Hotel general managers: A review of prominent research themes

This paper offers a comprehensive review of the prominent research themes concerning hotel general managers. The paper identifies and explores six main research themes; issues relating to managerial work, hotel managers’ careers, the personality characteristics of hotel managers, occupational functions, skills and competencies, women hotel managers, and emerging themes. The commonalities and differences between the research fields are outlined, both within and between the categories. By way of conclusion, the paper identifies areas of research that would benefit from further exploration, these are issues relating to skills and competencies, job mobility, and the barriers to career advancement for females in the hotel industry. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The tourist experience and bonding

This paper sheds light on the gendered meanings of bonding within the tourist experience. Its basis is a survey of young male and female single students, which demonstrates how they value being with, doing and sharing a holiday with their friends. The findings suggest complex gender power relations within tourism. For instance, women significantly more than men need to be together with, talking to and sharing experiences with their friends, and they require more than men this company to feel safe during the day and night. Such gender distinctions are linked to how men and women enact friendships and gender differently and to the geography of women's travel fears, which proposes that women more than men develop mental maps which restrict public movements. This research also suggests that the need for the company of friends is not just about spatiality; singles of both sexes prefer to be with friends when eating out in the enclavic and in heterogeneous tourism spaces. This finding thus proposes that midlife single women's ambivalence towards eating out alone on city breaks and resort holidays is perhaps not so much about womanhood as their age.     

Segmenting travellers based on day-to-day variability in work-related travel behaviour

Travel needs for commute and business trips are complex and choices are not made based on the characteristics of individual trips, but instead based on the needs over weeks and months. For example, the cost per trip of commuting by bus varies depending upon the frequency of travel, and the cost of a monthly subway pass depends upon the number of zones visited during that period. Intrapersonal variability, namely the variation in an individual's travel behaviour from day to day, therefore shapes our transport choices and should influence service provision. Changes in working patterns such as increases in part time working, self-employment and tele-commuting challenge the traditionally held assumptions that work activities are fixed in time and space, thus making intrapersonal variability increasingly relevant. This research uses a data-driven approach to segment workers based on their work-related travel behaviour, including frequency of travel and both spatial and time of day intrapersonal variability. The analysis uses survey and seven day travel diary data for over 110,000 people collected over a 19 year period in England. Four groups of workers were identified: infrequent, spatially variable, temporally variable and regular travellers. These groups do not align closely with self-reported working arrangements such as self-employment or part time working. The group of regular travellers has decreased in size between 1998 and 2016 but remains the largest group, containing just under 60% of workers in 2016. Both the infrequent and spatially variable groups have grown over the same period. For a small but growing group of workers, a seven day diary is insufficient to understand their work-related transport needs as little or no work travel is recorded. These findings have implications for the design of public transport ticketing, the design of mobility as a service packages and the appraisal of congestion charging schemes.     

A narrative review of Asian female travellers: looking into the future through the past

Following the rise of tourism in Asia, a growing female travel market has been observed in the region. Nevertheless, limited research has considered the travel experience of Asian women. In response to the dearth of research on Asian female travellers, this study employs a narrative synthesis approach through a postcolonial feminist lens to review the extant literature on Asian female travellers, with the aim to contribute to a cultural understanding of the historical and contemporary travel practices of Asian women. Based on this review, it is evident that Asian women’s travel behaviour is influenced by cultural identities and gender stereotypes. However, existing literature has also demonstrated the agency of Asian women in resisting discriminatory gender practices in tourism, which is represented in the transformation of the identity of Asian female travellers. Accordingly, an agenda for future research is proposed and some implications for the industry are discussed. This study addresses the western-centric and androcentric criticisms in tourism field and provides an alternative reading of women’s travel behaviour from an Asian perspective. This study has contributed to the critical tourism scholarship in Asia and has built an important foundation for future research on Asian female travellers, an area that is not well investigated.     

