Green hotel servicescape: attributes and unique experiences

ABSTRACT

The relationship between green hotel service attributes and consumption experiences remains unclear in the extant research, especially in the context of emerging economies such as India. This work uses a multi-method approach that combines in-depth interviews, word association and two-stage empirical validation to propose a three-dimensional framework for measuring a hotel’s green servicescape, composed of atmospherics, motifs and human encounters. Individual effects of each green servicescape sub-dimension on those of green experiential values, namely utilitarian, emotional, social and altruistic values, are examined. The results reveal interesting findings, some counterintuitive, which are expected to create new insights for academicians and practitioners alike.     

The impact of sharing accommodation on the hotel occupancy rate in the kingdom of Swaziland

This paper examines the relationship and impact of sharing accommodation on the hotel occupancy rate (HOR) from a developing country perspective. Using panel data on the monthly HOR and the number of Airbnb room occupancy rate for the periods 2012–2016 and 2015–2016, respectively, the study applies a hierarchical regression model to respond to the research questions. The Pearson correlation test reveals a positive relationship between the HOR and Airbnb room occupancy rate, thus indicating that an increase in the hotel room occupancy rate moves in tandem with a rise in the Airbnb room occupancy rate. Further test revealed that increase in the Airbnb room occupancy rate coincided with an increase in the hotel room occupancy rate. In addition, the Airbnb platform was found to appeals to a different tourist market profile than does that of hotels, and that, therefore, the two products may be viewed as non-competitors. Furthermore, inconsistencies in regulatory provisions, in terms of which hotels are required to undergo various legal procedures as opposed to such platforms, are evident. The study recommends that the Swaziland Government should undertake stakeholder consultations aimed at developing regulations to manage and monitor sharing accommodation platform participants that will incorporate its innovative and diverse dimensions. The study is important as it provides insights into tourism destination managers on the impact of the sharing economy from a developing country perspective where empirically based research that could be useful in policy formulation is scant.     

You never know what you will get in an Airbnb: poor communication destroys value for guests

ABSTRACT

This study explores the antecedents of value co-destruction in the context of a new form of accommodation, Airbnb. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews from people who had stayed in Airbnb accommodations during the previous 12 months. A total of 21 interviews were conducted, of people representing five nationalities. Using the grounded theory approach, the findings indicate that poor communication between the guest and host was one of the main reasons contributing to value co-destruction during the Airbnb accommodation experience. From the guest perspective, value co-destruction due to poor communication resulted in unexpected resource losses, including time and money. One interviewee also regretted the lost experience. Although the majority of the interviewees did not have negative Airbnb accommodation experiences, some did not experience a reciprocal and mutually beneficial relationship.     

Sampling method for monitoring the alternative accommodation market

Tourism is an extremely competitive industry where effective destination management is necessary to compete. One of the main destination management stakeholders is the hotel industry. Since the advent of the Internet websites that facilitate the sharing economy, the hotel industry has had to compete with an alternative accommodation market. This alternative market is difficult to monitor as there is no official data. Current research works on developing methods for calculating tourism metrics for a destination based on digital footprint with the objective of offering figures to complement official statistics. The objective of our research is to develop a method to monitor the alternative accommodation market based on data collected from Airbnb. This paper reports the results of the first step: the design of a sampling method for data scraping from this website that provides a representative sample of the accommodation offer of the Basque Country distributed through it and its prices. The results show that the length-of-stay (LOS) parameter of the queries to the website is key to obtaining a representative sample of the accommodation offered through this channel. A sampling method based on the representative values of LOS inferred from a data sample is proposed.     

Linking accommodation choice,information overload and choice overload

ABSTRACT

The present study examines the temporal sequence of vacation decision-making, in particular, choice of accommodation and whether tourists experience information overload and choice overload when booking accommodation for an exotic distant destination. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews among 17 tourists who had visited Rovaniemi, Finland representing 12 different nationalities. Nine out of the 17 participants had made their choice and booked their accommodation just one month before travelling to Rovaniemi. In addition, besides one study participant from Kuwait, none had experienced information overload and choice overload. The findings suggest that because of the growth and use of digital technology, today tourists are adaptive, continuously assessing the value of their planned itinerary, and are more receptive to the acquisition of new information.     

