Value of a hotel stay: a case study in Hong Kong

This study examines the value of a hotel stay from the perspective of hotel customers and hotel service professionals. Respondents, including hotel customers and hotel service professionals, were asked the extent of their agreement or disagreement with statements related to four different value dimensions: functional value, emotional value, social value, and customer-perceived sacrifices. Results showed that there are significant differences between the hotel service professionals’ perceived value of the hotel stay and customers’ perceived value of the hotel stay. The differences are found in social value and customer-perceived sacrifices.     

Perceptions of management difficulty factors by expatriate hotel professionals in China

Successful overseas hotel operations depend on technically competent and culturally adaptable expatriate managers. This study reveals that expatriate hotel professionals from many different countries are now working in China. It examines and analyses the perceptions of six management difficulty factors by the expatriate hotel professionals. Staff attitude and lack of competence of the local managers are identified as the most difficult management factors, followed by language barriers, cultural differences and lack of local management support. Government policy change is perceived as the least difficult factor. The empirical findings of this study can be used by the Chinese tourism authority to improve the business environment for foreign investment and management; and by multinational hotel corporations to strengthen training programs in preparing expatriate managers for management assignments in China.     

Resort mystery shopping: A case study of hotel service

ABSTRACT

Mystery shopping is a common mode of improving customer service in retail and hospitality businesses, but researchers rarely utilize the methodology in academia. In these business entities, high-level quality standards are paramount to customer satisfaction, and mystery shopper reports have been found to be indicative of an organization’s service quality. This study employed a mixed-method approach, utilizing qualitative and quantitative procedures to examine a mystery shop program from within a resort hotel in the Southeastern US. The researchers used seven service principles which were established by the resort hotel. Mystery shoppers surveyed this specific service culture for a span of 13-months. The results suggested that managers need to re-examine service principles to ensure consistent employee performance and guest experiences.     

The importance of career goal in relation to academic performance: a case study of hospitality management students

ABSTRACT

Hospitality management programs have commonly offered exclusive learning opportunities to talented students in order to keep “brains” in the industry. While academic performance indices are often used to identify “brains” in the education sector, scant research has empirically examined whether “brains” are intended to stay in the industry. This study surveyed 304 hospitality management students and examined the relationships between their career-goal related factors and academic performance. Findings indicate that career goal and positive job valence toward the hospitality industry are significantly related to academic performance. The results of this study contribute to the limited literature on the relationship between career goal and academic performance.     

Tourist motivation and place attachment: the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees

Using social facilitation theory, this study evaluates the mediating effects of service interactions with hotel employees on the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. The moderating effects of nationality and hotel star-rating on these relationships are also examined. The overall model tested on a sample of 545 international visitors to the island of Mauritius showed that service interactions mediated the relationship between tourist motivation and place attachment. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) multi-group analysis found that the relationships among the constructs differed according to tourists’ nationality and the hotels’ star rating. The findings have important implications for hotel managers and destination marketing and management.     

Planning for an environmental management programme in a luxury hotel and its perceived impact on staff: an exploratory case study

Hotels generate substantial environmental footprint. To minimise this footprint, hoteliers are increasingly engaging in environmental management programmes (EMPs). When designing such a programme, it is important that hotel managers do not only evaluate its effect on corporate strategy, finance, and reputation, but also analyse its impact on staff. This is because employees are in the forefront of hotel environmental management interventions and can determine their success or failure. This is also due to the impact that EMPs can make on staff attitudes, both at work and in private life. This study explores how hotel employees perceive an opportunity to engage in an EMP in a luxury hotel. It finds that a well-designed and implemented programme can strengthen the levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment among hotel staff, subject to explaining the reasons for and outlining the benefits of environmental management interventions, incentivised participation, regular evaluation, and adequate training. The study also shows that EMPs implemented in a hotel may drive more environmentally responsible behaviour of employees outside work.     

Money illusion and inflation management in tourism: The hotel industry case

Using regression analysis, this study examines the relationship between inflation, room rates, capacity utilization, and profitability in the hotel industry. The results show that room rates and nominal profits have been strongly related to inflation while occupancy rates and real profits have been independent of inflation over the twenty year period examined. Findings suggest general absence of money illusion implying effective inflation management policies.     

The problem of eliciting management knowledge: A case of research into hospitality management knowledge

The paper describes in conceptual and theoretical terms one approach to the difficult problem of eliciting from managers what knowledge they apply to situations and activities they are involved in. A small qualitative study is described which uses a technique that works backwards from behaviour towards knowledge. The aim of the study is to describe how accumulated knowledge is transmitted from education or experience to the moment it is actually used in the context of the hospitality industry. The analysis was interpretative and found that knowledge structures mirrored vocational educational structures and that subjects recall prior knowledge through a categorisation process. A key finding was a set of modes of transmission, which include prototypical examples, pivotal and role model examples and scenarios, which have been built from accumulated experience. The research demonstrated both the usefulness and the difficulty of designing and implementing a reliable knowledge elicitation procedure but suggests that the backwards-facing approach can be fruitful.     

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.     

