Modelling growth and revenue for Swedish hotel establishments

This paper provides first estimates of the determinants of output growth of Swedish hotels based on establishment data. Growth of overnight stays is modelled as a function of initial size, age, type of accommodation, location and hotel prices measured as average revenues per guest nights. The empirical model accounts for potential endogeneity of hotel prices through the two-stage least absolute deviation model (2SLAD) and the instrumental variable quantile regression method. 2SLAD estimates show a positive and significant relationship between hotel prices and subsequent growth. The relationship is nonlinear with a decreasing impact as the price level increases. Growth of establishments is significantly higher for smaller and younger hotels. An important result is that city hotels, in comparison to tourist and other hotels – which are mainly located outside urban areas (in the mountains and at the sea) – exhibit significantly higher growth rates with a gap between 2.2 and 3.4 percentage points. Furthermore, the positive impact of hotel prices on growth is larger for high-growth establishments. Accommodation prices significantly decrease with the number of local competitors with a non-linear form and increase with size. City hotels and accommodation in the capital city have the highest revenues per guest night.     

Service guarantees in the hotel industry: Their effects on consumer risk and service quality perceptions

This work proposes a theoretical model that examines how service guarantees offered by hotels affect the perceived quality and perceived risk of consumers, as well as the moderating effect of corporate reputation. We tested hypotheses with an experiment using a 2 (corporate reputation: good and poor) × 2 (guarantees coverage: unconditional and specific) × 2 (payout: money-back and non-money-back payout) between-subjects design. A total of 222 questionnaires were completed by hotel consumers in Taipei. The results indicate that the type of service guarantee significantly affects the perceived quality and perceived risk of consumers. Furthermore, corporate reputation has a moderating effect on the relationship between service guarantee type and the perceived quality and perceived risk. Some suggestions concerning service guarantee strategies for hotel services are given.     

The development of an e-travel service quality scale

The purpose of this study is to identify the dimensions of e-travel service quality, and to develop a reliable and valid measurement instrument. The concept of an e-service quality construct is first clarified and the processes involved in scale development are then presented. Five core components of e-travel service quality are identified, namely, information quality, security, website functionality, customer relationships and responsiveness. The reliability and validity of this five-factor scale are verified using empirical data, and it is found that the e-travel quality service scale has strong predictive capability in relation to online customer satisfaction and loyalty intention. Moreover, a second-order factor is constructed due to the high correlation among the five factors. Finally, the managerial implications in regard to the research findings are discussed.     

Impact of quality on estimations of hotel efficiency

This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact of output quality on hotel efficiency. It demonstrates how ignoring quality can lead to erroneous efficiency estimates. The study uses stochastic frontier methodology and the model proposed by Battese and Coelli (1995) to estimate the efficiency of 838 hotels in Spain in the period 2009–2013. The key advantage of this methodology is its ability to estimate efficiency and identify factors that explain differences in efficiency in a single-stage sampling procedure. Estimates of cost efficiency, which only include the costs of higher quality, are compared to those of profit efficiency, which not only consider costs but also the revenues generated by higher quality. Results show that quality has a negative impact on cost efficiency and a positive one on profit efficiency. Thus, hotel management should implement strategies that increase the value of their services as a way to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.     

Comparing local and foreign perceptions of service quality of five-star hotels in Sri Lanka

Using the SERVQUAL model, this study analyses the survey data from 400 local and foreign guests of five-star hotels in Sri Lanka. The study discovered local visitors were less satisfied with the assurance aspect of hotel service, while foreign visitors were less satisfied with the empathy aspect. Overall, foreign visitors had higher expectations and perceptions of hotel service compared to locals. The study demonstrates variations between local and foreign visitors’ perception and satisfaction of hotel service quality. This sheds light on differing treatments expected by foreign visitors than their domestic counterparts which is useful in strategic decision-making and service improvement.     

