Boutique Hotels Research Articles

Hotel "Majestic" kao prvi boutique hotel u Srbiji

At the time it was built, Hotel Majestic set the standards for elite hotels and for a high level of hotel management services in Serbia. Its owner, also the designer of the hotel, Milan Minić, fully carried out his intention for his hotel to stand out from other hotels, and become an elite and fashionable meeting place in Belgrade and in global high society. The building is a combination of architecture, fine and applied arts, and at the same time it represents high standards in design, construction and interior design, which makes it a significant authorial achievement of Belgrade's interwar architecture. The aim of this research was to analyze the architectural, urban, artistic and other characteristics of the Hotel Majestic building, in order to re-examine the view that Hotel Majestic was the forerunner of modern boutique hotels, and thus decades ahead of its time. Many authors have written about the characteristics of boutique hotels; however, the definition of the concept still remains vague. By comparative analysis of the available literature and by summarizing the results of this research, it can be concluded that Hotel Majestic fully meets all relevant criteria by which a boutique hotel can be recognized. The contribution of this research in the theoretical sense is reflected in the analysis and systematization of the most important interpretations of the concept of boutique hotels, as well as their basic characteristics. In the historiographical sense, the research provides a new insight into the so far unexplored area of boutique hotels in Serbia. Guidelines for further research could be directed towards discovering new examples of boutique hotels, as well as clarifying their definition and introducing them into legal regulations.

Electronic Word Mouth (E-WOM) as a Way-Forwarding Strategy to Uplift the Profitability of Boutique Hotels in COVID-19 Era

Electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) has gained a prominent place in hospitality industry by providing consumers a preview of the services before they purchase the particular services, since the services are intangible and perishable in the hospitality industry. Within that light, this study identifies the perceptions of boutique hotels operators on e-WOM. The objective of this study is to investigate the hoteliers’ perceptions on e-WOM as a strategy to enhance the profitability during COVID-19 era. The study caters to boutique hotels in the southern coastal belt and the sample consisted from supervisors and hotel managers related with handling e-WOM in boutique hotels. Purposive sampling technique was used to determine the sampling units and structured interviews were used to gather data. The qualitative analysis method has been adopted and conducted a content analysis to identify the data patterns. According to the findings, e-WOM defines the service, is less expensive, builds brand image, maintains customer relationships and is popular. Further the research predicate that capturing domestic markets, promoting uniqueness of Sri Lankan tourism and using brand ambassadors are ways to improve profitability of boutique hotels during post COVID-19 era. Recommendations provided from the findings as; (a) familiarizing with blogging (b) attention to website (c) researching on new e-WOM dissemination channels. The research would help in understanding and identifying the significance of e-WOM to enhance profitability of hotels post COVID-19 pandemic.

Using the Heritage as a Venue for the Boutique Hotel

This article examines the benefits of choosing a heritage as the venue of the boutique hotel. Based on the literature review, the first step is to determine the typical characteristics of the boutique hotel and the heritage and then find a link between the boutique hotel and heritage buildings. Findings show that the benefit of adopting heritage can highlight the uniqueness of a boutique hotel, which enhances the hotel's attractiveness to guests when choosing a hotel to stay into consideration.

Analysis of the experience of renovating industrial enterprises into hotels in China

The adaptive reuse of abandoned industrial buildings is a very hot topic in the post-industrial modern society. The re-equipment of these buildings and territories can be carried out in different directions for different functions: exhibition complexes, public centers, museums, trade enterprises. This study focuses on the renovation of such industrial buildings into hotels in China. The experience of reconstruction and related literature has been studied. The study found that since most of the post-industrial buildings in China are small in size, they are suitable for repurposing as boutique hotels. Large industrial buildings and complexes in mega cities in China can be converted into luxury hotels. Renovation of old industrial buildings into hotels makes it possible to double the average lifespan of buildings approximately up to 60-65 years.