Urban mobility with a focus on gender: The case of a middle-income Latin American city

This study analyzes gender differences in travel patterns for the Metropolitan Area of Montevideo, Uruguay. By applying multilevel regression models, it provides estimates of the impact of individual and contextual factors on travel behavior. The paper's findings lend support to the household responsibility hypothesis, which claims that women's travel patterns are affected by the type of household in which they live and the consequent responsibilities or roles they assume. Furthermore, gender differences in travel patterns are reinforced across census tracts. The results indicate that policy makers need to consider gender differences when seeking to enhance urban planning decisions.     

Business travellers' perception of service quality: a prefatory study of two European city centre hotels

The business traveller contributes significantly to the turnover of the hotel industry and, with the globalisation of business, this sector shows signs of increasing growth. Service quality has now become one of the main factors used to gain competitive advantage, thus the industry must focus more specifically on the needs and expectations of its business customers. The aim of this paper is to focus on the business travel market and more specifically on the comparison of two hotels in two European cities, Brussels and Manchester. This area of research has not been attempted before and will provide an interesting comparison with findings in USA. A literature review identified the relevant attributes used to measure service quality, which were utilised to design a questionnaire, distributed to customers in a five star hotel in Manchester and in Brussels. The primary data obtained were then compared with the findings of other researchers. The analysis indicated that Brussels scored the majority of the attributes more highly (many significantly) than did Manchester. This may be influenced by the international profile of the Brussels respondents who tended to travel on business more frequently than the Manchester sample. The comparisons with the USA surveys found some inconsistencies that might be attributed to societal differences.Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pedalling towards equity: Exploring women's cycling in a New Zealand city

Although the benefits of cycling are well-known, in New Zealand, women cycle much less than men. This qualitative research took a feminist intersectional approach and interviewed 49 women in six focus groups, to explore their experiences as women who knew how to cycle, and wished to cycle more. Participants, who were all based in one city, included two ethnic groups (Māori and non-Māori) and three age groups (adolescents, mothers with children at home, and older women), giving a range over the life-course and including an innovative study of Māori women's cycling. Topics covered included learning to ride as a child, experiences with traffic, topography and other local issues, feelings about cycling and taking an imagined ride. Results revealed the challenge and joys of cycling, what is normal and not normal in cycling, and a double or triple burden affecting women in terms of safety: perceptions of traffic danger; personal safety as women; and the need to be safety-conscious because of responsibilities for others. Differences between Māori and non-Māori arose in context of varying household types, access to bicycles and cultural perspectives on cycling. Participants were clear about how to support women cycling: safe and connected cycling infrastructure, and systems that normalise women's cycling, with national and local government policies to support these.     

In the air again: frequent flyer relationship programmes and business travellers' quality of life

This research explores whether frequent flyer programmes somehow add to the quality of life of the frequent business traveller (defined in this study as business flyers who had flown round trip 26 or more times in the past 12 months). A questionnaire was mailed to subscribers of a newsletter for members of frequent air and hotel programmes. Results indicated that frequent flyer programmes contribute positively to frequent business travellers' lifestyles and to their quality of life, perhaps by countervailing some of the negative aspects of frequent business travel. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Entrepreneurship in the small and medium-sized hotel sector

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 challenges in starting up and operating businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The paper also highlights key actions taken by the owners/managers of SMSHs to manage their business in the competitive business environment. To avoid any bias associated with a specific method, a multi-method research approach has been used for data collection. The results reveal that the majority of the owners/managers of SMSHs in the UAE are male, young and middle-aged with secondary- and higher-education levels, and relatively new to the tourism industry. With the characteristics of self-confidence, perseverance and independence, the motivations for the business ventures of the owners/managers 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. At the same time, the owners/managers of SMSHs also felt that the government and policy-makers should play a more proactive role in promoting the tourism sector. This research provides a useful insight into the activities in the hotel tourism business sector and the challenges they encounter while operating in the UAE economy.     

