Some problems faced by managers in the hotel and catering industry

This second survey on the problems perceived by managers in the U.K. hospitality industry uses depth interviews to explore managers' perceptions of their problems. Price appears to be the main marketing tool used and there is a lack of emphasis on marketing as a tool to increase sales volume.     

Expectations of returned Chinese graduates and hotel managers regarding entry-level work in the hotel industry in China

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations of returned Chinese graduates with an Australian degree regarding their work situation in the Chinese hotel industry and the expectations of hotel managers in China regarding the graduates’ job attitude. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were undertaken. The results showed that most graduates were relatively satisfied with their current work situation in the Chinese hotel industry. However, managers argued that returned graduates have unrealistic expectations about the work requirements in the industry. The study found that universities and hotels in China need to assist the returned Chinese international students with their reentry.     

Foreign versus local managers: Finding the perfect leaders for multinational hotel subsidiaries

Selection of senior managers in multinational corporations (MNCs) is a pivotal management decision that takes place within their subsidiaries. However, multinational corporation subsidiaries frequently encounter challenges in selecting host country managers that meet corporate qualification requirements. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore management practices in the selection process of senior managers within MNC subsidiaries. Particularly, this study provides an in-depth understanding of how the selection process affects the MNC subsidiaries in their human resource planning and management. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted in the context of international hotel subsidiaries in Jakarta, Indonesia. The interviews involved four different actors: expatriate (foreign) managers, local managers, regional executives and policy makers. The results reveal that the selection process of senior managers deviates from management ideal best practice, and that in this context, most senior managers are selected due to personal characteristics rather than their abilities.     

Strategic planning and business performance in the quoted UK hotel sector: results of an exploratory study

The purpose of this study was to conduct an exploratory investigation of the relationship between strategic planning and business performance. A multidimensional model of 11 variables was formulated after a review of the strategic planning-performance literature. Data were obtained from 63 hotel units representing eight quoted hotel companies, and various planning-performance relationships were examined. The results indicated that the key planning characteristics of throughness, sophistication, participation, and formality were positive, and in most cases significantly related, to seven indicators of business performance.     

The exploration of hotel reference prices under dynamic pricing scenarios and different forms of competition

The reference price, used by consumers to evaluate market prices, has tremendous relevance in dynamic pricing. Reconciling current heterogeneous theories and studies on reference prices, this paper analyzes the impact of hotel price sequences on consumers’ reference prices through a lab and a field experiment. Experiment 1 tests the importance of retrospective price evaluations, while Experiment 2 evaluates the impact of three forms of competition: (i) simultaneous behavior, where firms adjust prices simultaneously; (ii) leader–follower behavior, where one firm acts as the leader; and (iii) independent behavior, where each player takes its rival's strategy as given and seeks to maximize its own profits. The results show that consumers decrease their reference price when competing hotels adjust their prices simultaneously. Relevant managerial implications are drawn for the hospitality industry, which is affected by the presence of online travel agencies that announce the daily rates offered by each competitor.     

Improving the perceptions of hotel managers

This research seeks to identify the importance of various capabilities and psychosociological factors of hotel managers, in order to improve their perception of the competitive environment emerging in the post-Internet era. Specifically, the study analyzes the relevance of education, experience, globalization capabilities, networking, creativity and vision of the future, and other factors related to personality and leadership, to advance the accuracy of this perception. The research used questionnaires with Spanish hotel managers, a Delphi study with international experts, and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses formulated. The results corroborate the model established, and stress the importance of the education and globalization capabilities in this field.     

Pricing determinants in the hotel industry: Quantile regression analysis

Due to the skewed distribution of hotel prices, quantile regression provides a more flexible and complete characterization of the determinants of the hotel prices at the higher and lower tail of the distribution. This study applies quantile regression approach to investigate the major determinants of hotel room pricing strategies. The ordinary least square regression is also used for comparative purposes. The data are drawn from 58 international tourist hotels in Taiwan and average room rate (ARR) is used as the proxy of hotel room price. The results of OLS and quantile regression share common characteristics but also have differences in some aspects. The OLS results reveal that number of rooms, hotel age, market conditions and number of housekeeping staff per room are the main attributes of hotel room rate. The quantile regression results further demonstrate that room number and the number of housekeeping staff per guest room do not significantly influence hotel price at the low price quantile. Hotel age and market conditions are only significant determinants in high-price category. Additionally, for the high-priced quantile hotels, the proportion of foreign individual travellers positively and significantly influences room price. The empirical results can help hoteliers in shaping investment and pricing strategies.     