Towards an understanding of total service quality in hotels

The importance of service quality for business performance has been recognized in the literature through the direct effect on customer satisfaction and the indirect effect on customer loyalty. The importance was recognized by Parasuraman et al. [1985. A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research. Journal of Marketing 49(4), 41–51] in the development of SERVQUAL, a measure of perceived service quality across industries. Although the importance of service quality and service quality measurement has been recognized, there has been limited research that has addressed the structure and antecedents of the concept for the hotel industry.This research addresses the antecedents and structure of service quality in the context of the luxury and first class hotel sectors. The data are analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis approaches and a structural model is used to test the structure of service quality.The paper clarifies the dimensions and structure of service quality in the hotel industry. The clarification of the dimensions is important for managers in the hotel industry as it identifies the bundles of service attributes consumers find important. The clarification of the structure is also important as it confirms, in a hotel context, that customers see service quality in its entirety as a second order dimension.     

Is the hotel classification system a good indicator of hotel quality?: An application in Spain

This paper analyses whether the hotel classification system is a good indicator of hotel quality, where quality is defined to be satisfying the expectations and needs of the client. We conducted our research in Spain, where a five-category system using stars is employed. To be exact, the hotel sector of one autonomous community (Cantabria, located in northern Spain) was studied, given that it is these autonomous regions that have exclusive authority to regulate and promote tourism. The results of the study confirm that even though significant quality differences are seen between the different categories, the ranking by quality does not correspond to that by categories. This supports the idea that quality is associated with the delivery of a service according to client expectations, more than it is with establishment category.     

Total quality management, market orientation and hotel performance: The moderating effects of external environmental factors

With the market competition of hotel industry being heated, it is critical that hotels have a breadth of resource and more flexible forms to meet the needs of a changing marketplace. In the past, the relation of total quality management (TQM), market orientation, and performance are equivocal. These mixed results may be due to some factors or not to include the environmental factors. This study adopts the Input-Processing-Output (IPO) concept model to construct all variables research model. The research surveyed samples of 588 and used Structural Equation Model and discriminate analysis for analysis and testing. The results show that TQM positively affects hotel performance. Market orientation positively affects hotel performance. Market orientation has the mediating effect between TQM and hotel performance. External environment factors truly play a moderator between TQM, market orientation and hotel performance, especially when external environment factors greater changes are going to help to build relationship with customer, to enhance hotel performance and further to gain chance of hotel's survival.     

The impact of technology on the hotel industry

This article discusses applications of technology to the hospitality environment. Front office information processing systems such as reservations, guest accounting and room management systems are discussed, as well as their impact on the efficiency of operations. Effects of developments in telecommunications and, more recently, teleconferencing on the lodging (hotel) industry are discussed. Technology benefits, such as energy management and the safety and security of guests and their property, are discussed. This article also clarifies the issues that must be considered in the application of new technology and examines future trends.     

The impact of guest mix on hotel staffing

This article examines the influence of guest mix (independent versus group travellers) on the level of labour input per occupied room. Using time-series data for a major hotel in Hawaii, one of the key findings is that an increase in FIT guest has a negative impact on the hotel's staffing ratio. This result confirms the conclusion of an earlier study done by the author, and the analysis as a whole provides useful implications for hotel management's decision-making process.     

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.     

Customer value in the hotel industry: What managers believe they deliver and what customer experience

Delivering value for customers has become a central theme in business. The paper examines customer value from two perspectives, i.e. that of service provider and that of the customer. A total 231 managers and 385 customers responded to the survey. The results indicate that managers’ perception of customer value is different to what customers’ experience as customer value. The differences persist across different classes of hotels. These results suggest there is a need to align management and customer perspectives to optimize customer value as delivered and experienced. Specifically, hotels should invest in customer understanding and customer linking activities.     

Financing behaviors of hotel companies

To understand financing behaviors in the hotel industry, this study used canonical correlation analyses by examining the interrelationships between cross-balance-sheet accounts of hotel companies. The study confirmed that hotel companies followed the four common practices about the cross-balance-sheet interdependencies identified in the other industries. This study also discovered a few unique financing features of the hotel industry: (1) maturity mismatching between property, plant, and equipment (PPE) and short-term liabilities; (2) adjusting the funding sources of inventories according to the internal and external environments; and (3) high dependency of operating assets on stockholder's equity. This study also explains different financing features across three periods during 1990–2004. The findings are expected to contribute to developing knowledge about the financing behaviors of hotel companies as related to their asset structures.     