To drive or not to drive: Driving cessation amongst older adults in rural and small towns in Canada

Driving cessation, often due to health-related changes, can be a particularly challenging and troublesome transition in older adulthood that can lead to social isolation. While policy makers have long recognized the potential impact of an aging population on Canada's health care and national pension plans, the transportation needs of older adults have received relatively less attention. For older adults residing in small towns and rural areas who rely, more often than not, on the personal automobile there is usually limited or no access to public transportation. For policy makers to respond effectively to the transportation needs of an aging population, particularly those living in rural areas, the first step is to understand the travel behaviours of older adults living in such areas, particularly as they approach the transition when they will cease to drive. This paper reports on qualitative research exploring the driving-related challenges and needs faced by older adults in small towns and rural areas near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Results revealed four major themes: lack of transportation options in rural areas, changes in driving behaviours, the lack of planning for driving cessation, and the social isolation that comes from the loss (or potential loss) of one's driver's license.     

Women's modal switching behavior since driving is allowed in Saudi Arabia

The objective of this paper is to explore if and how the primary transport mode of women in Saudi Arabia changed since they are allowed to issue a driving license and drive, and what the factors affecting modal switch behavior are. A survey was launched as part of the national project She Drives KSA a year after the activation of the decree on allowing women drive. 20,504 women participated in the survey. Data analysis shows that modal shifts happened to several directions. A significant percentage of women (22.7%) has switched from “household car-as a passenger” to “household car-as a driver”. In total, 37.7% of the participants have switched to household car-as a driver. A nested logit model is developed and the model estimation results indicate that employed women, women in the age groups of 18 to 29 and 30 to 39, women with high educational level, and single women are more likely to change from “household private car-as a passenger”, “ridehailing” and “other” to “household private car-as a driver”. Women who are unemployed, with low educational level and from households with low monthly income, are more likely to not change their primary transport mode. To our knowledge, this is the first research investigating such a unique and sensitive topic that is expected to significantly affect women's travel behavior.     

Enforced Tourists: American Women,Travel, and the ‘Far-Flung Fronts’ of World War II

The exigencies of World War II resulted in a massive expansion of travel opportunities for American women, both civilian and military, that formed an essential ingredient of their wartime experience. As enforced tourists, the geographical centres and states of knowledge of American women were greatly expanded as they travelled to distant and remote areas, met new people, took on new jobs, encountered different cultures and ways of life, and established themselves and their families in unknown locations. The far-reaching consequences of enforced wartime travel played an important role in transforming the way American women thought about themselves and their world, and the legacy of the war continues to reverberate in women's lives. Much has been written about how major wars have given rise to postwar pilgrimages, battlefield tours, and the establishment of commemorative memorials and museums, but the significance of enforced tourists who travelled during wartime itself has not been fully explored. The far-reaching consequences of wartime travel and the extent to which it transforms the lives of enforced tourists – both women and men, civilian and military – is a largely uncharted topic worthy of considerable attention by scholars.     

How do leisure activities impact leisure domain and life domain satisfaction and subjective well-being?

This study examines the impact of leisure activities on leisure domain and life domain satisfactions and subjective well-being (SWB) and explores the differences between genders in these associations, using data from 316 middle-aged adults. The results suggest that sports and travel & outdoor activities have the greatest impact on physiological, psychological, and relaxing satisfactions. Social activities are key ingredients in social, psychological, and physiological satisfactions as seen by men, whereas cultural activities and hobbies are important in women's psychological satisfaction. While relaxing and social satisfactions are important in men's SWB, psychological satisfaction is the most important factor in women's SWB.     

Multinational hotel development in developing countries: an exploratory analysis of critical policy issues

Multinational hotel companies, often integrated with tour operators, travel agencies and other businesses in tourist‐generating or tourist‐receiving countries, play a key role in the development and continuity of an international tourism industry in developing countries. In order to take advantage of benefits and minimise the unwanted adverse effects from multinational hotel involvement, developing countries need the planning, implementation and evaluation of carefully designed policies linked to their particular objectives. This paper reviews the potential benefits and costs of multinational hotel companies and brings together previously scattered critical policy issues in relation to them, while suggesting possible options for developing countries to follow. Seven critical policy areas are identified: establishment of the need for foreign investment; deciding on forms of involvement; deciding on the scale of hotel development; supporting sectoral linkages; supporting indigenous employment/training; monitoring business practices; and determining foreign investment incentives and regulations. It is argued that policies should be worked out in these areas and co‐ordinated in order to achieve a balance between the benefits and costs of multinational hotel involvement in developing countries. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gender on the flightdeck: Experiences of women commercial airline pilots in the UK

