A preliminary study on customer expectations of hotel hospitality: Influences of personal and hotel factors

This study attempts to explain the influence of personal and hotel factors on the expectation level of hotel hospitality as well as to propose a scale to measure commercial hospitality for hotel services. A total of 101 local and international hotel guests were involved in the study. The results revealed that the expectations of hotel hospitality are influenced by personal factors such as gender, purpose of stay, nationality, and private domain of hospitality. The hotel's star rating is the only hotel factor that might have strong association with hotel hospitality.     

The relationship between CRM, RM, and business performance: A study of the hotel industry in Taiwan

This study aims to investigate the implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) and its effect on relationship marketing (RM) and business performance, through an analysis of the hotel industry in Taiwan. A survey on hotels, including general and tourist hotels, and bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) was conducted, and a total of 560 questionnaires were returned. The results showed that implementing CRM has a significant and positive influence on the RM effect, positively affecting business performance for both hotels and B&Bs. However, a comparison of the influential paths of relationship models between hotels and B&Bs showed that, for hotels, the Internet service and customer support functions of the CRM strategy are the main sources of influence on the RM effect and business performance, whereas for B&Bs, the marketing support function of the CRM strategy alone influences the RM effect and business performance. To achieve higher performance, the different types of hotel enterprises should understand their main advantage before implementing key CRM strategies.     

Levels of quality and environmental management in the hotel industry: Their joint influence on firm performance

Many studies have examined quality management and environmental management separately. This paper analysed the commitment to quality and environmental management at the same time, and their separate and joint effects on hotel performance. The empirical data were collected from a sample of 301 3-to-5-star Spanish hotels. A cluster analysis was carried out to identify the levels of commitment to quality and the environment. Then, ANOVA and regression analysis tested the quality and environmental commitment levels-performance link. Three levels of quality and environmental commitment have been identified. The findings showed that the commitment to quality and environmental practices influences hotel performance.     

The causality examination between demand uncertainty and hotel failure: A case study of international tourist hotels in Taiwan

The hotel business is highly sensitive to economic cycles, as the industry faces high frequency and high fluctuation of uncertainty over the demand for lodging services. Without a thorough consideration on the issue, hotels may undergo a business crisis. This research therefore investigates the influence of demand uncertainty on hotel failure by using the operation data of international tourist hotels in Taiwan during 1995–2008. The analysis applies two stages of estimation. The first stage employs a first-order autoregressive model, AR(1), to model lodging demand uncertainty. The second stage estimates the likelihood of hotels’ failure by using a logit model. The results are supportive to determine that the demand uncertainty causes hotel failures.     

The signaling effect of management response in engaging customers: A study of the hotel industry

Hotels today actively respond to online reviews given their tremendous influence on travelers' decisions. Yet, the questions of how to respond to online reviews continue to baffle hotel managers. By focusing on prospective travelers, we propose the effective management response signals hotels' care for customers and quality of service. Particularly, we postulate the frequency, speed and length of response influence the effectiveness of signaling in reducing information asymmetry. Based on the large-scale field data from TripAdvisor, this study demonstrates that the frequency and speed of response significantly enhance travelers’ engagement as indicated by more reviews, higher average valence, more votes for helpfulness, and higher popularity ranking. Furthermore, the frequent and speedy response is more effective for budget (vs. premium) hotels. Thus, management response to online reviews serves as a critical channel of communication to engage customers.     

The influence of national culture on the strategic use of salesperson pricing authority: A cross-country study within the hotel industry

At some hotel properties individual catering sales managers are empowered with the authority to make price adjustments, but at other properties they must ascertain the permission before adjusting prices. This research collected and analyzed data from 392 hotels in 28 countries and found that national culture has an influence on the price empowerment decision. Specifically, catering sales managers are more likely to be granted pricing authority in: (1) individualistic societies than in collective societies; (2) low power distance cultures than in high power distance cultures; and (3) low uncertainty avoidance societies than in high uncertainty avoidance societies.     

The effects of Airbnb on hotel performance: Evidence from cities beyond the United States

Although Airbnb's impact on hotels has been quantified for major hotel markets in the United States, these effects have not been quantified in international hotel markets. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Airbnb listings on key hotel performance metrics in an international context. In particular, we examine the effects of Airbnb listings on hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR), and occupancy rate (OCC) in major international hotel markets, namely London, Paris, Sydney and Tokyo. The results show that Airbnb listings in these major cities have been increasing more than 100% year over year and that the effect of Airbnb on hotel RevPAR and OCC is negative and statistically significant. In particular, a 1% increase in Airbnb listings decreases hotel RevPAR by between 0.016% and 0.031% in these hotel markets. The implications of these findings for destinations and hoteliers are discussed.     

Understanding the influence of polychronicity on job satisfaction and turnover intention: A study of non-supervisory hotel employees

The hospitality industry is characterized as a work environment where time use is important and where switching behavior among multiple tasks is frequently required within a given time period. These work environments promote polychronic behavior, which requires employees to deal with two or more activities in the same time block (Bluedorn et al., 1999). The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a study examining the interrelationship among polychronicity, job satisfaction, and turnover intention within a hotel context. The sample (n = 609) was collected from non-supervisory employees of two hotels located in the southwestern United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to empirically test the proposed hypotheses. Our results provided evidence that polychronicity significantly contributed to job satisfaction and turnover intention. Implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.     

The effects of SARS on the Korean hotel industry and measures to overcome the crisis: A case study of six Korean five-star hotels

The major objectives of this study were: (1) to discuss the impact of the SARS outbreak on the Korean hotel industry; (2) to explore how the crisis management contingency concept was implemented by the Korean hotel industry during this crisis; (3) to examine what the implications are for managers in the hotel industry. Results of this study indicate that the SARS outbreak had an adverse impact on the Korean hotel industry. During the six months affected by the SARS outbreak, the Korean hotel industry tried to minimize operating costs and offered employees education programs concerning health awareness, training and operating new hygiene equipment. This study is expected to provide lessons from the experience of the Korean hotel industry during the SARS-affected period.     

The influence of the political environment and destination governance on sustainable tourism development: a study of Bled,Slovenia

In the context of sustainable tourism development, there are many studies about the exchange process between residents and tourism, yet this issue is practically unexplored with respect to the political environment of tourism. Therefore, this paper introduces and posits that the political environment is a necessary enabler for implementing sustainable tourism. The authors extend the established three-pillar sustainability concept by adding in the political dimension. Then they surveyed how residents' positive and negative perceptions of tourism impacts determine their satisfaction with life in the tourism destination and thus their support for tourism in their community. The model was empirically tested within the context of the long-established Alpine destination of Bled in Slovenia. The findings confirm the importance of the political environment and question the sustainability of Bled's tourism development. It is suggested that the community has relatively weak destination governance due to the underdeveloped political environment. The survey expands and deepens the tourism sustainability debate by adding in the political environment and how it relates to the emerging growth of research on destination governance. The proposed model can be adapted and applied to any destination in order to improve its governance, including the implementation of sustainable tourism development.