ВПРОВАДЖЕННЯ ІННОВАЦІЙНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ ДЛЯ ПІДВИЩЕННЯ КОНКУРЕНТОСПРОМОЖНОСТІ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА ГОТЕЛЬНО-РЕСТОРАННОГО ГОСПОДАРСТВА

The article is investigated the theoretical aspects of innovation in the hotel and restaurant industry. The scientific analysis of concepts and categories «innovation», «novation» is carried out. It is proved that the introduction of innovative technologies is an essential condition for increasing the competitiveness of the hotel and restaurant business. The experience of innovative activity of the hotel and restaurant enterprise on the example of the Turkish hotel “Pacco Boutique Hotel” is considered. It was found that the hotel management pays the most attention to product and process innovations. With the help of SWOT-analysis identified strengths and weaknesses, possible ways to increase the competitiveness of the enterprise. The main weaknesses of the company are - insufficiently qualified staff, low percentage of external financing and insufficient marketing campaign. The influence of external factors, especially technological, on the formation of enterprise competitiveness by means of PEST-analysis is investigated. It clearly shows that the company follows modern trends as far as its financial capabilities. As the hotel uses a protective innovation strategy, first the experience of the leaders of the hospitality industry market is analyzed, and only then the innovations that have already successfully proven themselves are implemented. The main shortcomings in the innovative activity of the hotel and restaurant enterprise “Pacco Boutique Hotel” have been revealed. The management mainly focuses on the development of technological innovations – product and process, but does not pay due attention to organizational and managerial. Insufficiently qualified service personnel, lack of proper control over the quality of service provision, lack of trainings and training systems, advanced training. Such significant shortcomings of the enterprise can lead to loss of competitive positions, trust of visitors. Practical recommendations for improving and implementing innovative technologies in the enterprise to increase competitiveness are offered. The main proposals are the introduction of the latest methods of training and retraining of staff, an innovative method of quality management and competitiveness – benchmarking, as well as an enhanced marketing strategy on social networks on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

FROM PENAGA TREE TO HERITAGE BOUTIQUE HOTEL: A CASE STUDY OF HOTEL PENAGA

Hotel Penaga is a heritage-listed boutique hotel in the Unesco World Heritage Site in Penang, Malaysia. It was built in the 1920s and renovated into a 45-room hotel in 2008. Hotel Penaga was the first heritage-listed renovated hotel to be awarded Gold by the Green Building Index. Currently, Hotel Penaga is managed by Vouk Hotel Management. Hotel Penaga is committed to environmental sustainability and emphasizes destination marketing in its hotel operations. Achieving a healthy occupancy rate for the hotel is one of the biggest challenges for Hotel Penaga, especially after the pandemic.

ТЕХНОЛОГІЧНІ ІННОВАЦІЇ В ГОТЕЛЬНИХ ПІДПРИЄМСТВАХ В УМОВАХ COVID-2019

The article presents the results of a study of the use of technological innovations in hotel enterprises in conditions of increased competition and an unfavorable period for the hotel business. The largest and most popular world hotel chains are analyzed. The innovations introduced at hotel enterprises are studied. It has been found that all the innovations that have been introduced in recent years are related to Internet technologies. The definition of innovation by the Law of Ukraine on Innovation was provided. The directions of basic innovative activity in the tourist and hotel business were listed. The most popular innovative technologies that have started to be used by hotel enterprises in the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic are singled out and analyzed. Among the technological innovations were studied: chatbots, mobile applications for hotel chains and small boutique hotels. The introduction of digital keys instead of the use of card keys was also investigated. The novelty of the voice assistant technology, which is planned to be used by hotel rooms, was investigated. The scientific novelty of the obtained research results is the updating and generalization of information on the use of technological innovations by foreign hotel enterprises, including world-class hotel chains. The uniqueness of the article also lies in the fact that examples of hotel enterprises that actively apply this or that technological innovation in their activities were given. Thus, this information allows you to see which hotel companies are the most innovative and, consequently, competitive in the hotel market. Further research may be aimed at determining the readiness of the domestic hotel market to introduce the latest technologies, such as chatbots, digital keys, mobile applications for small and chain hotels and voice assistants in rooms. It is necessary to study especially expediently expediency of introduction of service of the voice assistant in domestic hotels, in particular in business hotels of big cities. No less carefully you need to explore the feasibility of creating your own mobile applications for small hotels.

