Greek Hotel Research Articles

Impact assessment of contemporary international and national accounting standards adoption: evidence from Greek hotels

PurposeThis paper aims to offer new insights on how the adoption of contemporary international accounting standards can affect the financial performance of a hotel. It provides significant input for strategic decision making in property management, especially in countries where hotels properties are given a choice between different accounting standards.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from 3-, 4- and 5- star hotels in Greece, through primary research with questionnaires, filled by hotel financial managers. Greece was selected because hotels can choose between national and international accounting standards; therefore, the research could focus on actual factors beyond mandatory adoption.FindingsMicroeconomic factors such as category or legal form of the hotel in combination with other factors can affect the perceived benefits of the selected accounting standards. Macroeconomic factors such as the overall tourism development of the destination also affect the perceived impact.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was targeted at hotel executives with knowledge and participation in decision making regarding accounting standards. This requirement limited the sample since all hotels do not have a financial manager position.Practical implicationsThe new knowledge can be utilized in property management as an element of hospitality strategic planning for improved assessment of anticipated effects resulting from the adoption of specific accounting standards.Originality/valueThe research fills a gap in existing knowledge by introducing elements not previously examined; additionally, it expands previous knowledge from other sectors to hospitality and tourism, while verifying or rejecting past findings.

Environmental management decision-making in Greek hotels: barriers and drivers to sustainability

Environmental management decision-making in Greek hotels: barriers and drivers to sustainability

Examining the Interrelationships Among Reward Systems, Organizational Climate, and Cultural Changes in the Hospitality Industry

This article aims to explore the impact of a hotel's reward system on strengthening: positive relationships and communication among employees; the creation of a change-friendly organizational climate and cultural change barriers, within the context of a cultural change process in a hotel. Quantitative data were collected from a proportionally stratified, representative sample of 207 Greek five-star hotels' senior executives and analyzed with the principal component method of extraction and structural equation modeling. This led to the creation and validation of three prototype second-order latent variable models, which highlight and depict the impact of individual variables and their importance for a reward system creating an organizational climate for or against cultural change in hotels. The originality of the article lays on both theoretical and practical levels. On a theoretical level, the article's findings manage to fill a knowledge gap through a novel modeling of a reward system on a hotel's organizational climate in times of cultural change. On a practical level, the article findings enable hotels' executives to focus on specific variables of a reward system that can enhance and/or prevent a cultural change initiative.

Exploring the factors influencing energy efficiency in the Greek hotel sector

The current paper aims at enhancing the existing literature of studies discussing the parameters, which formulate the phenomenon of the energy efficiency gap in hotels. Specifically, the obtained outcomes, as resulted by the conduction of a stated preference survey are presented and discussed. The survey was carried out on a representative sample of hotels in Greece in the context of the “Consumer Energy Efficiency Decision making (CONSEED)” project. Emphasis was given on various issues related to the energy efficiency gap, such as the impact of EU labelling scheme, the linkage of the pro-environmental behaviour with the willingness to invest in more energy-efficient technologies and equipment, the lack of information about electricity prices and the imperfect understanding of energy operating costs. The findings of the survey can be used to explain the role of the behaviour in the decision-making procedures for the further promotion of energy efficiency. Theoretical models can be developed with the collected data to examine the energy efficiency gap phenomenon and to quantify the contribution of different factors to its formulation including the calculation of the implicit discount rate. Finally, the design of more effective policies can be supported with the findings of the paper maximizing the private and social benefits, which are associated with the purchase of energy-efficient technologies and equipment in the hotel sector.

Crisis management in the Greek hotel industry in response to COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT The aim of this research is to investigate crisis management practices in the hotel industry, in light of the new challenges that have emerged during COVID-19 pandemic. For this reason, an empirical research was conducted in leading hotels in Greece. The analysis generated five categories of crisis management practices that can be used by the industry for its recovery. Government practices and marketing practices are considered more important than operations practices, cost reduction practices and pricing practices; it has likewise been decided to be used more. We also found that there are differences in the importance and the extent of use of crisis management practices that have been decided by hoteliers, based on the characteristics of their hotels.

