Hotel controllers in the 21st century—a Hong Kong perspective on desired attributes

This empirical study carried out in Hong Kong set out to discover how aware are practicing on-property hotel controllers (OPHCs) and hospitality management graduates of desired attributes for the job of a hotel financial controller. It identified profiles of 21st century OPHCs ‘painted’ by practising OPHCs (practitioners) and graduates and matched these with profiles from recruitment specialists (recruiters) and studies reported in the literature on unit controllers in business generally and hotels specifically. The approach to the research, consisted of a quantitative analysis of secondary data that identified interviewees (practitioners, graduates and recruiters) and themes that were then investigated in primary data collection by qualitative methods (content analysis of discourse). The study found that graduates needed to better inform themselves of desired attributes (qualifications, skills and personality). However, practitioners and recruiters formed a consensus on profiles, both perceiving a distinction in profile between OPHCs in ‘international’ type hotels and ‘other’ types of hotel. Perceived attributes of OPHCs in ‘international’ hotels showed many similarities with their counterparts in business generally.     

Identification of the reactions of hotel managers to new competition

This paper arises out of research carried out recently on the impact of a new hotel on the other hotel businesses which are operating in the same market. To ascertain the possible reactions of hotel managers to new competition and the relative importance of alternative price and non-price strategies a postal survey of 250 three-and four-star graded hotels across the U.K. was undertaken. It was found that a change in published tariff rates is regarded as being relatively unimportant whilst sales promotion is given the highest priority. Disaggregation of the sample by hotel size and occupancy rates does not reveal any significant changes in the relative importance of possible strategies. While the survey indicates that both non-price and price competitive strategies are seen by managers as essentially complementary, nevertheless, price competition in the form of secret discounting of published room rates to mass market intermediaries (tour operators and travel agents) and corporations is particularly important. While price discounting is the ‘private’ face of hotel competition much more research is needed on both the ‘public’ and ‘private’ nature of competition in the hotel industry and how these inter-link.     

Human resource management and performance in the Barbados hotel industry

This article measures the effect of human resource management (HRM) on performance in the hotel industry in Barbados. It used a quantitative survey covering 46 hotels out of a population of 75 hotels. The respondents were hotel's management, being either a general manager, human resource (HR) manager or line manager. Similar to Hoque's study of UK hotels, the impact of internal and external fit and the universal relevance of HRM were tested. The findings showed no major support for external fit, universal relevance and internal fit in the Barbados hotel industry. All the hotels perceived themselves as performing well, given the focus on quality and targeting high spending tourists. A quest for high service pushes the industry more towards best-practice ‘HRM’ rather than best fit.     

Trends in the technology and economics of air transport

The past half-century of developments in air transport are assessed and the current state of air technology and the economics of air transport assessed, particularly the trends since the 1973 ‘oil crisis’. The role of government in the industry in viewed as critical for its future health.     

A travel demand model for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong

The purpose of the study was to determine what exogenous variables best explained the travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong. The 12 years (1984–1995) annual time series data of ‘number of Mainland Chinese tourist arrivals’, ‘China disposable income per capita’, ‘consumer price indices in Hong Kong and China’ and ‘exchange rates’ was used to develop a travel demand model. Seven exogenous variables were selected for the model through a literature review. An OLS multiple regression analysis was performed to identify the ‘best’ subset of seven exogenous variables to determine the demand model. The results showed that travel demand for Mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong could be explained by ‘disposable income per capita’ and ‘relaxation of visa requirements’.     

A strategic framework for terrorism prevention and mitigation in tourism destinations

Tourism destinations and tourists have always been ‘soft targets’ for terrorist activities. Although it is widely acknowledged that it is no longer a question of ‘if’ terrorists will strike but rather a question of ‘when’, ‘how’ and ‘how prepared’ the destination is to deal with them, the crisis management frameworks proposed by the literature appear to offer little help to tourism authorities in the development and implementation of a strategy aiming at the prevention and mitigation of terrorist attacks. This paper first discusses the premise that Destination Management Organizations can and should play an active role in the co-ordination of tourism stakeholders in addressing the threat of terrorism. Then, based on the analysis of interviews with 16 experts on terrorism and tourism, it offers a framework for the development and implementation of a destination-specific anti-terrorism strategy.     

The service economy, de-industrialisation and the hospitality industry

This paper examines the popular view that the growth of services (and in particular, hospitality services) is both inevitable and desirable. It considers the terminological confusion surrounding the term ‘services’ and examines whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the continuing emergence of the ‘service’ as opposed to manufacturing-based economy. The view that the prosperity of the U.K. depends more on manufacturing than it does on services is considered, and conclusions are drawn for the hospitality industry.     

