Wage differences in the hospitality sector

The article examines the origin of differences between wages in the hospitality sector and the rest of the private sector in Spain. The evidence obtained for the 2002–2010 period shows that the wage disadvantage of hospitality presents an increasing profile along the wage distribution so that it is particularly relevant for those earning comparatively higher salaries. In contrast with other low-wage sectors, lower wages in hospitality are explained almost entirely by the specific characteristics of its workers and jobs (particularly their lower educational qualifications and their higher presence in low-skilled occupations), and not by the existence of lower rewards to those characteristics. Highly qualified individuals are however an exception since they suffer a wage penalty for working in the sector. Furthermore the analysis shows that pay inequality is substantially lower in the hospitality sector and that it is not due to the relative characteristics of its workers and jobs.     

Seasonality and regional productivity in the Spanish accommodation sector

This study quantifies the impact of peak demand and seasonality on regional productivity in the Spanish accommodation sector. We then identify factors affecting seasonal fluctuations and their relative contributions to regional variations in seasonality. The results show that demand for accommodation in the peak season mainly determines productivity. Thus, improving a region's attractiveness as a tourist destination is most effective for tourism-based regional development. In addition, reducing seasonal variations has a non-negligible impact on productivity. A decomposition analysis reveals that providing climate-independent tourist attractions and attracting business travelers are effective in reducing seasonality.     

Decomposing the gender wage gap in the hospitality industry: A quantile approach

This paper analyses the factors that determine the gender wage differences in the Spanish hospitality industry across the wage distribution. In general, previous studies have analysed the gender wage gap from a global perspective, without taking into account the existing heterogeneity across the wage distribution. Using matched employer-employee data from a sample of 4991 workers, we propose different wage decompositions based on quantile regressions under the assumption of equal and different returns. Our results show that the wage advantage for men presents a positive trend through wage distribution, particularly in the higher wage group. Furthermore, a high degree of gender wage discrimination exists in the sector, although this decreases across the wage distribution. Differences in returns of human capital and vertical segregation are the main causes of the discriminatory component. These results, together with disparities in internal promotion patterns between genders, reinforce evidence for the existence of the 'glass ceiling'.     

They arrive with new information. Tourism flows and production efficiency in the European regions

Firms productivity is crucially influenced by knowledge spillovers generated either by other firms located nearby or by direct contacts with consumers or by foreign demand in the case of traded products. In this paper we propose a new channel of efficiency-enhancing knowledge diffusion, which can be exploited by local firms to extract relevant information on consumer preferences: direct contacts with tourism flows. Tourists have the peculiar feature of being external consumers, who directly arrive to the destination region and this represents a remarkable advantage for the local enterprises, as the latter can exploit the new information and increase the overall efficiency level of the local economy. More specifically, we examine, within a spatial estimation framework, tourism flows as determinants of regional total factor productivity, controlling also for other intangible factors (such as human, social and technological capital) and for the degree of accessibility. We apply the analysis to a sample of 199 European regions belonging to the EU15 member countries, plus Switzerland and Norway. The empirical results show that tourism flows enhance regional efficiency and that a positive role is also played by intangible assets, infrastructures and spatial spillovers.     

Gender wage inequality and labour mobility in the hospitality sector

The main aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly we analyse the effects of educational mismatch on workers’ occupational mobility and secondly, we quantify the contribution of educational mismatch and labour mobility on gender wage inequality. The decomposition of the gender wage gap was controlled by different types of gender segregation. We use matched employer-employee data from 302 hotels in Andalusia. The evidence suggests that not only is external mobility far higher than internal mobility in this sector, but also that it is the main cause of wage inequality. The reason for this is the existence of labour discrimination against women, which manifests as a lack of access to labour improvements under the same conditions as men. Educational mismatch has a limited effect on internal and external mobility. Finally, gender discrimination is the overall cause of gender wage inequality and is mainly due to horizontal segregation and external mobility.     

The responsibility of tourism in traffic congestion and hyper-congestion: A case study from Mallorca, Spain

This paper explores the relationship between tourism and traffic congestion and hyper-congestion using the case study of Mallorca (Spain), one of the most important resort destinations in the Mediterranean. After discussing different proxies to capture the associated problems to road traffic congestion, different time series models are estimated including considering the days of the week, holidays and meteorological determinants jointly with a daily indicator of tourist population pressure. Results show how the tourist pressure variable is an important determinant in explaining the different alternative indicators of traffic congestion and hyper-congestion, for different roads. Hence it is possible to classify the roads in terms of usage by tourists in order to anticipate the levels of traffic intensity, especially during peak periods.     

