The importance of water management in hotels: a framework for sustainability through innovation

This paper highlights the global phenomenon of the crisis in the quality and quantity of water supplies and how tourism generally and hotels specifically may have contributed to the situation. The major internal and external barriers for Small Medium Enterprises adopting Environmental Management Systems, including water, are listed. The paper proposes a water management framework for hotels and other types of accommodation that leverages on the concept of innovation. Taking into account the various levels of knowledge and technological capabilities in water management, the framework is developed based on the commonly known 3R approach in environmental management, with the addition of another R (Reaching). It is proposed that hotels can innovate and enhance their water management approaches under these 4Rs: Innovative Reducing, Innovative Reusing, Innovative Reaching and Innovative Recycling. The framework offers examples and strategies about how hotels of different sizes, with differing financial, technical, knowledge and managerial capacities could address the challenge of implementing water management and obtain commercial benefit. A detailed case study is provided of a gray and black water recycling system in a Malaysian resort. Other examples of a range of water management methods are also discussed.     

Barriers to the Implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility in Gaming Industry

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important tool to reduce the adverse impact of the gaming industry. There were very limited studies specifically analyzed barriers of CSR practice in the gaming industry. This study adopted in-depth interviews and verified the interviews by dividing two informant groups. The results showed that cognitive dissonance, negative image, management dilemma, resources limitation, confused regulations, and unsustainable impetus were the major barriers in CSR implementation. Furthermore, the practical recommendations and suggestions were discussed.     

Tourism planning in a presently developing country: The case of Malaysia

Increasingly sophisticated economic studies of tourism have been undertaken in developed countries, (DCs); in presently developing countries, (PDCs), however, the paucity of reliable data often precludes such studies. However, in some PDCs there is already a relatively strong economic and industrial base, and tourism is not viewed as the motor of development, but rather as a sector of economic diversification within the development process. The planning and management of tourism in Malaysia provides an apposite case-study of what contribution tourism can make to the economies of PDCs, and how tourism may be stimulated in such cases.     

Foreign direct investment in tourism,poverty alleviation,and sustainable development: a review of the Gambian hotel sector

Despite the growing importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in tourism for developing countries and its perceived developmental importance, there are few empirical impact studies. This paper explores tourism FDI and poverty alleviation through both the literature and a detailed review in The Gambia of the relative contribution of foreign versus locally owned hotels to development and poverty alleviation. Data was collected via an in-depth questionnaire with senior hotel management and through key informant interviews with tourism officials and stakeholders. The study provides empirical evidence of the relative characteristics, performance, and benefits of foreign investments, suggesting that different forms of hotel ownership have complex advantages and disadvantages for poverty alleviation. FDI was concentrated in larger, upmarket hotels, which tended to employ more staff, pay higher wages, and provide more training. However, they had a lower proportion of women employees and employment was more likely seasonal. They have more high-skilled positions, potentially offer staff mobility, but have more expatriates in management roles. Local food purchases were similar across hotel ownership types, as were local philanthropic initiatives, although there were differences of approach. Some resident foreign owners were involved in successful best practice community-linked businesses, driven by social service and environmental ethics.     

Comparing Voluntary Policy Instruments for Sustainable Tourism: The Experience of the Spanish Hotel Sector

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the voluntary policy instruments most commonly applied by the hotel sector: codes of conduct, best environmental practices, ecolabels, environmental management systems (EMSs) and environmental performance indicators. Based on a qualitative study of Spanish hotel companies that have applied one or more of these voluntary tools, each instrument is reviewed and analysed with regard to incentives and obstacles experienced during its practical implementation. In the comparative assessment of all the tools studied, formal certification systems such as ecolabels and EMSs appear to be the most effective instruments. At a conceptual level, ecolabels and EMSs are the tools with the broadest scope and the only ones that guarantee an improvement of the company’s environmental (and sustainable) performance. At the practical level, the present research shows that, although both of these instruments involve higher costs and complexity than the other tools studied, they offer a wider range of tangible and intangible benefits.     

Leadership Competencies for Hotel General Managers: The Differences in Age,Education, and Hotel Characteristics

This study was designed to explore the leadership competencies necessary for general managers (GM) in Thailand hotels. The exploratory factor analysis extracted six leadership competency components: leadership, motivational/interpersonal skills, strategic orientation, planning and implementation, team building and ethics, communication skills, flexibility, and concern for the community. The results showed that team building and ethics, leadership, and communication skills are the most important factors for the GMs. In contrast, flexibility and strategic orientation were the least important competencies for them. There were significant differences between leadership competency factors and GMs’ age, education, hotel stars, and hotel locations in diverse aspects.     

