Franchisees and shareholders: The next wave of hotel litigation

Hotel chains are facing litigation from owners who are challenging chain's longstanding management practices. Those cases are based on the established concept that a hotel-management company is an agent for the hotel's owner because it provides personal services. As such, the management company must operate in the owner's best intestest, divulge all relevant operating information, and eschew double dealing or competing with the owner. Courts have held accountable many management companies whose practices violated those principles—for example, accepting rebates from venfors without informing owners and agreeing to manage competing hotels. One offshoot of management companies' cases is a decision that implicated a franchisor (Radisson) as a hotel owner's agent because it provides a central reservation system (an essential reason for purchasing a hotal brand's license). Further complicating hotel chains' responsibilities is the isse of how to inform shareholders about the risks of investing in hotel chains' stocks. One reason for investing in a hotel chain is the seemingly solid flow of management and licensing fees. However, stockholders must wonder whether their investments are safe if owners can dismiss the chains (as agents) with relative impunity.     

The agency challenge: How Woolley,Woodley, and other cases rearranged the hotel-management landscape

A series of court cases have redefined the relationship between hotel owners and their management companies and their frachisors. Beginning with a 1991 California decision, courts have determined that hotel-management firms are agents for the owners with whom they contract—even if the management contract says otherwise. In part, a key indication of agency is when one party provides services to the other for a fee—which is the nearly universal arrangement in a management contract. Two key aspects of agency have tripped up such industry giants as Embassy Suites, Hyatts, Marriott, Radisson, and Sheraton. The first element of agency is that the principal (i.e, the owner) can dismits the agent at any time, despite what the parties' contract says. Second, the management company as agent is required to act in the principal's best interest. So, when a Washington, D.C., jury determined that some practices common in the hotel industry are not in the owner's best interest, that jury ordered Sheraton to pay compensatory and punitive damages to the hotel's owners. Franchisors may also be considered as “agents” when they services to their licenses—as occurs, for instance, when hotel chains provide reservation services for a franchise. Following the logic of the management-contract cases, a New York court determined that Radisson was an agent for a hotel in that city, even though it did not operate the hotel itself, because it did provide a serve (the reservation system) for a fee. Taken together, the lesson to be learned from the cases reviewed in this article is that, no matter what the owner-manager contract states on paper, it is the characteristics of the relationship and existing legal precedent that will dictate the terms during any dispute.     

Does quality management improve performance or vice versa? Evidence from the hotel industry

This paper has several aims: (a) to identify an empirical taxonomy of quality management (QM), (b) to assess whether more advanced QM hotels achieve better performance levels and (c) to analyse whether hotels with better performance levels have more advanced QM levels. This paper contributes to identify a taxonomy of QM in hotels showing the association between a particular level of QM and different performance dimensions. In addition, the paper sheds light on the possible selection effect in the hotel industry. The study finds that hotels with higher QM levels have better hotel guest satisfaction and employee satisfaction, efficiency and better business performance. It also shows that hotels with better performance levels develop QM to a greater extent. Accordingly, QM level is one factor among others that explain better performance levels in hotels. Also, good performance can facilitate the implementation of QM practices.     

旅游饭店中级职业经理人胜任特征模型研究

研究在文献分析和行为事件访谈基础上,设计旅游饭店中级职业经理人胜任特征调查问卷,对南京市旅游饭店中级职业经理人群体实施抽样调查,采用探索性因子分析和验证性因子分析方法探索和检验胜任特征模型的合理性和有效性。探索性因子分析结果表明,旅游饭店中级职业经理人的胜任特征由"沟通与团队建设"、"职业道德与特质"、"自主学习力"、"自我控制和执行力"、"管理思维"五个维度22个特征要素构成;验证性因子分析表明,"沟通与团队建设"、"职业道德与品质"、"自主学习力"、"自我控制和执行力"、"管理思维与工作绩效"的标准化路径系数分别为0.60、0.50、0.48、0.60、0.59,模型能够预测和反映工作绩效。     

Pure diffusion? The great English hotel charges debate in The Times, 1853

This article explores the role of nineteenth century national newspapers and their readers in disseminating management innovations to the English hotel industry. In September 1853, many well-travelled, knowledgeable customers spontaneously wrote letters to The Times complaining about over-priced, uncomfortable English hotels compared to lower-priced, more comfortable European and North American hotels. The letters and editorials from The Times and other national newspapers campaigned for English hotels to adopt international hotel management innovations. The article suggests that this is an early example of pure diffusion in communicating innovations.     