ARTVİN ŞAVŞAT "CAMİ TASVİRLİ" DUVAR KİLİMLERİ

This work; It deals with the examination of three wall rugs with mosque depictions woven in Artvin / Savsat district in terms of raw material, technique, design and usage characteristics. Rugs woven in the Black Sea region among Anatolian plain weavings have an important place. In an area including Artvin in the Eastern Black Sea Region, weavings with rug technique are generally seen. Examples include prayer rugs, divan (cedar) rugs, runners and tapestries. Wool is generally used in the weavings found in the region and it is colored with natural dyes and dyes obtained from a mixture of synthetic dyes with plants. These samples woven with kilim technique are decorated with traditional motifs such as hair tie, tree of life, hand on waist, dovetail / wolf print. The mountainous nature of the region and living conditions have allowed the use of plain weaves both inside and outside the home and for purposes such as transportation. Documentation of these local rugs and their transfer to the future will be important for preserving traditional memory. Rugs woven within the scope of plain weavings in the region consist of the floor exhibition, seat rugs, prayer rugs and wall rugs (kedel). It is known that wall rugs are named as kedel in the region, and this aspect creates an ethnic feature. The size and design features of the rugs differ from other weavings. The three examples obtained are depicted as the mosque as a composition feature. The first example was found in a boutique hotel in Savsat Yenikoy District Government Street, the second example was found in Savsat Yavuz village mosque, and the third example was found in a private collection in Savsat Fatih neighborhood. There are carpets and rugs with mosque depictions in Anatolia, and no documentation has been made of Savsat and its surroundings. In the study, the mentioned rugs were handled in terms of their raw materials, technical patterns, compositions, and sizes, and the data obtained in line with the observation forms were evaluated in terms of design.

Revitalization and Adaptive Re-use in Cappadocia: A Taxonomy of Creative Design Solutions for Uchisar Boutique Hotels

The "architecture without architect" in Cappadocia has always been fairy due to its volcanic stone formations and transforming silhouettes. In 1973, French architect Jack Avizou highlighted the essence of cave houses as vernacular building types and their potentials for local tourism beyond conventional notions of architectural heritage. Upon completing the restoration of cave houses in Uçhisar and transforming them to boutique hotels, he was nominated for Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010. On the other hand, Aga Khan Award winner Turkish architect Turgut Cansever had also been advising for Argos Hotel project in Uçhisar since 1996. He gave importance to the concept of "protection" and preserved vernacular identity and characteristics despite the demands of the tourism sector. This paper aims to explore Avizou and Cansever’s design solutions in Uçhisar’s local context. Building and spatial relations in interiors will be analyzed with cluster analysis and ranked according to levels of novelty. Hence, the achievement of creativity through transformation, combination and variation of original designs, will be displayed. Understanding Avizou’s and Cansever’s visions on revitalization and adaptive re-use are substantial since their creativity shall be a source of inspiration for future sustainable tourism and building practices in a local and global context.