The impact of quality management on productivity in the hospitality sector

This paper attempts to determine the relationship between quality and productivity in the hospitality sector. Although both variables are crucial to the competitive and value creation processes in hotels, few empirical studies have explicitly analyzed the relationship between them. Thus, we estimated a production function for a hotel sample that shows how a set of determinants influences labour productivity. Among these determinants we included different quality variables, defined from the point of view of total quality. The estimation results show a direct and significant effect of quality on labour productivity. This suggests that the implementation of total quality management (TQM) systems, or the adoption of the TQM principles, have a positive impact on hotel labour productivity.     

Motivations for entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality sector: A social cognitive theory perspective

A critical examination of the literature suggests that further work is needed to understand the relationship between small tourism and hospitality businesses and their external social-economic environments. In particular, the nature of personal and environmental factors influencing tourism entrepreneurship remains unknown. Focusing on one type of small business, guest houses, this study aims to examine entrepreneurs’ motivations from a dynamic perspective and explore the nature of personal and environmental factors affecting motivations for entrepreneurship. Taking a qualitative approach, four patterns of change in (or maintenance of) motivation are identified. Guided by social cognitive theory, this study finds that, among the relevant personal factors are cognitive beliefs, intrinsic needs, and demographic factors, while the environmental facilitators include changes in the tourism market, changes within the industry, and changes in setting/location. Finally, a model of small business operators’ motivations for engaging in entrepreneurship in the tourism and hospitality sector is proposed.     

The impacts of temporary but anticipated tourism spending: An application to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

An extensive literature attempts to identify the economic impact of tourism expenditure. While Input-Output methods have been widely applied these may not always be appropriate for such applications and there is a growing use of more flexible Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) approaches. This paper uses a multi-period Scottish CGE model to estimate the system-wide effects of the temporary tourism expenditure related to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. We quantify the sensitivity of our results to model specification, focusing in particular on how investment and consumption decisions are made and shifted over time to accommodate the temporary tourism shock. As part of this analysis we identify the pre-announcement period that optimises the present value of the economic impact. Whilst the empirical results apply to a specific event, our results have implications for similar analyses applied to mega events and other temporary phenomena affecting tourism expenditure, such as terrorism attacks or epidemics.     

Spatial price mimicking on Airbnb: Multi-host vs single-host

This paper studies the existence of two different supply operators in the peer-to-peer accommodation rental market for the city of Madrid. We specifically analyse spatial dependencies in price formation and whether the so-called professional hosts (i.e. those who have several Airbnb listings) set prices differently from single-property hosts. To this end, hedonic price models are estimated with and without spatial price dependence. Listings’ structural characteristics and accessibility measures to transportation hubs and sightseeing spots are considered in the regressions. Results provide clear evidence that price mimicking is higher among non-professional hosts whereas professional hosts set prices more independently.     

Impact of location on profitability in the Spanish hotel sector

This paper analyzes the impact of market structure on hotel profitability in a sample of 8992 Spanish hotels in 2005–2011, using variables relating to the hotel and tourist destination in addition to structure–conduct–performance (SCP) and Chicago School frameworks simultaneously. The results show that profitability depends largely on the market structure and the level of demand of the tourist destination and we confirm the SCP proposals. Regarding characteristics of each hotel, there are unobservable characteristics which influence on profitability and we identify the existence of economies of scale.     

Tourists' spending and adherence to shopping plans: The case of the christmas market in Merano,Italy

The present paper investigates the determinants of tourists' expenditure by categorizing tourists based on their mental budgets. Individuals can be divided into three categories based on the difference between their mental budget and actual expenditure: underspenders, on-budget spenders, and overspenders. Estimation of the empirical model is performed based on data collected through a survey of visitors to the Christmas Market in Merano, Italy during Advent in 2011. The estimation is performed with the Heckman estimator, ordered probit selection rule, and linear regression. We find that the spending patterns of visitors belonging to the three identified categories differ significantly. Analyzing visitors’ expenditure based on the proposed categorization allows us to identify category-specific factors and develop management strategies for each category. The managerial and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

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.     

The impacts of immigrants and institutions on bilateral tourism flows

In this paper, we use data on recent bilateral tourism flow from 34 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to 52 middle-to low-income countries for the period 1995–2010 to determine whether immigration, trade and institutional quality play a role in driving OECD nationals to visit immigrant-source countries. Except for the African countries, the results show that immigrants residing in OECD countries have a positive advertising effect for their home country, inducing tourism flows from OECD countries. We also find that the quality of institutions, along with freedom and civil liberty indices, are important in selecting tourism destinations. A massive 8% of the variation in tourism flows can be accounted for by these factors. These results hold for the subsample and the whole sample with two exceptions: European and African destinations. We posit that this feature of the data exists because European (African) countries are so similar to each other, and small differences in the indexes do not matter at the top (bottom) of the distribution. By controlling for gravity and macroeconomic stability variables, we also show that the trade flows between countries, among other factors, play a crucial and stable role on tourism flows. Dynamic panel data estimation is used to account for the influence of repeat visits and support our findings.     