Non-performing loans in the hotel industry: The case of Greece

Throughout the Greek economic crisis, the problem of rising stock of non-performing loans (NPLs)[1] gradually evolved into one of the most challenging structural deficiencies faced by the Greek banking sector. Despite outstanding performance of the Greek tourism sector, which over the last five years attracted record number of tourists each year, NPLs in the hotel sector remain widespread. The objective of this study is to identify macroeconomic factors and sector-specific characteristics, which led to NPL stock piling in Greek tourism sector. Our findings are supported by rare dataset on NPLs in Greek hospitality sector compiled from publicly available sources. We apply descriptive quantitative analysis to the data from the Bank of Greece, the Hellenic Statistical Authority and other official sources. We found that, despite the record performance of the Greek tourism sector, hotel loans are as problematic as loans issued to other sectors of the Greek economy. Our findings contribute to the NPL literature by providing valuable insights for the Greek hotel industry’s NPL stock, especially in view of the fact that such academic research has not been conducted before.
 
 [1]The term ‘NPLs’ is used as a shorthand term to denote all Non-Performing Exposures (NPEs) (ECB, 2017).When a customer delays payment of a loan that is subject to a specific contract with a bank for more than a predetermined number of days then this is considered NPL. Depending on the country, bank, and applicable provisions, the number of days may refer to more than 30, 60 or 90 days (IMF, 2011). The European Supervisory Authorities consider a loan as non-performing when the borrower has been late for more than 90 days to pay the agreed installments to the financial institution that has contracted the contract. According to the European Central Bank (2016), loans repaid by the borrower within the agreed term are considered to be "serviced". Due to the fact that the definition of NPLs is based on a variety of different interpretations, the European Banking Authority attempted to give a single definition through the term ‘NPEs’. NPEs include not only loans but all debt instruments (loans, advances and debt securities) as well as off-balance sheet exposures. NPEs include either of the two criteria:
 - Long-term openings that have exceeded the 90-day limit,
 - "Uncertainty collection" exposures qualifying as non-serving, although they are either current or have a delay of less than 90 days.

The growth of Greek hotels before and during the crisis

ABSTRACT This paper aims at determining the critical factors affecting the growth of the tourism sector in Greece, by using data for an extensive panel of Greek tourism enterprises for 2005–2016 period. As the Greek economy is trying to recover from a deep and prolonged recession, exploring growth issues in specific sectors could help identify those sectors which could act as drivers of growth for the Greek economy out of the recession. The tourism sector, which accounts for almost 25% of GDP in Greece (directly and indirectly), is an obvious candidate for contributing to this goal. The econometric results suggest that the recent crisis has resulted to a differentiation of the determinants of growth of Greek tourism firms.

The effects of high performance work systems in employees' service-oriented OCB.

The present research investigates the effects of "High Performance Work Systems (HPWS)" on employees' "work engagement" and "service-oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)", through the development of a social and justice climate. In doing so, "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM)" was applied based on a convenient sample of 448 customer-contact hotel employees across ten Greek hotel organizations. In summary, the study reveals first the valuable contribution of HPWS towards the development of a justice and service climate, which in turn influence positively employees' work engagement. As a consequence, employees respond by exhibiting extra role behaviors and by engaging in service-oriented OCB. Overall, the findings clarify the mechanism behind the HPWS process, known as the "black-box", a valuable knowledge for professionals practicing Human Resource Management (HRM).

Deregulation and institutional conversion in the Greek hotel industry: an employment relations model in transition

ABSTRACTBefore the debt crisis of 2010 forced Greece into almost permanent austerity, its hotel workers enjoyed wages and conditions (through a sector collective agreement) similar to those in other economic sectors. This was against the international trend where low wages and poor conditions were standard. Sweeping deregulation by Greek governments has brought much of the hotel industry into line with other countries. The sector agreement, now covering a much smaller proportion of the workforce, survived but has experienced ‘institutional conversion’, delivering a much poorer outcome. Despite buoyant tourism, institutional deregulation and derogation have delivered the employers' major objective of matching the workforce to the fluctuating demand for labour.

