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.     

Cooperation and competition between online travel agencies and hotels

With the advent of O2O (online to offline) mode, Online Travel Agency (OTA) websites help to introduce new customers to hotels. However, since OTAs charge a hefty commission, hotel managers hope returning customers can book future visits from hotel websites instead of OTA websites. The study is to investigate how OTAs and hotels cooperate and compete with each other at the same time in the multichannel environments. The results show that OTAs can attract new and returning customers by website service quality while hotels can attract returning customers by perceived value. On the other hand, OTA website service quality has a negative effect on intention to rebook via hotel websites and the intention to rebook via OTA and hotel websites indeed have a negative relationship. Thus, the two channels compete with each other for customers' future visits.     

Impact of data breach locality and error management on attitude and engagement

Given the growing number of credit card transactions, data breaches have become an increasingly serious concern for hotel businesses. Even when a rival hotel experiences a data breach, customers of the focal hotel may feel vulnerable as well. Nevertheless, firms have little insight into the potential impacts of a data breach on customers and the corresponding recovery strategies. For this study, the joint effect of data breach locality (i.e., focal hotel vs. rival hotel) and error management (i.e., no vs. low vs. high EM) on customers’ attitudes toward the focal hotel and engagement behaviors (i.e., intentions to spread positive WOM and negative WOM) was examined. A 2 × 3 scenario-based experiment was conducted. The results of the MANCOVA analysis suggest that when a rival hotel is breached, low error management is more effective. Interestingly, when the focal hotel is breached, high error management and low error management are equally effective.     

Modeling a green supply chain in the hotel industry: An evolutionary game theory approach

Despite extensive discussion of environmental management for hotels, little research has been done on the hotel industry’s green supply chain management. This study uses the evolutionary game approach to examine the generation of green behaviors and a green supply chain by hotels. Results show that most hotels do have an incentive mechanism for green growth; hotels with green behaviors are more profitable than those that are not. Furthermore, governments and hotel customers are critical in the “greening” of traditional hotel supply chains. The findings can assist governments in formulating effective environmental policies, provide a theoretical avenue in governing green practice, and guide stakeholders to understand the formation and evolution of green development in the hotel industry.     

The effect of perceived error stability,brand perception,and relationship norms on consumer reaction to data breaches

The issue of data breaches has received increasing attention in the hospitality industry. Companies’ efforts to fix such errors affect consumers’ evaluations and behavioral intentions toward those companies. This study investigates the impact of perceived error stability on hotel guests’ intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM) about a hotel. The findings reveal that when a data breach occurs, consumers are likely to spread positive WOM about a company that is typically considered competent if the consumers perceive the error stability to be low rather than high. Consumers have similar reactions to companies with which they have communal relationships. This research suggests that hotels should strategically allocate their resources on the basis of brand perception in the minds of their target consumers as well as their relationships with their target markets.     

Extending the scope of hotel client reactions to employee injustice: Hotel employer reviews on the Internet

Third-party literature is concerned about the way others perceive what happens in organizations. When dealing with the perceived justice of the employer-employee relationship, it has mainly adopted an on-site approach. The scarce research focusing on the consequences of perceived justice for client variables in hotels has shown that it can impact client loyalty. In this study, we adopt an on-line view, and we analyze how the comments posted by hotel employees on the Internet about their work conditions influence guest perceptions. This topic is relevant because it is well known that clients’ perceptions influence client satisfaction, WOM and revisit intentions. Through an experiment based on real hotel employer reviews, results confirm that these comments have an impact on the organizational image dimension of service quality, hotel clients’ satisfaction, WOM, and revisit intentions. Thus, as occurs with client eWOM, hotel managers should be aware of these comments and manage them appropriately.     

The effect of atmosphere on customer engagement in upscale hotels: An application of S-O-R paradigm

Research suggests that atmosphere plays an important role in creating emotional connections between a hotel customer and the hotel and that these connections lead to improved customer satisfaction and customer engagement. The purpose of this research is to identify some of the atmosphere elements within a hotel that might enable customers to better engage with the hotel. A structural equation model (SEM) was employed to test the relationships. Social and room design were found to be significant antecedents to customer satisfaction. The research also found that while satisfied customers were more likely to promote the hotel to others through WOM behavior, they had fewer suggestions for improvement. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well.     

Designing lifestyle hotels

Art creates irreplaceable added value and serves as a source for satisfying the spiritual needs of hotel customers. To provide customers with memorable services, hotels not only need to continue improving their services (exploit), but also have to design artistic new services (explore). Thus, customer willingness to return to the hotel could be increased, enhancing customer loyalty. However, few hotels simultaneously implement these two types of trade-off activities (i.e., exploitation and exploration). According to the ambidexterity perspective, this study applied a case study approach to investigate the process through which hotel operators design lifestyle hotels. Moreover, this study involved constructing an operational framework that adopted art as the basis for differentiation. The research results revealed that in introducing art concepts into a hotel service system, hotels operators must attach a high level of importance to several key activities, including hiring a full-time executive artistic manager in the top management team to engage in innovation, integrating local culture and the natural environment into the design of an artistic servicescape, catering to customers’ needs, and adopting high-performance human resource practices. These activities enable hotels to enhance their service capability in simultaneously implementing the two mutual trade-off activities, specifically designing new artistic services (explorative innovation) and continually improving their services (exploitative innovation).     

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.     