Memorable Tourist Experiences and Place Attachment When Consuming Local Food

The purpose of the study was to model the memorable travel experiences, place attachment and behavioral intentions for consuming local food. Data were collected by self‐administered surveys of 378 tourists visiting Tainan, Taiwan. The survey results show that the experiences of consuming local cuisines enable tourists to create positive and unforgettable memories, and such positive memories further enhance their identification with or strong attachment to local attractions and behavioral intention. Place identity under place attachment also revealed mediating effects between memorable travel experiences and behavioral intention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding women's accommodation experiences on girlfriend getaways: a pragmatic action research approach

In the realm of women's travel, while the accommodation experiences and preferences of female business travellers have been investigated, little is known about the female leisure-traveller in this regard. This study investigates one of the growth sectors in women's travel – girlfriend getaways (GGAs), which are holidays taken by females with other females. An action research approach was employed to explore the accommodation needs of all these female travel groups in the Malaysian context. Using a five-stage approach which included in-depth interviews, a hotel stay for three groups of women on a GGA, focus groups and secondary data analysis, four themes were identified. These themes address feminine comforts, facilitating friendship, safety, and shopping and the use of discount promotions with GGA. Findings suggest that the needs of female leisure-travellers are distinct from those of women who travel on business. Recommendations for hotel management are made to enhance the GGA experience for women, notably providing spaces and activities to facilitate female bonding.     

Comparing guests’ key attributes of peer-to-peer accommodations and hotels: mixed-methods approach

As peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodations have grown exponentially, it is critical to understand motivations for guests to choose a P2P accommodation instead of a hotel. The current study seeks to understand these motivations by using mixed-methods approach to compare online reviews for P2P accommodations and hotels. Through quantitative analysis, thematic analysis, and text mining, this study provides analysis of 800 reviews from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston. The results consistently show that guests in P2P emphasize relationships with hosts, whilst hotel guests place more values on room attributes.     

Restorative quality in tourist hotel marketing pictures: natural and built characteristics

Individuals often expect to recover from the fatigue of their regular lives when they engage in tourism activities. However, the intangible features of the service lead to the tourist hotels must identify associated physical clues to include in marketing pictures. Those pictures should attract the attention of these pressured customers and influence their accommodation decisions. Based on attention restoration theory, this study used eye-tracking analysis and questionnaires to investigate the influence of images of natural and built hotel scenes on visual attention and assessments of the hotel’s restorative quality. This study used 24 marketing images from a hotel as the experimental stimulus, and 80 participants with an average age of 55 years participated in the experiments. Empirical results suggest that visual clues in hotel marketing pictures can influence customers’ visual behaviour and assessments of restorative quality. In particular, images of natural scenes may attract more visual attention than those of built scenes, and natural scenes may also signal higher restorative quality to potential customers.     

Forecasting and appraising the impact of a regular interval timetable

The timetable is the prime and essential feature of the service offered to potential travellers by public transport. The Taktfahrplan concept is based on trains leaving stations at the same time past the hour throughout the operational day. The objective is to provide an attractive rail service, memorable and easy to market, with well-planned connections. This paper presents an appraisal of the introduction of a Taktfahrplan timetable onto the UK's East Coast Main Line rail route. We find positive changes for user and non-user benefits and revenue on London and non-London based flows.     

An analysis on the concentration–advertising relationship in the hospitality industry

This paper empirically investigates the non-linear relationship between advertising and concentration in the hotel industry. Using data collected from the Taiwanese hotel industry, this paper finds that (1) the influence of concentration on advertising intensity is inverted U-shaped in the room service market and (2) concentration in the food and beverage markets has no significant effect on advertising intensity.     

How airline service quality determines the quantity of repurchase intention - Mediate and moderate effects of brand quality and perceived value

Drawing on an integrated framework of service quality theory, this study develops and demonstrates a mediation-moderation model of airline service quality that influences the repurchase intentions of passengers. This model associates service quality with individual behavioral and perception—brand awareness and perceived values and examines the buffering role of brand attractiveness and experience in the decision-making processes. In a sample of 451 passengers, somewhat as expected, airline service quality enhances the positive effect of repurchase intention on airline company service because it fosters a positive link between brand awareness and perceived value. Unsurprisingly, brand attractiveness and memorable brand experiences are found to strengthen the positive effect of brand awareness and perceived value. Several alternative models were used to check the robustness of our findings. Patterns of moderated mediation modeling for theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.     

Entrepreneurship in the small and medium-sized hotel sector

The purpose of this study is to gather information about the determinants and characteristics of the owners/managers of small- and medium-sized hotels (SMSHs) and identify various challenges in starting up and operating businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The paper also highlights key actions taken by the owners/managers of SMSHs to manage their business in the competitive business environment. To avoid any bias associated with a specific method, a multi-method research approach has been used for data collection. The results reveal that the majority of the owners/managers of SMSHs in the UAE are male, young and middle-aged with secondary- and higher-education levels, and relatively new to the tourism industry. With the characteristics of self-confidence, perseverance and independence, the motivations for the business ventures of the owners/managers include wanting to be financially independent, become one's own boss, involvement in family business and the opportunities of the hotel business. Among the key business challenges highlighted by the owners/managers of SMSHs are stiff competition in the hotel industry, increased operating costs, reduced demand and lack of skilled employees. Several key strategies have been employed to face these challenges. These include offering competitive pricing, improving the marketing and channels of promotion, enhancing the quality of service and providing superior customer service. At the same time, the owners/managers of SMSHs also felt that the government and policy-makers should play a more proactive role in promoting the tourism sector. This research provides a useful insight into the activities in the hotel tourism business sector and the challenges they encounter while operating in the UAE economy.     