Commodification Stage of George Town Historic Waterfront: an assessment

ABSTRACT The inscription ‘World Heritage City’ bestowed upon George Town (Penang) and Melaka has pinned Malaysia on the global tourism map. Both cities, since their acknowledgement, have been receiving a burgeoning number of tourists, diversification of motivation, and commercial landscape mushrooming within these inner cities. While some may have successfully retained their original form, many heritage buildings have been readapted to cater for other commercial demands. Plenty of heritage buildings have been turned into cafes, museums, and even boutique hotels to cater to tourist needs. Taking George Town as a case study, this study adopted the qualitative approach to assessing the stage of commodification based on the application of Creative Destruction Model (CDM). Data analyses on tourist arrivals, tourism investment, and resident attitudes revealed that this destination lies in the stage of pre-advanced commodification, which refers to a newly proposed stage of commodification to fit the characteristic of the study area. Model modification is required to suit the characteristics of a heritage destination in Malaysia.

An Inquiry Into Achieving Social Sustainability From Boutique Hotels in Sri Lanka

Achieving social sustainability is a challenge while managing the internal and external pressure in a hotel. In Sri Lanka majority of the boutique hotels has not paid attention to the importance of social sustainability and to its impact on economic sustainability. There is no proper guiding mechanism to link the society toward the boutique hotels to drive to social sustainability in Sri Lanka as a win-win situation. This paper aims to develop a good practice framework for boutique hotels in Sri Lanka to drive them toward achieving social sustainability and to explore the internal and external factors that should consider implementing the initiatives to achieve social sustainability. This paper used case study methodology to implement the deductive approach. The author used qualitative data collected from the interviews with the senior management, employees, guests and community leaders. Data contributed to developing the good guidance framework. The selected case is an award-winning group owned only registered boutique hotel. Research carried over a period of one month and analysed using within data through coding. The findings revealed the internal and external elements that should be considered when it comes to successful implementation to achieve social sustainability. In addition, the most applicable key elements to drive toward social sustainability were identified. All these identified elements were integrated to the proposed good practice framework. The paper suggests although boutique hotels implement activities to achieve social sustainability a well-placed framework should place a leading role in achieving social sustainability successfully while extending the benefits to society.

Estimation of Carrying Capacity in Historic City of Yazd for Walking Tourists during Nowruz Holidays

The purpose of this study is to estimate the physical, real, and effective tourism carrying capacity of one of the three pathways defined for walking tourists based on the Historic City of Yazd document in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In recent years, this pathway has been renovated. Mass arrival of tourists select it because of its older and larger number of historical buildings, boutique hotels and handicraft stores. In this research, a library-documentary approach, together with an analytical method, has been implemented. The data was collected from official sources and field studies as well as the data was consolidated by convening a panel of professionals. The total area of the main tourism pathway was first calculated using AutoCAD software based on urban map and, along with other information required in carrying capacity formulas, was embedded. Then, the number of allowed visitors was estimated based on existing limitations. The research findings show that the number of visitors in this area, based on official statistics, is far from its carrying capacity. Thereby, it is suggested that for high seasons, Nowruz Holidays in particular, measures should be taken to control the crowd of this area such as developing alternative tourism attractions, leading the crowding population towards other pathways, planning distribution of tours, specifying time limit for tours, increasing the time spent visiting the site in the first half of the year, enhancing qualities of urban spaces, as well as organizing tour guides and local trained people to manage tourists.

Comparison of Virtual Reality Visualizations With Traditional Visualizations in Hotel Settings

The objective of the current study was to investigate how virtual reality (VR) visualizations compare with traditional visualizations such as two-dimensional (2D) photos as a marketing tool for hotel websites. The specific research question was “How do VR visualizations compare with 2D photos in terms of (1) affective responses, (2) attitudinal/behavioral responses, and (3) cognitive load—that is, task efforts and experiences associated with technology?” A quasi-experimental study was conducted over two time periods with independent sample pools. A boutique hotel lobby and a guest room were captured in 2D and VR formats. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two types of visualizations. The sample comprised 84 university undergraduate students from the South-Central United States. Nonparametric tests were used to test the proposed hypotheses. There was a statistically significant difference between two visual conditions for several variables—that is, pleasure, satisfaction, word of mouth, and so on. However, those differences were not always consistent between the two time periods. Overall findings suggest that the use of VR visualizations as a promotional tool might not be more effective than traditional photos. Limitations of the study include using students as a proxy for the general population of travelers, small sample size, self-reported measures, and narrow conditional scope. Those limitations should be addressed in future studies.