Possibilities of Using Fuel Cells for Energy Generation in Greek Hotels

Possibilities of Using Fuel Cells for Energy Generation in Greek Hotels

Social media adoption among small and medium-sized Greek hotels: a survey about its antecedents and its impact on performance outcomes

The use of social media in the hotel industry comprises a great challenge for marketing executives. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the use of social media (SM) among hotel firms, the role of organisational characteristics in SM adoption, and then the impact of SM adoption level on hotel performance outcomes. Using a sample of 60 small and mid-sized hotels located in Crete Island, Greece, we collected data through a questionnaire designed for hotel managers. The findings revealed that hotels are increasingly adopting social media. The results also indicated that the degree of previous experience and the satisfaction from the use of SM are highly related to SM adoption, while hotel size and hotel rating do not have a significant effect on social media adoption. Also, the adoption level of social media is an effective determinant of performance benefits. Managerial implications are being provided for tourism marketing and for hoteliers who want to adopt social media marketing tools.

Social media adoption among small and medium-sized Greek hotels: a survey about its antecedents and its impact on performance outcomes

Social media adoption among small and medium-sized Greek hotels: a survey about its antecedents and its impact on performance outcomes

Sustainable technologies in tourist accommodation: a qualitative review

Comprising all the aspects of the hotel sustainable technologies in a single 'state-of-the-art' paper is something missing from up-to-date tourist literature. Information on the subject is fragmented in various articles, web resources and the records of relevant tourism institutions and organisations. The concept of sustainability in this paper deals only with environmental (water, energy, waste, food and certification), social (local support and ethics) and technological (construction, smart applications and artificial intelligence) aspects. The sample of the study comprises Greek hotels with relevant published information on the internet. A corresponding quantitative review is topic of another paper. The reason we focus on Greek hotels is the importance of tourism for the Greek economy. Results demonstrate the vast variety of sustainability standards some hotels have accomplished. It is envisaged that this paper will serve as a blueprint first for hoteliers, providing them with a benchmark in their businesses and an ideal sustainable reference point and second it may also help policy makers to obtain a qualitative overview of hotel sustainability in Greece and thus equip them with knowledge in designing policy measures aiming at the promotion and further advancement of sustainability in Greek hotels.

Hotel Recruitment and Selection Practices: The Case of the Greek Hotel Industry

Hotel industry, as a service industry, is greatly dependent upon its employees. Recruitment and Selection practices constitute an important starting stage for hotels towards generating an efficient and productive workforce. The present study, by focusing on 5* and 4* hotels, examines the current trends in the implementation and effectiveness of recruitment and selection practices in the Greek hotel industry, controlling for class category, size and ownership. An inferential quantitative research design was used, and an online survey was conducted, using a seven–point questionnaire. The study concludes that hotel industry, at least in Greece, is still using old – fashioned and cost effective recruitment and selection methods. Findings also outline that 5* and 4* hotels do not differentiate their mix of methods used in recruiting and selecting future employees. Internal recruitment methods are mostly considered to be effective in contrast to external recruitment methods. While interviews and reference checks are listed at the top of the effectiveness list of selection methods. The findings of this research enhance industry understanding of the use and effectiveness of recruitment and selection methods and indicate the need for hotels of superior class to re–examine their recruitment and selection methods and adopt more contemporary ones in their mix.

The role of relationship quality in raising organizational change acceptance: The case of the Greek hotel industry

ABSTRACTThis study examines whether the quality of an employee's relationships, within the context of the hotel industry, has an influence on their behavioral intention towards organizational change. The researchers suggest that the quality of relationships is an important element of an individual's social capital and can be evaluated using five key dimensions: the extent to which relationships are tangible, responsive and reliable, as well as the extent to which they offer empathy and assurance. Furthermore, this research examines whether organizational commitment and job satisfaction have an effect on the association between relationship quality and an individual's behavioral intention towards organizational change. The data collected from a sample of 100 hotel employees in Thessaloniki, Greece, show that relationship quality has a positive association with an individual's behavioral intention towards change. Additional results highlight the roles of job satisfaction and organizational commitment as mediating variables. Managerial implications relevant to the findings and pathways for further research are also discussed.