Customer value in the hotel industry: What managers believe they deliver and what customer experience

Delivering value for customers has become a central theme in business. The paper examines customer value from two perspectives, i.e. that of service provider and that of the customer. A total 231 managers and 385 customers responded to the survey. The results indicate that managers’ perception of customer value is different to what customers’ experience as customer value. The differences persist across different classes of hotels. These results suggest there is a need to align management and customer perspectives to optimize customer value as delivered and experienced. Specifically, hotels should invest in customer understanding and customer linking activities.     

Stock market reactions to entry mode choices of multinational hotel firms

This paper contends that when entry mode choices are aligned with the characteristics of the host country, investors are likely to respond more positively to the expansion announcement than when there is no or little alignment. Empirical results from the international hotel industry support this contention. The findings specifically reveal that the announcements of new management contracts in developing countries, and new franchise agreements in developed countries, cause superior abnormal returns. The study also further supports the notion that control and ownership need to be treated as separate dimensions in the entry mode literature.     

我国酒店在线预订价格竞争的实证研究

在线旅行预订已经成为消费者日益青睐的旅游产品消费模式,其中酒店的在线预订增长量尤其明显。目前在酒店在线预订市场中,既有旅行在线代理商也有酒店官网,且两者竞争越来越激烈。这两种主要的酒店在线预订其价格有没有显著性差异？不同类型酒店差异表现是否一致？文章借用配对样本￡检验方法对我国酒店在线预订价格竞争进行实证研究,深度剖析两种在线预订渠道的定价规律及形成原因,并提出相关建议。     

The impact of technology on the hotel industry

This article discusses applications of technology to the hospitality environment. Front office information processing systems such as reservations, guest accounting and room management systems are discussed, as well as their impact on the efficiency of operations. Effects of developments in telecommunications and, more recently, teleconferencing on the lodging (hotel) industry are discussed. Technology benefits, such as energy management and the safety and security of guests and their property, are discussed. This article also clarifies the issues that must be considered in the application of new technology and examines future trends.     

Establishing attributes of an environmental management system for green hotel evaluation

This study establishes attributes of an environmental management system (EMS) for the hotel industry in Taiwan to create an instrument to help address green hotel auditing. Hotel EMS indicators were initially selected from ISO14000 and nine representative foreign green hotel assessment systems. The Delphi method conducted on twenty five experts with government officials, scholars and hotel managers for item modification to identify the preliminary EMS evaluation framework. An indicator selection process was employed to determine the dimensional indicators of the system. The data analysis reveals that a total of 64 indicators into ten dimensions were identified and prioritized in terms of their relative importance and feasibility. Moreover, 38 indicators are suitable for use and 18 of them should be implemented firstly in Taiwan hotel industry. The results also reveal the comparison with Taiwan government's environmental standards. Finally the EMS approach of this study provides managerial implications for government, hoteliers and consumers to improve their environmental management.     

Market accessibility and hotel prices in the Caribbean: The moderating effect of quality-signaling factors

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of market accessibility on hotel prices and how this influence is moderated by various quality-signaling factors, such as online user ratings, “thumbs up” (recommendation) percentage, hotel class, and chain affiliation. Using a randomized sample of hotels in the Caribbean islands, we employ a three-level mixed-effect linear regression model to investigate the plausible relationship between market accessibility and hotel prices. After controlling for unobserved island-level and hotel-level characteristics, the model indicates that in most periods, low market accessibility (high flight costs) leads to lower hotel prices, and this influence is mitigated by well-established positive reputations as represented by the quality-signaling factors. Our findings imply that hotels should work to increase their reputations to help buffer the impacts of inaccessibility. In an effort to increase market accessibility, one course of action is to reduce airport landing taxes and fees.     

中国大陆外方管理饭店人力资源管理现状及对策研究

本文通过抽样调查方式对中国大陆外方管理饭店(简称外管饭店)的人力资源管理现状、问题进行了分析。研究结果表明外管饭店与其它性质的饭店相比具有更大的自主权、裙带关系较少、重视员工培训和发展、更有效的激励系统以及良好的劳资关系等特征。国际饭店集团正在采取人才本土化战略,以获得更大竞争优势。外管饭店也面临着员工素质不高、人才流失、员工表现不理想、职业道德总体较低和中外员工文化差异等问题。作者认为人力资源管理的重点应该放在培训及激励员工两方面。     

Overcoming the barriers to successful implementation of information technology in the U.K. hotel industry

This article examines the organisational barriers to successful implementation of information technology in the hotel industry. These are barriers of will, ability, and finance which block the routes to integration of internal systems.     