An examination of factors motivating hotel outsourcing

The broad range of activities undertaken in a hotel, combined with its high labour intensity and volatile demand, signify a predisposition particularly suited to outsourcing. In this paper, transaction cost economics (TCE) theory, agency theory and the broader outsourcing literature are drawn upon to inform the distillation of 20 outsourcing/insourcing motives. The relative significance of these motives is examined using interview and survey data. While broad support is provided for the TCE model, it is apparent that the model does not constitute a robust framework with the capacity to comprehensively account for outsourcing behaviour.     

Determinants of using operating lease in the hotel industry

This study investigated the determinants of using operating lease in the hotel industry. The hotel industry has utilized operating lease not only for operating equipment but also as a financing instrument through ‘sales and lease back.’ This study found that hotel firms with less internal funds and/or with higher debt ratios are more likely to use operating lease. Contrary to the studies of other industries, hotel firms with less financially distressed are more likely to use operating lease. This study indicated that operating lease decrease as firm size increases, but only up to a certain level, after that level operating lease increase as firm size increases. Contrary to our expectations, the growth opportunity of hotel firms appeared to have no relationship to use of operating lease. These findings contribute to further understandings of hotel industry-specific information regarding what drives hotel firms to use operating lease.     

An expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation

The purpose of this study is to apply expectancy theory to employee motivation in the hotel setting and confirm the validity of expectancy theory. The proposed expectancy theory model for motivation was tested using data from 289 hotel employees. The results show that a modified expectancy theory with five components (expectancy, extrinsic instrumentality, intrinsic instrumentality, extrinsic valence, and intrinsic valence) best explains the process of motivating hotel employees. This study also indicates that intrinsic motivation factors are more influential than extrinsic factors for hotel employees, suggesting that hotel managers need to focus more on intrinsic factors to better motivate employees.     

In search of patterns among travellers' hotel ratings in TripAdvisor

This paper sheds light on ways travellers' rating patterns in the hotel review website TripAdvisor differ between independent and chain hotels. To delve deeper, travellers were classified according to their profiles, namely, business, couple, family, friend and solo. Besides, hotels straddled across four geographical regions, namely, America, Asia Pacific, Europe as well as Middle East and Africa. A 5 (profiles) × 4 (regions) two-way factorial analysis of variance was conducted separately for independent and chain hotels. A qualitative analysis was further conducted to tease out the findings from the quantitative analyses. Travellers' rating patterns were found to differ substantially between independent and chain hotels across both profiles as well as regions. The paper concludes by highlighting its implications, limitations and potential directions for future research.     

Exploring competitive hotel selection attributes among guests: An importance-performance analysis

This study aimed to explore the hotel selection attributes among local guests in the competitive hotel industry in Korea and to test the role of these explored attributes in building behavioral intentions. A total of seven dimensions, which involved 17 intangible and 16 tangible attributes, were identified. The findings indicated that intangible attributes are relatively more important but offer less satisfaction, whereas tangible attributes provide a higher level of satisfaction than perceived importance. Moreover, the importance-performance analysis grid visually depicted the importance and satisfaction ratings of each attribute demonstrating its strengths and weaknesses. All intangible attributes were significantly associated with intentions.     

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.     

Aspects of service-dominant logic and its implications for tourism management: Examples from the hotel industry

This paper introduces the concept of service-dominant logic as a research paradigm in marketing management. It does so in the context of tourism management’s need to engage with wider debates within the mainstream management literature. Moreover it demonstrates the importance of service-dominant logic in uncovering the role played by co-production and co-creation in the tourism industry. These ideas are developed in detail through a case study of the UK hotel industry that draws on new empirical research undertaken by the authors.