COVID-19 Salgının Oluşturduğu Sağlık Riski Sonrasında Türk Turistlerin Tatil Beklentilerinin Belirlenmesi

Tourist behaviour might be easily affected from a variety of environmental factors in a negative way and the threats towards the health of tourists appear as the main one among these effects. Uncertainty caused by COVID-19 poses a major problem for the tourism sector and tourists. This study aims to identify the expectations and opinions of Turkish tourists towards going on holiday after the COVID- 19 pandemic that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and spread around the world. Due to the various local and regional restrictions in the framework of measures against the ongoing pandemic, interviews were held online through forms. 571 participants took part in the study. According to the results, tourists changed their holiday plans after the outbreak of COVID-19. A majority of the tourists stated that they consider going on holiday in a period between July-October and prefer smallscale accommodation in boutique hotels. In addition, tourists state that tourism establishments must take cleaning, hygiene and social distancing measures. The findings of this study might contribute to shape the activities of tourism establishments.

Environmental management practices in hotels at world heritage sites

Heritage tourism is booming in emerging destinations, creating considerable sustainability challenges. The accommodation sector is an important area of action, yet taxonomies and empirical investigations of environmental management practices (EMPs) have not been tailored to the context of World Heritage Sites (WHSs). This study fills this gap by proposing a new taxonomy and framework featuring items of tangible and intangible heritage. Twenty-five interviews and a survey of 124 hotels across two sites were employed to examine EMPs and their determinants and to explore possible synergies between environmental performance and heritage. Results show that budget hotels, which use significantly less EMPs, prevail within both heritage sites’ boundaries. Guesthouses and boutique hotels, however, adopt a range of EMPs that blends technology and traditional knowledge and they are more likely to try to engage customers. The determinants for adoption are often individual values or exchanges of information with actors that include traditional heritage businesses. Customers instead exert a negative influence over the adoption of EMPs. The study advances the conceptualization of EMPs and their adoption in WHSs and provides insights for heritage managers and policymakers by showing that in the context of heritage, EMPs can include both technological and traditional approaches.

Configuración estratégica según Miles & Snow: evidencia empírica en el sector turístico en la ciudad de Barranquilla – Colombia

El presente artículo resultado de investigación tiene por objetivo identificar las configuraciones estratégicas de los hoteles Boutique de la ciudad de Barranquilla. Teóricamente el artículo se basa en los perfiles estratégicos propuestos Miles Y Snow con el fin de evaluar los perfiles estratégicos, contrastándolo con los factores competitivos de Robinson y Pearce. El marco muestral se encuentra constituido por 60 hoteles Boutique Boutique de la ciudad de Barranquilla, Colombia. Como principal conclusión se puede indicar que los hoteles Boutique estudiados poseen un perfil estratégico heterogéneo, no existiendo un perfil estratégico predominante en la muestra estudiada.

KONYA DA OTEL İŞLETMECİLİĞİNE İNOVATİF BİR YAKLAŞIM: NASREDDİN HOCA TEMALI BUTİK OTEL ÖNERİSİ

Nasreddin Hodja, world famous folk philosopher and joke hero, spent a significant part of his life in Aksehir district of Konya and died there. His grave in Aksehir was later converted into a tomb. Although there are many activities on Nasreddin Hodja in Konya, there is no place to add value to the city in terms of tourism in which this important figure is used as the theme. From this viewpoint; the aim of this study is to determine whether the visitors will prefer this hotel or not when a boutique hotel with Nasreddin Hodja theme, based on the understanding of innovative hotel management, is built in Konya. In order to achieve this aim, a literature review was conducted and a field research was made based on the information obtained. Semi-structured interview technique, one of the qualitative research method, was preferred as a method of data collection. Open-ended questions prepared by looking at research questions were included in the form. Within the scope of the research, interviews were made with visitors visiting Konya for touristic purposes and staying in four star hotels and boutique hotels around Mevlana Museum