Weekly occupancy fluctuations in Yorkshire and Humberside hotels 1982–1984: patterns and prescriptions

In this article it is argued that the formulation of planning policy for tourism in general, and the hotel industry in particular, requires detailed information on the temporal characteristics of visitor flows in relation to the capacity of the industry to accommodate them. In this light, a detailed analysis is performed on weekly fluctuations in visitor flows to hotels in Yorkshire and Humberside, as revealed by daily occupancy returns in 99 hotels over the study period.Clear temporal and spatial patterns are identified and linked with differences in market orientation, between areas, between hotels and between different seasons.Stepwise regression analyses relating occupancy performance to a range of hotel characteristics confirms the importance of market orientation and identifies other correlates of weekly occupancy pattern.Finally, the marketing and planning implications of the results are discussed, and different marketing options for improved occupancy performance are outlined.     

Developing a Forecast System for Hotel Occupancy Rate Using Integrated ARIMA Models

Abstract

International tourist hotels play a consequential role in the development of the tourism industry. The occupancy rate is usually considered a pertinent indicator in measuring the performance of the hotels. This study employs the ARIMA and ARIMA transfer function model incorporated with the Box-Cox transformation function for the forecasting of occupancy rate. The results of this research find two explanatory variables strongly affect the occupancy rate: one is the numbers of tourists and the other is the Taiwan/ Japan foreign exchange rate. The forecasting shows slow rising of the occupancy rate for the international hotels in Taiwan; it will reach 64.67% by the year 2000. The forecast of the occupancy rate provides important information tor both government agencies and hotel managers so that corresponding management strategies can be made.     

The reliability and rationale of Hackman and Oldham's Job Diagnostic Survey and Job Characteristics Model among seasonal hotel workers

This study examines the reliability of Hackman and Oldham's Job Diagnostic Survey and the validity of their Job Characteristics Model among seasonal hotel workers in the UK. One hundred and sixty-three useable questionnaires were returned. The analyses chosen (multiple and off-diagonal correlations, multiple and partial regressions) are similar to those used by the authors in their original assessment. In general, reliability scores were comparable with those of Hackman and Oldham, supporting the validity of the Job Diagnostic Survey and theoretical tenets of their theory of work motivation. In addition, hotel workers were satisfied with their jobs despite, in some cases, poor working conditions. This likely to be explained by the opportunity hotels provide for social interaction among workers rather than the p-11 resence of ‘tangible’ objective job elements espoused by popular notions of motivation.     

The implications of hotel employee attitudes for the development of quality tourism: the case of Cyprus

In an increasingly competitive market, the issue of quality has grown in significance for tourism businesses and destinations alike. This has been influenced by a number of factors, such as the expansion of consumer rights and the alleged emergence ‘new’, quality conscious tourists. In particular, it is the need to retain or increase competitive advantage that has underpinned the drive for quality in tourism—certainly, many destinations, especially those operating in the highly competitive summer-sun market, are now adopting quality tourism development strategies. However, little or no attention has been paid to the role of tourism industry employees, particularly those in hotels, in the success of quality management programmes. The purpose of this paper is to address this omission. Based upon a survey of hotel employees in Cyprus, it identifies a number of factors that may support or limit the drive towards quality service provision, with a variety of implications for the destination as a whole as well as individual hotels. In particular, hotel management should implement strategies based on reward systems, empowerment and reducing staff turnover, whilst there is an important co-ordination and guidance role to be played by the national tourism organisation.     

Tourist expenditures in Guangzhou, PR China

Tourism took on a new and crucial role in regional development and modernization in PR China with the introduction of the ‘Open Door Policy’ in late 1978. For the first time, the tourist expenditure patterns in the ‘Southern Gateway to China’, Guangzhou, are presented. Per capita tourist expenditure of Hong Kong and Macao Chinese is estimated to be much lower than that of a foreign tourist visiting the region, but the gross contribution is still significant to Guangzhou's tourist industry. Also previous per capita expenditure estimates of Hong Kong residents visiting PR China are suggested to have been overstated by 130% to 300%.     

‘Scientific identity’ of scholarly journals in hospitality and tourism research: Review and evaluation

The objective of this study is to describe the ‘scientific identity’ of scholarly journals in hospitality and tourism research by reviewing and evaluating the approaches and the geographical affiliations of authors published in selected journals. The compiled results are analysed for patterns that appear to reveal the ‘scientific identity’ of each of the selected journals. In particular, scholars can note the particular features of individual journals while acknowledging the width and variety of research designs that are published in these scholarly journals.     

Market structure and profitability in the international tourist hotel industry

This paper adopts Hsiao (1986) panel data techniques, with metropolitan-level panel data from Taiwan, to examine how the market structures of various related service markets and hotels’ locations affect hotels’ profitability. The empirical results indicate that: (1) market concentration in rooms could significantly improve international tourist hotels’ profitability, while concentration in the food and beverage markets have positive but insignificant effects, and (2) the locations of the international tourist hotels significantly affect their profitability.     