Greek Hotels: high NPEs in times of a thriving tourism

In this paper we try to show the big problem of non-performing exposures faced by the Greek Banking System and more specifically the particularities of the Greek Hotels, despite the favorable conditions for tourism. Our objective is to draw some conclusions regarding the reasons of the problem.

The dividend policy of tourist firms pre and during the economic crisis in Greece

This paper deals with the Greek hotel companies with share capital, their way of taxation, and also the way they dispose of their profits. The analysis was based on their published financial data covering the period 2004-2014. The taxation increase, especially in 2013 and 2014 does not seem to have had a great impact on distributed dividends to stockholders. The turnover rate is low in all enterprises. The vast majority of these enterprises raised both their capital and fixed assets, appear to have overinvested funds with respect to the amount of their sales, despite the upward turnover in 2014 and throughout the years of economic crisis in general. The healthy status of Greek hotel enterprises is proven by the growth of their current assets, since 80% significantly increased their current assets, 15% maintained their current assets stable and only 0.05% experienced a decrease.

Economic aspects of cyclical implementation in Greek sustainable hospitality

The circular economy has appeared at the forefront of the agendas of global economic, environmental and social institutions. While the European Commission has stressed the emphasis on zero waste, the circular economy implies more than that. This paper uses a sample of 25 4- and 5-star hotels in Greece with published sustainability reports and explains how and up to what degree, they can be regarded as circular economies. This paper will aid hotel management to understand the loops (cyclical economy examples) present in the hospitality industry and can be used for benchmarking as well as the education of their green teams and the set-up of a green marketing tool. Foremost, the paper can enable targeted policy implementation by central, regional and municipal governments as well as systemised information on the state-of-the art of the Greek hotels, through the first sustainability databank the paper compiles, which otherwise would remain fragmented without much use.

Identifying the critical determinants of TQM and their impact on company performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to enrich the existing literature by determining the underlying structure (latent factors) of total quality management (TQM) practices and their impact on company performance outcomes in the Greek hotel industry.Design/methodology/approachThe research questions were examined using a sample of 153 top-and middle-level hotel-quality managers. Exploratory factor analyses, coupled with multiple linear regression analyses, were used to examine the extent to which elements of TQM influence hotel performance.FindingsThe TQM factors revealed by the present empirical research in the hotel industry are the quality practices of top management, strategic quality planning, employee quality management, customer focus and employee knowledge and education. On the other hand, the performance dimensions revealed through the present study are summarized as: financial performance, customer focused performance and service quality performance. The results also confirmed that most of the TQM elements are antecedents of hotel business performance.Practical implicationsHotel managers/owners using reliable and valid frameworks comprising TQM practices and performance outcomes may better address their efforts by choosing whether to invest in company refurbishing or better train their personnel to maximize hotel performance.Originality/valueThe purpose of this study is to enrich the existing literature by identifying and confirming the enablers and outcomes of TQM specifically within the hospitality industry. Moreover, the relationship between the implementation of TQM practices and superior company performance is also examined due to the past contradictory results regarding this matter.

Sustainability and Energy Use in Small Scale Greek Hotels: Energy Saving Strategiesand Environmental Policies

In the era of climate change, with global interest focused more and more on renewable energy sources and environmental protection, this paperfocuses on a building type with increased energy use: hotels. Initially, global tourism facts and international case studies are presented, illustrating sustainable strategies employed in hotel design to reduce energy consumption. Several decisions/actions taken are presented, illustrating the benefits of a more sustainable tourist product throughout the world, and the effect that has on the guest and the environment. The paper then focuses on Greece, where tourism is the most important industry of the country's economy. Through the presentation of successful case studies, the research presents a list of strategies that are often used in Greek hotels. By discussing compatible and environmentally conscious alternatives, the need for an increased use of Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) combined with sustainable design is emphasized. This work concludes with tables of available strategies per category for new and existing buildings, which can be used by environmental engineers, designersas well as hotel owners in order to draw a plan of actions towards energy conservation and thus the upgrading of the tourist product.The aim of this research is to illustrate that following an energy audit, every hotel owner can decide upon a series of actions with a short payback period, resulting in financial savings and an attractive and, most importantly, sustainable tourist product.