Managers’ perceptions of the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings as boutique hotels: insights from Iran

ABSTRACT Due to the paucity of empirical research in the field of boutique hotels, sometimes also known as heritage hotels, this study investigates the impressions of boutique hotel operators regarding the adaptive reuse of historical and old buildings into tourist accommodations. Data were collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 22 boutique hotel operators in Yazd, Iran, in 2019. The results showed that, unlike the investigations of previous studies, the business of boutique hotels is not economical in Iran. The results also show the deficiencies in knowledge and experience of operators and limited ties to the local community despite the recommendations of previous research. The paper also suggests that though the concept of boutique hotels has emerged since the 1980s, uncertainties remain about what defines a boutique hotel and what industry practitioners understand about them owing to the lack of standardized criteria.

Exploring the Impact of Innovativeness of Hospitality Service Operation on Customer Satisfaction

Service Innovation is critical for service improvement and development that enhance customer satisfaction. Besides the importance of technology and tangible products, innovativeness leverages customer satisfaction by stimulating their five senses perception. Service-Dominant Logic emphasises the role of innovativeness in service delivery in alignment with customer perception to create Service Innovation. In other words, innovativeness involves the innovative service clues that drive customer perception when experiencing the intangible values of the operation. Despite the importance of innovativeness, studies for the issue appear to be limited and are especially scarce on qualitative research technique. Thus, this study aims to explore the impact of innovativeness on customer satisfaction in the case of hotel operations as qualitative research. A set of propositions are generated based on relevant works of literature and an approximate of one thousand reviews on the TripAdvisor website. The reviewers were international customers of 20 boutique hotels in Vietnam. The thematic analysis with deductive approach was employed to determine the key themes of Innovativeness that influence customer satisfaction. The findings suggest a conceptual model about the influences of 1) Innovative Humanic Clues, 2) Innovative Mechanic Clues and 3) Innovative Functional Clues on the customers Transaction-Specific Satisfaction. The model explains how customers perceive innovativeness through the five senses and their evaluation on the innovativeness of the operations. The study, therefore, addresses the importance of innovativeness in service operation management to satisfy customer expectation for a new experience.

Booking.com Issue for Small Businesses in Turkey

Purpose – Established in Amsterdam in 1996, Booking.com has become one of the world's largest travel e-commerce companies from a small Dutch venture. Booking.com offers its users access to many accommodation facilities around the world. In this respect, the small accommodation facilities in many parts of the world which registered to the booking.com system and have the opportunity to reach the consumer on the other side of the world.Design/methodology/approach – Cesme is a small province of Izmir, which is famous for its windsurf center, lodgings, and boutique hotels. These small hotels give services with few rooms in a warm atmosphere. Remarkably most of the owner/business exploiter of these small hotels does the most of the work of his/her hotels. Moreover, also they are the travel agency of themselves and had been using Booking.com.Findings – However, it was restricted to use Booking.com in domestic reservations on 30 March 2017 in Turkey. Due to the restriction of Booking.com in Turkey, many small businesses have been adversely affected by this situation. This restriction has put these businesses into trouble in terms of marketing, especially since the service providers that are equivalent to the services provided by Booking.com are not fully efficient at that time.Discussion – This study aims to reveal the effects of booking.com restriction in Turkey, Cesme/Alacati via interview method. In this study, it was interviewed with 12 hotel owner/business exploiter in Cesme/Alacati in 2017 and 2018 to reveal the problems of Booking.com’s domestic restriction. It has seen that Booking.com restriction has various adverse effects on small businesses in Cesme/Alacati.