Micro and small enterprise participation in tourism in coastal Kenya

Small business participation in tourism can help diversify income and contribute to poverty reduction in some circumstances. We examined micro and small enterprise (MSE) participation in tourism and the linkages between tourism businesses and MSEs in the coastal region of Kenya, using data from two surveys involving 449 MSEs and 49 hotels. Tobit regression was used to estimate the determinants of MSE participation in tourism, as well as the proportion of products purchased by hotels from MSEs. The results indicated that older, larger MSEs and those that were members of associations were more likely to participate in tourism. The determinants of hotel procurement from MSEs included age of the hotel, bed capacity, and management characteristics. The results highlight the opportunities and barriers for MSE participation in tourism and have implications for policies related to sustainable tourism development, regional economic development, and enhancement of rural livelihoods.     

对芜湖市旅游饭店形象建设的思考

旅游饭店形象直接影响旅游饭店在市场上的竞争力,直接关系到当地旅游形象的塑造。芜湖市作为安徽省的“全国优秀旅游城市”之一,其旅游饭店形象建设应从外观形象、硬件设施、产品和服务、饭店人员、饭店文化、管理水平、效率和信誉等几个要素开展,要求旅游饭店注重外观形象设计、服务质量管理、文化氛围营造、人员素质培养和管理水平提升。     

产权、竞争、中国饭店业绩效及改进路径研究

本文分析表明我国饭店业是国有饭店主导的竞争性行业,国有饭店主导和竞争性行业的不相容性是造成我国饭店业整体绩效水平较差的根本原因。根据这一分析结论,本文提出我国饭店业最终目标是建立为非国有饭店主导的垄断竞争性行业,改进我国饭店业整体绩效的具体路径是积极推进国有饭店退出和实施饭店集团化经营。     

危机中的高端酒店

<正>受金融风暴冲击,当经济型酒店喜笑颜开的时候,高端酒店的巨头们纷纷愁眉不展,只能是咬着牙来自降身价。上海旅游事业委员会提供的数据显示,上海高端酒店入住率下跌是从2008年8月开始的,单月入境旅游者人数只有20万人次。受此影响,各大酒店的平均入住率下跌到54.6%,是20年来的最低。今年1~3月,上海五星级酒店出租率45.9%,同比下降13%,     

The need for employee training in hotels in Thailand

The growth of business and industry along with a rapid increase of tourism has resulted in the rapid expansion of hotels in Thailand. The hotel industry has become highly competitive with the quality of service provided having an effect on the profitability and success of individual hotels. Employees themselves have been considered to be the most important factor in the service industry. This article presents the findings of two studies involving the training needs of hotel employees in Thailand. One study was conducted in Bangkok and the other study in the province of Nakorn Sawan.     

The Role of Private Label Brands in Enhancing Service Satisfaction in the Hotel Industry: Comparing Luxury and Boutique Hotels

ABSTRACT

This research proposes private label branding as a strategy that can have a positive effect on guest satisfaction and loyalty in hotels that cater to travelers seeking a special hotel experience. We test this using a sample of guests in two hotels: a five-star luxury hotel (N = 225) and a boutique hotel (N = 101). Findings show that in the luxury hotel but not the boutique hotel, perception of a private label had a direct impact on loyalty, and an indirect impact on loyalty through its effect on guest satisfaction. The theoretical implications and recommendations for hoteliers based on the findings are discussed.     

并购整合趋势下的经济型酒店创新经营模式研究

经济型酒店已在国内酒店市场占有较高市场份额,并呈现出强劲的增长势头。伴随国内大众旅游市场的发展,经济型酒店仍然存在较大的发展空间。一些大型的经济型酒店基于雄厚的实力纷纷开始并购整合经营不善的型酒店,进一步扩大市场规模。当前经济型酒店存在的问题是服务水平有所下降,业绩下滑,这不能不引发人们对现有发展模式的思考。各大经济型酒店集团在并购整合和创新经济模式方面,应做好加强直营店与加盟店的内部分类管理,实现自有品牌与并购品牌的整合及差异化经营,合理推进品牌升级与市场转移,创新经济型酒店风格,提升吸引力,以此来实现整个行业水平的提高。     

An efficiency and effectiveness model for international tourist hotels in Taiwan

Taiwan's economic growth has improved the quality of life and raised the standard of the tourism industry in Taiwan. This paper selects the hotel industry, in order to assess how international tourist hotels operate their business by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure their operational efficiency and effectiveness. By using the DEA model to assess the results of the relative efficiency and effectiveness of hotels to improve their operations, the paper also aims to rank the hotels by applying the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje method combined with entropy weight among the criteria.     