论中国饭店产业结构优化的宏观目标与路径选择

本文论述了在新的形势下中国饭店产业机构优化的宏观目标与路径的选择，根据目前饭店业的发展态势提议组建“中国旅游饭店(集团)总公司”，阐述了该集团公司的基本组建思路与运行方案，分析了在组建过程中可能遇到的主要障碍，并在此基础上提出了相应的对策建议。     

中外饭店管理公司在中国市场竞争力之对比研究

本文通过抽样调查 ,对目前中国两种饭店管理公司进行了对比研究。结果显示 :外国饭店管理公司在品牌声誉、可信度、销售网络及其与当地政府、相关机构和饭店员工关系等16个有关饭店管理公司竞争力指标上 ,比中国饭店管理公司具有较大的优势 ,但存在增长动力不足的问题。处于发展初期的中国饭店管理公司尚难以与国外公司开展纯市场性的竞争 ,政府现行的行政干预有助于其规模的形成 ,但无法解决内在竞争力不足的问题。中外双方利用各自比较优势开展合作以形成联合优势 ,是一项双赢战略。本文认为建立合资合作饭店管理公司来实现这一战略是现阶段中外饭店管理公司的明智选择。     

Market Orientation,Strategy and Revenue Growth in the Turkish Hotel Industry

This empirical analysis of hotel properties in south-western Turkey draws on the market orientation, strategy, and capabilities literature to highlight the benefits of a differentiation strategy and customer-value focus for competitors in this industry. Relationship management and organizational resource management are key drivers of sales growth in this industry, and hotel operators facing high competitive intensity are particularly encouraged to develop these capabilities and to adopt a differentiation strategy instead of resorting to price cutting and other pricing and promotional tactics to grow revenues. Notable opportunities for future research include examining relationships between market orientation, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction in the Turkish hotel industry.     

Testing the Moderation Effect of Hotel Ambience on the Relationships Among Social Comparison,Affect, Satisfaction,and Behavioral Intentions

This study incorporated the social service environment in the hotel guest affect–satisfaction–behavioral intention model in order to elucidate the effect of social comparison on consumption-based affect by factoring in the moderation effect of hotel ambience on relationships. Structural equation modeling of survey data from hotel guests revealed that social comparison significantly influences hotel guests’ affect, and that affect has a critical role in inducing satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Hotel ambience moderates the model’s relationships – high ambience strengthens the relationships more so than low ambience. Results affirm the inclusion of social environments in predicting hotel guest experiences and shed light on managerial implications for bettering service provision.     

Entrepreneurial Characteristics,Motives, and Business Challenges: Exploratory Study of Small- and Medium-Sized Hotel Businesses

ABSTRACT

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 issues in starting up and operating businesses in the United Arab Emirates. The results of this study reveal that the majority of the owners/managers of SMSHs in the United Arab Emirates are male, young and middle age, and relatively new to the tourism industry. The motivations for the business ventures of the entrepreneurs 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.     

Corporate social responsibility and tourism: Hotel companies in Phuket,Thailand, after the Indian Ocean tsunami

This paper deals with the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with particular reference to the hotel sector and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which was to prove a test of management approaches. It discusses the rising interest in CSR issues, linked to the sustainable development movement, and its particular relevance for the tourism industry. Reactions to the disaster of hotel companies with a presence in the resort of Phuket in Thailand are reviewed and responses reveal a certain level of commitment to CSR in theory and practice. However, there is also evidence of tensions between commercial and more philanthropic activity which must be addressed and reconciled by managers.     

Roots of unsustainable tourism development at the local level: the case of Urgup in Turkey

The main aim of this article is to investigate and explain the roots of unsustainable tourism development at the local level in a developing country, with special reference to Urgup in the region of Cappadocia, Turkey. It was found that the factors that ushered in unsustainable tourism development are beyond the control of local people and authorities. They are largely related to issues at the national level such as the policy of political economy, prevailing national planning approaches applied to tourism, patron-client relationships between decision-makers and related business class alongside the role of international tour operators in the international tourism system. It concludes that achieving sustainable tourism development at the local level in a developing country requires hard political choices, a confident decision-making process and the collaboration of international tour operators and donor agencies.     

Skills and the Hospitality Sector in a Transition Economy: The Case of Front Office Employment in Kyrgyzstan

Notwithstanding the globalization of services and the migration of some service providers (call centres, financial processing) to regions of low-cost labour coupled with high levels of educational attainment, there are arguments that the skills which employees bring to the workplace in executing common tasks are substantially influenced by the economic, political and cultural context of the location where they are used. This paper is concerned with the skills set and training background of one set of hospitality workers, those in the front office, located within the transition economy of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic.

This paper reports the findings of a survey of front office workers working in the only three international standard hotels in Kyrgyzstan, all located in the capital city of Bishkek. The findings point to relatively high levels of educational attainment among respondents and a level of commitment to a long-term career in the hotel sector, both of which contrast sharply with the situation to be found in Western Europe. The study also notes the virtual absence of in-service training opportunities for service workers in this area away from the workplace.     