The migrant contribution to the British hotel industry

The contribution of migrants to the British hotel industry is elucidated and discussed. Different cultural backgrounds amongst migrants encourage new approaches to the solution of hotel operating problems. The determination and innovative drive of migrants has had a number of beneficial effects.     

Retrofitting a 3 star hotel as a basis for piloting water minimisation interventions in the hospitality sector

The poor state of Malta’s groundwater resources provides clear evidence of the need for different yet complementary strategies to secure the long term sustainability of groundwater bodies which have long been abused through increased abstraction for non potable use. In line with the hierarchy for the management of natural resources, minimisation plays a significant role as this would guarantee lower abstracted volumes from groundwater.This paper outlines the results from a pilot project aimed at retrofitting guestrooms in a 3 star hotel with low flow aerators and shower heads and with volume displacers in toilet cisterns. Water consumed before and after the interventions, based on meter readings, the impact retrofits may be established. The hypothesis whereby low flow, non interventionist retrofits can achieve significant water savings at a low cost, without disruption and with a payback period of less than three months, can be tested. Malta’s tourism industry is sizeable and the largest water consumer from all economic sectors. The results show that the interventions provide appreciable water savings and can be easily replicated both in other buildings thereby contributing to a reduced water footprint.     

Exploring the antecedents of intentions to leave the job: The case of luxury hotel staff

The aim of this study is to assess the antecedents of employee’ intentions to resign from their jobs in luxury hotels in India. Two aspects are considered in this context: firstly, the employees’ enthusiasm for the profession and organisation, the nature of the work and its impact on social and family life. Secondly, their level of satisfaction with the job in terms of organisational loyalty, relationship with supervisors, job security, earnings and additional benefits. A theoretical model (see Fig. 1) and seven hypotheses are tested to indicate whether the employees’ level of agreement with statements about the job and their level of satisfaction with the job will impact their intentions to quit. The study further examines if any current employees intend to leave their job. The term luxury hotel is used to represent 5 star and 4 star hotels of India.Findings from the analyses of 884 responses suggest that, when considering intentions to resign from the job, a negative relationship is found between professional and organisational enthusiasm and perceptions about the work being stimulating. No support was found for a positive relationship between the extent work impacted social and family life and the intention to quit. However, results supported the notion that the employee's organisational loyalty has a negative effect on his/her intention to resign from the job. Our findings contradict several other studies in that they suggest the employee's intention to resign from the job increases as job security and earnings improve. The study is distinctive as it explores intentions luxury hotel employees in India to leave their jobs; three is little evidence in the wider literature of similar attempts in the context of the Indian hotel industry. The outcomes have implications for both theory and practice as this is the first such major study in the context of the hotel industry in India where there is a population of over a billion people and an expanding hotel industry.     

The influence of the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance on business strategy development: A cross-national study of hotel managers

The purpose of this exploratory study was to empirically investigate the potential influence of uncertainty avoidance (UA) on hotel top managers’ approach to strategy development. Scales were developed to measure managers’ openness to strategic change, involvement of others, formality of strategic control, type of data used in strategic analysis, and strategic planning time horizon. Responses from 207 managers (50 Americans, 43 Malaysians, 70 Thai, and 44 Turkish) were analyzed using ANOVA. The findings indicated that UA had minimal influences on the managers’ approach, as different managers from cultures with varied degrees of UA demonstrated noticeable similarities among the five variables investigated. Practical implications as well as suggestions for future research were provided.     

Key managerial and financial accounting skills for private club managers: Comparison to lodging managers

ABSTRACT

This study provides empirical evidence of the comprehensive accounting skills by financial executives across the United States, and Canada believed important to private club general managers. This study’s purview extends to identify any significant differences or similarities in the accounting skills between the private club and lodging managers. Four hundred and one responses (211 from clubs and 190 from hotels) were received. The most critical accounting skills for club and lodging managers are understanding operating budgets, capital budgets, income statements, and analyses of variances. When comparing the accounting skills to managers between clubs and hotels, the ranks of importance are similar. The findings provide theoretical and practical implication for hospitality researchers, managers, and educators.