我国经济型酒店外包业务的功效及管理策略

经济型酒店的经营突出专业化与社会化的特点,主要以客房服务为其核心业务,其他如餐饮、洗衣等为配套服务。为了提高经济型酒店的运作效率,需采取非核心业务外包的方式。在分析经济型酒店实施外包的目的和潜在风险的基础上,提出经济型酒店要明确实施外包的条件、科学合理的选择外包专业公司、签订完善的外包合同,明确合作双方的责权利的管理策略。     

From sustainability to customer loyalty: A case of full service hotels’ guests

More hotels adopt ecofriendly practices and implement innovative technologies to reduce carbon footprints and increase a viable green image. Many hotel guests value hotels that offer up-to-date technology and demonstrate sustainability efforts through various sustainable programs. Previous studies investigated how ecofriendly practices would induce higher customer loyalty and increase the image of a hotel brand in the past decade and reported the benefits of implementing green efforts in hotels. This study, which included distributing surveys to over 1200 existing hotel guests in 2013–2014 in the southeastern United States, examined how technologies, innovations, and sustainable-effort-related factors have an impact on customer perceptions, selection decisions, experience, and post-experience.     

中国星级酒店市场投资来源定量分析与空间格局

在当前旅游业快速发展的前提下,星级酒店业投资成为热点,不仅国内各大投资主体关注这一领域,而且海外有实力的专业投资商纷纷涌入大陆,给快速发展的中国星级酒店市场带来了广泛的影响。本文以中国各地区星级星级酒店为研究对象,采用因子分析和聚类分析的方法,对中国各省份的星级酒店投资来源进行差异性和相似性分析,并结合GIS技术,探讨星级酒店的空间分布特征,为政府和星级酒店经营者选择投资目的地和制定相关政策提供定量依据。     

What Makes for a Successful Hotel? Insights on Hotel Management Following 15 Years of Hotel Occupancy Analysis in England

Time series analyses of daily and monthly occupancy rates in different samples of hotels in England over a 15-year period reveal consistent temporal components of occupancy performance. These differentiate hotels in terms of overall occupancy levels, seasonality, length of season, trend and within-week variations. The components are related to the characteristics of hotels and their management using statistical methods and structured interview surveys, and the factors affecting occupancy performance of hotels are identified and calibrated. The policy implications for the results for successful hotel marketing and management are extracted.     

A data envelopment analysis on assessing the competitiveness of Korean hotels

With the ever-rising cost of doing business and increased competition, many hotels have experienced financial difficulties resultant from a gradual decline in profit and market share. Since the financial health of the hotel affects its investment capability in constantly improving customer services, the service performance and the subsequent competitiveness of the hotel often reflect its financial efficiency. As such, there is a growing need to assess the financial efficiency of the hotel in comparison with its competitors. To meet such a need, this paper proposes a data envelopment analysis (DEA) that develops a meaningful set of benchmarks that will dictate best practices and form a successful hotel business model. Using the examples of 31 luxury and budget hotels in Korea, this paper illustrates the usefulness of DEA for the continuous improvement of hotel business practices.     

浅谈我国经济型酒店的发展现状与发展策略

随着我国假日经济引发的国内旅游的兴起,使人们对经济型酒店的需求骤然升温,因此为经济型酒店的发展带来了新的商机。在分析我国经济型酒店发展中存在问题的基础上,阐述经济型酒店的市场经营环境,进而提出了我国经济型酒店的发展策略     

Internal and external drivers for quality certification in the service industry: Do they have different impacts on success?

This paper presents the results of a study of hotels that are certified for quality management to identify the reasons for seeking quality certification. The authors analyse whether internal or external drivers for seeking certification have different impacts on benefits and the use of quality tools in the hotel industry. The analysis groups hotels according to the importance of their internal reasons for certification, and uses cluster analysis to identify the significant differences between groups of hotels. The findings for the 32 hotels analysed show that hotels that pursued certification for internal reasons develop better quality tools and have increased levels of benefits.