Operating synergy and marketplace performance of dual-branded hotels

Dual-branded hotels have received great attention in the industry recently. Our study uniquely examines the dual branding effects in two dimensions of synergy (operation and marketplace) and the role of dual branding composition in creating synergy. Based on the property-level data, this study conducts a systematic analysis to verify these benefits using a fixed-effects model and a matched-sample analysis. There are three key findings. First, the benefit of dual branding mainly comes from operating synergy. Dual branding could lower revenue volatility for all dual-branded hotels and reduce operating costs for those paired with the same-class hotels. Second, dual branding on marketplace performance varies by property characteristics. Third, the anchoring effect is asymmetric. In a different-class dual-branded hotel pair, the higher-class hotel’s occupancy is anchored down but the lower-class hotel’s occupancy is not anchored up.     

Tourism image, evaluation variables and after purchase behaviour: inter-relationship

Numerous authors have pointed out the influence of tourism image on consumer behaviour. Tourism image will also exercise some influence on the quality perceived by tourists and on the satisfaction obtained from the holiday experience. This paper focuses on the relationship between the image of a destination as perceived by tourists and their behavioural intentions, and between that same image and the post-purchase evaluation of the stay. We will also examine the relationship between quality and satisfaction and between these variables and the tourist's behaviour variables. We place the accent on a joint analysis of these relationships, using a structural equation model. The results of the empirical study show that tourism image is a direct antecedent of perceived quality, satisfaction, intention to return and willingness to recommend the destination. The role of image as a key factor in destination marketing is thus confirmed. With reference to the other relationships, on the one hand, it is confirmed that quality has a positive influence on satisfaction and intention to return and that satisfaction determines the willingness to recommend the destination. However, the influence of quality on ‘willingness to recommend’ and the influence of satisfaction on ‘intention to return’ cannot be corroborated. In this sense, further research could be necessary.     

Who benefits more from trade shows: Independent,franchised or chain-owned/managed hotels?

Large-scale events are opportunities for hotels to generate revenue. The literature has attested positive effects of events on hotel performance. However, while large-demand events are associated with room rate increases, hotel operation types may play a critical role in this “event-hotel performance” relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view theory, the chain value model and the theory of strategic groups, we hypothesize that independent and franchised hotels outperform chain-owned/managed hotels when events are held. The empirical application on over 950,000 observations between 2014 and 2019 shows that while chain-owned/managed hotels generally outperform independent and franchised hotels, this situation reverses in the presence of events. This result extends the resource-based view theory and the value chain model by including the short/long-term and corporate/property paradigm in the hotel industry.     

Land transportation and tourism in Bermuda

Tourism continues to be the principal contributor to Bermuda's economic prosperity. The automobile has become the visible symbol of economic prosperity to the extent that past and present policies to curtail the explosion in the growth of vehicles Is ineffectual. Like many island microstates, Bermuda's land area is very small. However, its economic prosperity has left very little room for the expansion of the supply of its road system. The land transportation problems threaten to damage the ‘Bermuda image’, the bedrock of the thriving tourist industry. Current transportation policy excludes rental cars on the island, making motor cycles the popular choice of tourists. Conflicts among means of land transportation, resident and tourist road users and the threat to the ‘Bermuda image’ call for more drastic measures to deal with the problem.     

Innovation and the future of Caribbean tourism

Caribbean tourism is plagued with problems such as high winter/summer hotel occupancy variability and the sensitivity of tourism to domestic political conditions. This article argues that the future of Caribbean tourism will increasingly depend upon its innovativeness — its capacity to anticipate and to respond creatively to changes taking place in the international tourism marketplace. The importance of innovation is evident in Jamaica's Super Club hotels. With their ‘all-inclusive’ innovation, Super Club's performance has far outstripped that of traditional multinational corporations-affiliated hotels. The case for innovation is argued using empirical data collected in 1985 for Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.     

Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality in hotel industry

This study investigated the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality. This study will help hotel managers to develop and implement effective relationship marketing strategies. Effective usage of relationship marketing strategies will be able to improve hotel performance such as share of purchases, relationship continuity, and word of mouth. To analyze data collected from 12 five-star hotels in Seoul, the linear structural relationship (LISREL) model was used to identify structural characteristics of relationship management between service providers and guests. The empirical results of this study were threefold. First, greater service providers’ relational and customer orientation resulted in higher relationship quality. Second, better service providers’ attributes resulted in higher relationship quality. Third, higher relationship quality resulted in higher share of purchases and better relationship continuity and share of purchases.