The gap between male and female pay in the Spanish tourism industry

This paper analyzes wage differentials between male and female workers in the Spanish tourism industry, using a large, administratively matched employer–employee data set obtained from a representative sample of companies. This allows us to control for unobserved firm-specific factors likely to affect the magnitude of the gender wage gap. Our findings indicate that male workers earn on average 6.7% higher monthly wages than their socially comparable female counterparts. In particular, the type of contract held, the qualifications required for the job and the specific sub-sector of employment are very important variables in explaining this gender wage difference. We also find that only around 12% of the mean wage difference in the tourism industry cannot be explained by differences in observable characteristics, which is well below the average for the rest of the industries in Spain (87%). Our interpretation is that minimum wage legislation provides a particularly effective protection to women in the tourism industry, which is characterized by a large number of low-wage earners.     

The joint effects of need for status and mental imagery perspective on luxury hospitality consumption in China

Given the increasing influence of social media on the hospitality industry, luxury hotels have begun to utilize social media platforms as primary marketing tools. This research reveals the joint effects of mental imagery perspective and need for status on Chinese consumers’ intentions to partake in luxury hotel experiences after viewing social media photos about luxury hotel consumption. For affluent consumers with high need for status, photos taken from a first-person (vs. third-person) perspective lead to higher behavioral intentions. This research further demonstrates that immersion serves as an underlying mechanism. The findings have important implications for luxury hotel managers.     

Industry level analysis of tourism-economic growth in the United States

We investigate the relationship between economic growth and six tourism-related sub-industries (accommodation, air transportation, shopping, food and beverage, other transportation, and recreation and entertainment) in the United States in 1998–2017. Except for the lodging and the food and beverage sectors, no long-run relationship exists between other tourism sub-industries and economic growth. We uncover a unidirectional Granger causality from economic growth to each of the sub-industries. Causality is also found between the tourism industries but predominantly from industries providing local offerings (food, entertainment, shopping) to those delivering cross-destination goods and services. Our results suggest that tourism investment could be successful in the long-run even during periods of economic stagnation. In the short-run, however, tourism sectors could benefit from economic growth and tourism-related investment should take a cue from the general economy. Additionally, tourism-related investment and marketing efforts in the U.S. may wish to focus on the food, shopping, and leisure sectors.     

The Cittaslow philosophy in the context of sustainable tourism development; the case of Turkey

This paper studies the Cittaslow (slow city) philosophy in terms of sustainable tourism development (STD); and in this context research was undertaken for the case of Turkey. Cittaslow, a movement rooted in STD philosophy, aims to encourage the development of tranquil cities already known for their historical, natural, socio-cultural, and touristic features and the intention is to offer a significant contribution to systematic and rapid implementation of STD on a global scale. This paper, which makes a particular study of the practice of STD in Turkey, offers new candidate cities (Uzungöl, Hasankeyf, Safranbolu, Ürgüp, and İznik) and, thus, endeavours to contribute to the spread of STD throughout the whole country. In this study, above-named cities were found to be particularly good candidates for Cittaslow membership. In addition to these: Tatvan, Midyat, Alanya, and Fethiye were also found to be potential Cittaslows even though they fail to meet the population criterion.     

The impact of changes in household vacation expenditures on the travel and hospitality industries

Two large tourism industries, travel and hospitality, are strongly affected by changes in household demand for vacations. In recent years, rising income and declining prices per unit of quality have led to changes in patterns of household vacation consumption. To understand the impact of these changes on the travel and hospitality industries, we develop a theoretical model distinguishing between travel and on-site expenditures and apply it to Israeli data. We find that under certain circumstances, the changes in income and prices are responsible for a shift toward multiple, short vacations. This trend can be a boon to the travel industry but a disadvantage for the hospitality industry. Both industries are expected to face a rise in the demand for high-quality products.     

The appeal of sustainability in luxury hospitality: An investigation on the role of perceived integrity

This research investigates the effect of a luxury hotel's marketing communication strategy on consumers' willingness to book a room. In particular, the article compares two types of communication message: one that mainly highlights the hotel's attention to environmental sustainability and the other that focuses on customer service. The paper tests the hypothesis that a sustainability-focused communication leads to a higher willingness to book a room (compared to the customer service-focused strategy) because it increases consumers' perceptions about the hotel's integrity. Moreover, the study proposes that consumers' dispositional environmental concern magnifies this effect. One online and one realistic field experiment provide empirical evidence for the research hypotheses. This article contributes to the literature on sustainable luxury tourism and hospitality by proposing a novel theoretical framework, grounded in perceived hotel integrity, to explain why consumers might react positively when learning that a luxury hotel is committed to sustainability.