance SWM practices. This study proposes a best practice model for the public sector to encourage small hotels to manage their solid waste effectively, in order to reduce or even eliminate waste for landfill. Local authorities' support is required to make waste management hierarchy options more accessible to small hotels and should incentivise better waste management through increasing the gap between the costs of landfill and recycling waste.     

Profit Luenberger and Malmquist-Luenberger indexes for multi-activity decision-making units: The case of the star-rated hotel industry in China

Due to the vigorous economic development of the tourism industry in China, the number of star-rated hotels has rapidly increased. As a result, techniques to evaluate the performances of star-rated hotels have gained in popularity. In this paper, we develop two indexes for dynamic settings: the profit Luenberger and Malmquist-Luenberger indexes. The distinguishing features of our indexes are three-fold. One, we adopt an economic perspective by considering that hotels are profit maximizers. Two, we model hotels as multi-activity decision-making units by considering that they provide multiple services. Three, our indexes are nonparametric, and work when prices are partially observed. We apply our technique to 30 provinces during 2005–2015. We find that star-rated hotels present better performances over time, but not for every activity. Next, we highlight particular patterns for the provinces. These results are useful for managers to better target their investments, and also for policy makers.     

Enhancing Competitiveness Through Guests’ Experiences: A Typology of Customer Experiences in Upscale Hotels

This study sought to develop a marketing model that can enhance the competitiveness of four- and five-star hotels in Kenya. The main factors generating guests’ expectations and delight were investigated after focusing on managers’ and customers’ opinions since these perspectives have generally been underexplored. The voices and viewpoints of these stakeholders were therefore incorporated and analyzed in determining an appropriate marketing model, which was based on the experiences of guests in hotels after examining what they considered important.     

Algarve hotel price determinants: A hedonic pricing model

This study sought to assess customers' willingness to pay for a wide variety of characteristics and attributes of hotels in Portugal's Algarve region. After collecting nearly all the information available on TripAdvisor for hotels in this region, a hedonic pricing model was developed using a database of 9992 cases. The results suggest that – after standardisation – the most important variable shaping Algarve hotel room rates is the previous day's prices. When associated with a family-friendly hotel, star category and services have a greater value than beaches or golf courses do. Customers also appreciate some types of hotels, such as boutique, quaint or trendy hotels, but view others negatively, such as family-friendly or business hotels. Only the specific location of Falesia Beach adds value, although the Algarve is a desirable destination overall. Both destination and hotel managers can use the proposed method to analyse data for their region on customers' propensity to pay.     

Location advantages of lodging properties: A comparison between hotels and Airbnb units in an urban environment

This study aims to investigate various types of location advantages that contribute to lodging property performance. Using monthly revenue data for individual urban hotels and Airbnb units in Houston, Texas from 2014 to 2016, we apply the Hausman-Taylor model to estimate the effects of location factors. Several factors are confirmed, including accessibility to points of interest, transport convenience, the surrounding environment, and market conditions. The overall effect of location advantage is more substantial for urban hotels than Airbnb units. Findings do not reveal a sizable competition effect between urban hotels and Airbnb units. Furthermore, we unveil factors associated with location advantages for different hotel classes and Airbnb types by estimating the model using different sub-samples.     

The influence of uncertain demand on hotel capacity

We examine the effects of uncertain demand on hotel capacity using the operation data of international tourist hotels in Taiwan from 1996 to 2008. Abel (1983) argued that demand uncertainty leads to an increase in the capacity of a firm if uncertain demand takes the form of output price uncertainty for the competitive market. We empirically test Abel's model. Our findings support the demand uncertainty hypothesis in Abel's model. Moreover, our results indicate that effective management of hotel capacities is a more important issue for managers of medium-sized hotels than for small or large-sized hotels in the Taiwanese hotel industry.     

How do hotels adapt their pricing strategies to macroeconomic factors?

The hospitality industry is naturally highly sensitive to subtle changes in the external environment, and its performance is affected by various external factors. Therefore, hoteliers should carefully monitor the various macroeconomic indicators affecting the market, when making important strategic management decisions. In particular, hotels’ pricing decisions are important because they play a crucial role in the determination of hotel revenue and in the process of profit maximization. In this paper we classify hotels by business model (i.e., chain management, franchise and independent) and analyze how these different types of hotels in Switzerland adapt their pricing strategies to macroeconomic factors (i.e., exchange rate, room supply and market demand). We find that hotels adopting different business models react differently to the same macro shock. Implications of our findings and future research directions are discussed.