Determinants of hotel guests’ satisfaction and repeat patronage in the Hong Kong hotel industry

This study examined the relative importance of hotel factors in relation to travelers’ overall satisfaction levels with their hotel stays in Hong Kong and the likelihood of returning to the same hotels in their subsequent trips. Using a factor analysis technique, the study identified seven hotel factors that were likely to influence customers’ choice intentions: ‘Staff Service Quality’, ‘Room Qualities’, ‘General Amenities’, ‘Business Services’, ‘Value’, ‘Security’ and ‘IDD Facilities’. Multiple regression analysis technique was then applied to examine the relative importance of each of these hotel factors in determining travelers’ overall satisfaction levels and their likelihood of returning to the same hotels. In order of importance, ‘Staff Service Quality’, ‘Room Qualities’ and ‘Value’ were the three most influential factors in determining travelers’ overall satisfaction levels and their likelihood of returning to the same hotels.     

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.     

Effect of Consumption Emotion on Hotel and Resort Spa Experience

Very few studies focus on the behavior of hotel and resort spa customers in China. Hence, this research proposes a model for testing the impact of spa service quality, positive and negative consumption emotions, and hedonic and utilitarian perceived value on the behavioral intentions to visit a spa. The valid sample comprised 487 customers of five-star hotel/resort spas in China. Data were obtained from the self-administered survey answered by respondents constituting the sample. This study identified the vital function of consumption emotion, especially positive emotion dimension. The results indicated the mediating influence of positive emotion on connecting service quality and creating the perceived value of consumers as well as behavioral intention in the hotel and resort spa context.     

Understanding service attributes of robot hotels: A sentiment analysis of customer online reviews

Robots and artificial intelligence are essential to the future of the hospitality industry, and they are receiving increasing interest from hotel managers and researchers. However, the adoption of robotic services in hotel operations is a challenging task owing to the current level of technology and lack of understanding on the relationship between various aspects of robotic services and customer satisfaction. Moreover, no prior study has examined the service attributes of robots in hotels. To fill these gaps, this study analyzes customers’ sentiments on major hotels employing robotic services expressed through online reviews. A list of robot quality and operational area attributes is first constructed, through which underperforming robot service areas are identified. Sentiments on robotic services have a positive correlation with hotel service satisfaction, which plays an important role in determining the overall satisfaction of customers. The analysis and findings are valuable to researchers and managers for future research and adoption of robotic services in hotels.     

Impact of Customer Relationship Management on Customer Satisfaction: The Case of a Budget Hotel Chain

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can bring many benefits to the hotel business, though there are some associated challenges. Such challenges often bring a significant risk of failure, and these risks become more significant in budget hotels. This study considers the changes that have emerged in the last decade as regards customer expectations when staying in budget hotels. We use qualitative approaches to investigate the overlaps between customer expectations and managers’ perceptions of CRM applications. The findings reveal that regardless of all changes, value for money and core products continue to play a critical role in customers’ overall satisfaction with budget hotels.     

Antecedents of customer WOM in glamping: The critical role of original ecology

Glamping has grown increasingly popular as a new type of outdoor hotel that combines nature with luxury. Glamping operations managers must fully understand how certain attributes of their business affect their customers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) in order to sustain growth and attract new customers. There has been little previous research on the influence of nature-related attributes on customers’ emotions and WOM. To address this gap, we conducted interviews in two glampsites based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework. We also analyzed online reviews for 20 glampsites. We conducted qualitative analysis on the data using grounded theory techniques. We found that original ecology (including authenticity, scenery, and natural lifestyle) and accommodation environment (including room and public space) can affect customers’ emotional value (including tension release, enjoyment, and social bonding), which can in turn affect their WOM. The results presented here may provide useful implications for both researchers and glamping business managers.     

The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales

Despite hospitality and tourism researchers’ recent attempts on examining different aspects of online word-of-mouth [WOM], its impact on hotel sales remains largely unknown in the existing literature. To fill this void, we conduct a study to empirically investigate the impact of online consumer-generated reviews on hotel room sales. Utilizing data collected from the largest travel website in China, we develop a fixed effect log-linear regression model to assess the influence of online reviews on the number of hotel room bookings. Our results indicate a significant relationship between online consumer reviews and business performance of hotels.     

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.     

Measuring Personal Service Quality

Abstract

This study examined the personal service quality of international tourism hotels in China by measuring international hotel customer's satisfaction level and their perceived importance evaluation of personal service attributes. Six international hotels in Beijing and three departments (reception, food and beverage, and housekeeping) in each hotel were selected in this study. Responses from 472 customers were used for the data analysis of this study. It was found that customers identified friendliness and willingness to provide service in all three departments as service attributes with which they were very satisfied. Foreign language ability was identified as the least satisfactory in the reception and food and beverage departments. Customers also regarded friendliness and willingness to provide service as very important.     

Multilevel Analysis of the Relationship Between Type of Travel,Online Ratings,and Management Response: Empirical Evidence from International Upscale Hotels

The diverse characteristics of customers and hotels have been identified as relevant to online customer satisfaction at the individual level. In this study, a comprehensive examination is conducted, through the use of a multilevel, nested model and secondary data set. The results show that both online review experience and management response frequencies can positively affect customer satisfaction. Additionally, hotel managers need to pay more attention to customers who have less online review experience when they carry out targeted response strategies. The findings have various implications for both academic researchers and hotel operators.