Abstract
<p>Branded chains dominate sections of commercial hospitality provision; however, the vast majority of firms in the sector are micro businesses employing 10 or fewer staff. In fact most are so small as to employ no permanent staff. In many cases, those running these businesses are not classic entrepreneurs driven by a need to maximise profits and build a business empire. Actually, many are best described as lifestyle entrepreneurs, their key motives are more associated improving their quality of life. This paper reports on the owners of a significant sample of Blackpool hotels. For most, this is their first entrepreneurial venture.</p>
Highlights
The hotel sector in Blackpool is dominated by a large amount of micro-firms, typically managed by owner managers operating just one hotel and employing few if any staff, normally family members, often referred to as “family” or “lifestyle” businesses (Beaver & Lashley, 1998; Getz, Carlsen, & Morrison, 2004; Lashley & Rowson, 2003; Thomas, Lashley, Rowson, Xie, Jameson, Eaglen, Lincoln, & Parsons, 2000)
Eighty-two per cent of the respondents had lived in a dwelling house prior to starting in the hotel business, with only 10.8% moving from another hotel, and 6.7% whom had lived at another business address prior to moving into the hotel
We used to have [a] kitchen business but it has been difficult to get good reliable staff for some time and so we were looking for another business that we could work in and not require many employees, and a small hotel seemed ideal, we did some research and found Blackpool to be the best place to buy, longest season and cheapest prices for hotel property compared to many other places we looked at
Summary
The hotel sector in Blackpool is dominated by a large amount of micro-firms, typically managed by owner managers operating just one hotel and employing few if any staff, normally family members, often referred to as “family” or “lifestyle” businesses (Beaver & Lashley, 1998; Getz, Carlsen, & Morrison, 2004; Lashley & Rowson, 2003; Thomas, Lashley, Rowson, Xie, Jameson, Eaglen, Lincoln, & Parsons, 2000). Many of these micro- firms are operated by owners who are not entrepreneurial in the true sense of the word, but are driven by personal and lifestyle reasons that dominate motives for operating the hotel. The low skill base of hotel owners limits the quality experiences to visitors and creates concerns amongst tourism officials attempting to promote these seaside destinations (Agarwal & Shaw, 2007)
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