Determinants of Innovative Behaviour in the Hotel Industry: A cross-Cultural Study

The present study develops a conceptual framework that sheds light on whether institutional pressures (i.e., normative, mimetic, and coercive) and corporate support can improve innovative behavior across different societies and the moderating role of national cultural dimensions on this link. Our study validated these arguments empirically using data from the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). Data were collected and analyzed from 2,618 respondents. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of full-time non-managerial employees selected, from different departments of various four- and five-star hotels across five economically and culturally different societies (UK, UAE, Germany, China, USA). Our results indicated that both institutional pressures and corporate support have positive influence on employees’ innovative behaviour. Furthermore, Hotels in cultures with high levels of individualism and low levels of uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and masculinity will indicate higher levels of innovative behaviour in response to corporate support programs. While, hotels in nations with high levels of power distance, collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity will indicate higher levels of innovative behaviour in response to normative, mimetic, and coercive pressure. These findings provide important implications for innovative behaviour by developing and validating a multilevel model empirically in the hospitality context.     

Change or perish: Examining the role of human capital and dynamic marketing capabilities in the hospitality sector

Many researchers have endeavored to explain which factors contribute to sustainable competitive advantage. Toward this end, this study contributes to the marketing and hospitality management literature by providing empirical evidence on how human capital, dynamic marketing capabilities, and market dynamism influence competitive advantage in the hotel sector. We collected cross-sectional survey data from marketing and sales managers in 165 hotels, along with in-depth interviews in three hotels, based in four Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. The findings reveal that human capital directly, and indirectly through dynamic marketing capabilities, plays a critical role on developing competitive advantage. To contextualize this role, our research reveals that market dynamism moderates the mediated relationship between human capital and competitive advantage via market sensing capabilities. We discuss how the findings offer theoretical and managerial implications for the development of competitive advantage in the hotel sector.     

Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry: An Application of Online Review Analysis

This study illustrates that determinants of customer satisfaction in hospitality venues can be identified through an analysis of online reviews. Using text mining and content analysis of 42,668 online traveler reviews covering 774 star-rated hotels, the study found that transportation convenience, food and beverage management, convenience to tourist destinations and value for money are identified as excellent factors that customers booking both luxury and budget hotels consider important and for which the performance is much satisfactory to them. Customers paid more attention to, but were less satisfied with, bed, reception services and room size and decoration. Most determinants of customer satisfaction also showed a consensus over luxury versus budget hotels, except for factors referring to lobby and sound insulation. As per its findings, the article concludes by presenting theoretical and managerial implications.     

The Determinant of the Hospitality Industry's Unsystematic Risk: A Comparison Between Hotel and Restaurant Firms

ABSTRACT

Unsystematic risk is accepted as an important factor in stock valuation. Despite the importance, little has been done to study the relationship of unsystematic risk to stock values in the hospitality industry. This study attempted to advance the understanding of financial variables that could be related to unsystematic risk of hospitality firms. Regression models were developed for hotel and restaurant firms, using unsystematic risk as the dependent variable and financial variables as independent variables. The major findings of this study indicate: 1) more profitable hospitality companies have less unsystematic risk, 2) reducing reliance on debt financing could reduce unsystematic risk, 3) the positive relationship between operating leverage and unsystematic risk, suggesting that decreasing operating leverage could mitigate the stock price volatility of hospitality firms, and 4) large hotel and restaurant firms have less unsystematic risk than small firms. This study should help management of hospitality firms incorporate effects of shareholder expectations into their operational decision making as an integral part of long-range financial planning.     

Sustainable water demand management in the hotel sector: a policy network analysis of Singapore

Abstract

Water use in the tourism industry is a vital sustainability issue in destination development. Achieving sustainable water demand management (WDM) is challenging and requires destination stakeholder collaboration for effective participatory policymaking. Taking the WDM of Singapore’s hotel sector as a case, this article applies a policy network analysis to prevailing stakeholder collaboration based on public policy documents published between 2001 and 2015. Thirty-three interconnected organisational stakeholders and 76 policy domains were identified. Longitudinal analyses revealed structural changes in stakeholder collaboration during WDM policy development. The findings also indicate that the policy stakeholders of WDM are becoming increasingly diverse, and with this expansion in stakeholder participation, the collaboration network has evolved from being simple to remarkably complex. This article also discusses the relationship between policy stakeholders and policy domains, revealing that the responsibility, available resources, and interests of stakeholders are the main factors influencing their policy preferences in this discourse. The results enrich our understanding of inter-stakeholder relationships and the dynamic relational structure of interdisciplinary policy system.     

The Effects of Job Demands,Job Resources and Intrinsic Motivation on Emotional Exhaustion and Turnover Intentions: A Study in the Turkish Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT

This study develops and tests a model which investigates the simultaneous effects of job demands, job resources, and a personal resource (intrinsic motivation) on emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions. Frontline hotel employees in Ankara, Turkey serve as the study setting. Among others, results show that job demands (role conflict and role ambiguity) trigger frontline employees' emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions. Job resources (supervisory support, training, empowerment, and rewards) and intrinsic motivation reduce emotional exhaustion. Implications of the findings are discussed and directions for future research are offered.