Motivational determinates of creative tourism: a case study of Albergue art space in Macau

ABSTRACT

Creative tourism is a new genre of tourism eliciting active tourist participation in learning and experiences. This study explores tourists’ motivations for participating in creative activities, as well as their perceptions of authenticity following a visit to the Albergue Art Space located in Macau, SAR, China. Empirical results indicate that vernacular heritage, service quality and participatory experience are key determinates for developing creative tourism. Sightseeing, social contact, self-improvement and escape emerge as primary motivations for participating in creative activities. In addition, tourist perceptions of authenticity in the context of creative tourism encompass objective and existential components. This study proposes to incorporate aspects of participatory experience into creative tourism products.     

Decomposing seasonality in an urban destination: the case of Milan

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses demand fluctuations in the field of urban destinations, decomposing Milan’s hotel seasonality. Four different seasonal periods are identified and two research questions are explored. The first aims to verify how seasonality evolved over the period 2004–2015 and the effectiveness of analysing tourism flow in an urban destination using daily data. The second aim explores the effects generated by the Milan Expo 2015 on seasonality. Using Smith Travel Research data, a longitudinal analysis (2004–2015) is carried out, decomposing the annual Theil index. Evidence is reported and discussed.     

Paradise for who? Segmenting visitors' satisfaction with cognitive image and predicting behavioural loyalty

The purpose of this research is to assess the influence of socio‐demographic characteristics on destination image and loyalty, thereby offering a segmentation perspective of visitors to the island of Mauritius. A self‐administered survey of hotel guests was undertaken and resulted in a sample of 705 respondents. Using a k‐means clustering algorithm and discriminant analysis, three clusters of visitors were identified. Different image attributes predict visitors' revisit and recommendation intentions. These findings allow destination marketers to adapt the marketing mix elements to different segments while enabling a destination to emphasize the relevant attributes in promotion and positioning efforts. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Incorporation of Consumer Experience into the Branding Process: An Investigation of Name‐Brand Hotels

Given the growing number of hotel brands, improving consumer experience has become an increasingly important area of interest to industry practitioners. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between hotel guests' brand experience, knowledge and loyalty to name‐brand hotels. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with the incorporation of a second‐order factor analysis were employed to achieve the research goals. The findings indicate that brand experience was represented as a holistic concept with sensory, affective, behavioral and intellectual aspects. While brand experience influences brand loyalty, its impact is partially mediated by brand knowledge. This is a pioneer study that combines consumer experience with branding in the hospitality industry and offers practical suggestions to facilitate hotel managers in their development of effective branding strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of all-inclusive packages on hotel efficiency

In the last decade, all-inclusive packages have had an extraordinary boom in one of the most popular sun and beach tourism destinations in Europe, the Canary Islands. This fact reinvigorated the debate on potential benefits and negative effects on the local economy. However, there is no empirical evidence of the impact that all-inclusive packages may have on the efficiency in the hotel industry. This study assessed the effects of all-inclusive packages on cost and profit efficiency using the stochastic frontier approach and the model proposed by Battese and Coelli [(1995). A model for technical inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier production function for panel data. Empirical Economics, 20(2), 325–332] in a sample composed of 102 hotels of the Canary Islands from 2008 to 2014. The empirical results revealed that the hotels that offered all-inclusive packages exhibited lower efficiency levels than those hotels that did not provide this service. These results have important implications for both public policies and hotel management.     

Explaining pro-environment consumer behavior in air travel

Some airlines and airports have begun offering a voluntary carbon offsetting service. This article examines the behavior of passengers with respect to their preparedness to compensate for CO₂ emissions. Responses from an online-survey of air travelers suggest severity, self-perception, and importance are positively related to willingness-to-compensate. How passengers perceive their self-effectiveness in reducing CO₂ emissions does not affect willingness-to-compensate, but influences likelihood of compensating directly.     

Millenials’ intentions to book on Airbnb

ABSTRACT

The sharing economy has witnessed a significant growth in recent years, enhanced by the development of online platforms. In particular, Airbnb has witnessed a significant worldwide year-on-year growth. Given the importance and popularity of Airbnb, it is crucial to examine which factors affect intentions to book on this website. This study proposes and tests a model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, to examine millennials’ determinants of intentions to book on Airbnb. Based on two online surveys targeting millennials from Germany and China, the results show that intentions to book on Airbnb is mostly influenced by subjective norm, desire for unique accommodation and variety, attitude and economic benefits. Surprisingly, economic benefits have the smallest effect. Perceived risk with the purchase channel was found to have no impact on intentions to book on Airbnb. Managerial implications and theoretical contributions are provided.