Workplace deviance and human resource management relations: A case study of Turkish hotel employees

The main purpose of this study is to examine the negative associations between employees' perception of the effectiveness of performance appraisal practices and deviant workplace behavior. This study also tests the mediating effect of the forms of organizational justice in the relationship between performance appraisal practices and deviant workplace behavior. Moreover, it also investigates how line managers' performance appraisal politics may influence the relationship between perceptions of performance appraisal practices and employee deviant workplace behavior. In order to facilitate this study, the research team employed a survey design. A total of 193 service employees from different service establishments attended the forum where the study was conducted in the capital city of Turkey, Ankara. The results of this study strongly support the premise that effective performance appraisal practices influence employee deviance behavior, and especially that interactional justice is an important predictor of employee violative behavior. Moreover, the findings indicate that there is no evidence regarding the moderating effect of employees' perception of managers' appraisal politics in the negative relationship between performance appraisal effectiveness and employee deviance.     

The role of middle management in the execution of expansion strategies: The case of developers’ selection of hotel projects

This research is based on the strategy premise that managerial action matters and integrates middle management's decisions in examining successful execution of expansion strategies. The study complements existing strategy models by including middle management's decisions (as opposed to top executives’) and examines how managers rely on control-related tactics to meet strategic objectives.     

Adopting e-Procurement technology in a chain hotel: An exploratory case study

As the lodging sector evolves into a more technology-oriented industry, the need to understand e-Procurement practices becomes more important. The main purpose of this study was to understand the challenges faced by decision makers at a chain hotel company in its adoption and implementation of e-Procurement. Results indicated that the company suffered from a lack of purchasing standardization across properties. Furthermore, this study suggests that not all vendors of e-Procurement solutions may be ready to partner with hotel companies. e-Procurement offers considerable potential for the industry but uncertainties such as those exhibited in this case must be addressed before significant resource commitments are made to e-Procurement.     

Corporate social responsibility and employee attitudes: evidence from a study of Polish hotel employees

This study, based on data collected from low-ranking employees working in Polish hotels, tests a research model that investigates whether there are links between corporate social responsibility (CSR), operationalized as “self-related” CSR experiences and “others-related” CSR experiences, and job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and between both attitudes and work engagement. Structural equation modelling was used to assess these relationships, using a 20 point questionnaire answered by 412 respondents. The results indicate that “others-related” CSR experiences are positively associated with satisfaction and commitment, while “self-related” CSR experiences with the latter variable. Likewise, organizational commitment, unlike job satisfaction, was linked to work engagement. However, contrary to our a priori assumptions and prior research, it turned out that job satisfaction was not a predictor of commitment. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of the findings. The study's most important practical implication is that Polish hotel employees attach weight to responsible behaviour: the hotel industry should perceive CSR in terms of strategic significance. Companies that want a committed and engaged workforce – and, by extension, to enhance their competitiveness – should embrace CSR. The paper concludes by highlighting its limitations and suggesting future research avenues.     

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 impact of information technology on hotel operations,service management and transaction costs: A conceptual framework for full-service hotel firms

This paper develops a conceptual framework that describes the impact of information technology (IT) on service management and transaction costs in full service hotel firms. It details how IT would help such firms to lower operations-related transaction costs. Further, the underpinnings of how IT would impact service management in full service hotel firms is discussed more specifically from a customer satisfaction point of view while focusing on two aspects, i.e. managing customer delight and the customer's role as a co-producer. Propositions are developed and a discussion on the impact of IT on firm profitability from a transaction cost perspective ensues while concluding with managerial implications.     

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.     

Application of EMSs in a hotel context: A case study

In the last decade, hotel companies have become increasingly interested in the application of environmental management systems (EMSs). However, research on the effectiveness of EMSs in the hotel industry has been sparse. This study aims to address this research gap by exploring and evaluating the application of EMSs in a hotel context. Various approaches to EMSs are identified in the literature on environmental management and EMSs, including six core EMS elements specific to the hotel industry context. To develop a rich and deep understanding of the application of EMSs in the hotel industry, a qualitative case study was conducted in which data were collected from three levels of employees, executive, supervisory and general, from an international hotel. A series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted and relevant documents were collected for analysis. Four influential factors were identified in the formation stage of the hotel's EMS: (1) Corporate governance, (2) Piloting activities, (3) Initial gap analysis and (4) Partnership with external consultancy. It was also found that the six elements identified in the environmental management literature play important roles in the implementation of EMS in this case. In addition, although EMSs can help promote a bottom-up approach to change, a top-down approach to implementing EMSs was more suitable for a hotel with a predominantly Chinese workforce, due to cultural issues. This study identified a number of factors specifically related to EMSs to complement mainstream environmental management research.     

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.     

Curriculum assessment through a capstone course: a case study in hospitality and tourism programs

The purpose of this study was to develop a systematic process that other educational institutions and programs could follow to establish a consistent and accurate evaluation method for a capstone course. Hospitality industry professionals and hospitality management faculty were interviewed through focus-group discussions, and a post-focus-group survey was conducted to determine a weighted percentage for each of the nine determined content domains. A test blueprint for a hospitality management capstone course was developed to measure programmatic student learning outcomes based on the weighted domains determined through this study. The results provide a usable instrument for hospitality and tourism management programs to enhance their current assessment methodology.     

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.