The reasons for, and the implications arising from, the underrepresentation of women on the flightdeck of commercial aircraft continues to challenge national Governments, the aviation industry, and the academic community. Although some airlines have made concerted efforts to improve the gender balance of their flightcrew, womens' participation in the profession remains low. Of the 130,000 airline pilots worldwide only 4000 (3%) are women and only 450 hold the command of Captain. The dominant historical discourse of airline pilots as assertive masculine figures may act to dissuade women from pursuing a career on the flightdeck and women pilots are subjected to sexist remarks and behaviour from colleagues and passengers. Given commercial aviation's increasing growth worldwide and the concurrent increase in demand for highly skilled labour, the inability to recruit and retain women pilots represents a significant problem for both the sector and the wider economy as it will constrain growth, hinder aviation's expansion by failing to capitalise on women's skill sets, and delay the achievement of gender equality. Understanding the experiences of flightcrew is therefore vital in addressing this important research problem. Through the use of in-depth interviews with men and women flightcrew in the UK, the research identifies a number of obstacles to greater female participation and recommends that airlines not only focus on gender differences in learning, leadership and communication but that they also take steps to more effectively manage diversity in their workforce and actively promote positive representations of women flightcrew both within and beyond their organisation.     

User satisfaction with specialised transport for disabled in Norway

The aim of this article is to examine factors that are most important for the users' overall satisfaction with specialised transport services for the disabled (STS) in Norway. The article focuses especially on gender differences. We find that the three factors most strongly influencing overall satisfaction with the STS for all users are the size of the area in which the service can be used, the comfort experienced during transport, and the number of trips on which STS can be used. Men's satisfaction with the STS is more strongly influenced by the size of the travel area than is the case for women. The degree to which women are satisfied with the STS is more strongly influenced by the comfort and number of trips than is the case for men. The method used in this article to measure users' overall satisfaction can be valuable for other researchers conducting comparable studies, and our findings may be applied by politicians aiming to design an STS which fulfils the needs of the elderly and disabled.     

Women's travel writing and the legacy of Romanticism

Women's travel writing reveals how literary and artistic discourses influence the way we read and write about journeys. This paper considers the way women's travel writing has adapted to, and adopted, the discourse of Romanticism, from its beginnings as a philosophy of political and sexual revolution, individual freedom and escape, to a more diffuse sense which has infiltrated modern attitudes to travel. We consider a classic travel text from the Romantic period, and discuss its legacy. Adopting Buzard's argument [(1993). The Beaten track: European tourism, literature and the ways to ‘Culture’ 1800–1918. Oxford: OUP], we consider how travel changed through the long nineteenth century. We discuss how the twentieth-century Romantic attraction of travel is marketed through the tourist industry as one of the main reasons to get away from it all and discover the ‘authentic’: this desire is reflected in travel texts. Recent writing reflects the influence of Romanticism by celebrating the individual as a wandering free spirit on a self-quest, whose writing is ‘authentic’, spontaneous and confessional: that is, the legacy of sensibility. We conclude that Romanticism has left a dual legacy for travellers, of political commitment and inner journey. Authors discussed include Mary Wollstonecraft, Gertrude Bell, Isabella Bird and Sara Wheeler.     

Differences in travel objectives between first‐time and repeat tourists: An empirical analysis for the Kansai area in Japan

This study investigates the differences in travel objectives between first‐time and repeat tourists. We conduct a questionnaire survey of travel agencies, which asked about specific tour plan for target tourists, their experiences and travel objectives in the Kansai area in Japan. We estimate a logit model for the relationship between travel objectives and visiting experiences. The results indicate that the first‐time tourists' main objective is to enjoy looking around sightseeing spots, while the repeat tourists' objective is simply to enjoy the stay, including the hotel visit and participating in events. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.