Hotel Clients Research Articles

Toward Regenerative Hospitality Business Models: The Case of “Hortel”

Due to the ecologically unfavorable state of the living world, any formal commitment made by the accommodation sector for the practical implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies needs to be followed up by a credible plan, courageous action, and an attentive monitoring and reporting phase. Only in this way can high-end hotels in cities emerge as regenerative sustainability (RS) hubs and better amalgamate whole life-cycle thinking and economic performance in their day-to-day activities. This paper provides a detailed literature review of the ongoing transformation of the hospitality sector toward the RS paradigm, which is a concept that underpins Hortel’s business model. Hortel is then contextualized as the first example of an eco-innovative turnkey business-to-business (B2B) service for a high-end hotel with an annexed restaurant. Hortel implemented nature-based solutions adapted to the hospitality sector in order to contribute to local urban biodiversity and bring hotel clients closer to nature through biophilic tactics. Services like Hortel can support, with today’s resources and competences, hotels that are putting at the core of their business model planetary health and societal well-being. It also includes the description of the prototype built at Four Points by Sheraton Catania, the monitoring phase that lasted between 2016 and 2017, and other strategic business-related initiatives. This paper also contributes to the advancement of the literature discussing regenerative business models, which to date has been a largely unexplored aspect of hospitality.

Privacy in hospitality: managing biometric and biographic data with immersive technology

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the implications, risks and challenges of data privacy due to the use of immersive technology in the hospitality industry.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopt a mixed-method approach. Study 1 is a focus group. The authors then provide external and ecological validity with a field experiment conducted with 139 hotel clients at a three-star continental European hotel.FindingsCollecting biometric data results in unbalanced privacy compared to biographic data, as it diminishes individuals’ control over their data and grants organizations absolute power. This unbalanced privacy directly influences consumers’ willingness to disclose information, affecting their choice of hotels and access to services.Practical implicationsHotels should redesign their strategies to accommodate heightened privacy risks with biometric data. This can be obtained by introducing systems that foster customer confidence in data usage and facilitate customers’ willingness to disclose biometrics through immersive technology or biographic data.Originality/valueThis study introduces unbalanced privacy as a unique state due to sharing biometric data. The authors propose a novel doctrine, the uncontrollable privacy paradox, which is a shift from the privacy paradox. The uncontrollable privacy paradox addresses the unbalanced privacy envisaged through consumer powerlessness in data management. This research addresses the literature gap on the privacy paradox by offering a broader perspective, including business, industry and mixed reality considerations.

Influence of CSR Activity, Service Quality and Brand Attitude to Customer’s Re-Visit Intention in Hotel Industry

Hotels are key component of tourism industry and tourism industry is strongly reliant on them. The tourism industry and the hotel sector are most closely related. Corporate social responsibility is a key strategic resource in the hospitality sector. This study intends to investigate probable causes of guests' favorable opinions of hotel.The suggested approach covers environmental CSR, charitable CSR, physical quality, employee behavior, customer satisfaction, brand attitude, and revisit intention. Using samples of domestic and international hotel guests who visited Bali, Indonesia, the model is put to the test. Testing of the model made in this study resulted in customers satisfaction and revisit intention positively influenced by CSR philanthropy. According to hypothesis testing, Environmental and Philanthropy CSR are more important to hotel guests' satisfaction and revisit intention than service quality and brand attitude.CSR is regarded as a valuable resource, especially in the service industry. Only a few research have looked at the combined effects of brand attitude and service quality, in contrast to earlier research that concentrated on CSR activities and service quality. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate the possible reasons for hotel customers' positive perceptions of the establishment. The suggested model considers CSR efforts, service encounters, customer happiness, brand attitude, and intention to return. Samples of Indonesian and foreign hotel clients are used to test the model. In tests of the proposed model, path coefficients from CSR activities (environmental and philanthropic), but not from physical quality, staff behavior, and brand attitude provide meaningful results. According to hypothesis testing, perceived environmental and philanthropy CSR support are more important to customer satisfaction and intent to return than physical quality, employee behavior, and brand attitude. From these findings, it shows that hotels need to make better CSR strategies, especially in CSR philanthropy. CSR can be a good marketing tool to "attract customers" to the hotel industry. The findings have crucial significance for researchers studying the impact of CSR initiatives on customer behavior to effectively manage customers' pleasant experiences with amenities and workers, as well as hotel brand sentiment. This research also has an impact on the hotel industry in deciding a better CSR strategy considering its positive effect on customer satisfaction and customer revisit intention. CSR is a topic that is frequently brought up by the hospitality sector, particularly hotels. By highlighting the essential elements of hotel patron behavior, current CSR literature supported by this study

INFLUENCE OF CSR ACTIVITY, SERVICE QUALITY AND BRAND ATTITUDE TO CUSTOMER’S RE-VISIT INTENTION IN HOTEL INDUSTRY

Abstract: Hotels are a key component of tourism industry and tourism industry is strongly reliant on them. The tourism industry and the hotel sector are most closely related. Corporate social responsibility is a key strategic resource in the hospitality sector. This study intends to investigate probable causes of guests' favorable opinions of hotel. The suggested approach covers environmental CSR, charitable CSR, physical quality, employee behavior, customer satisfaction, brand attitude, and revisit intention. Using samples of domestic and international hotel guests who visited Bali, Indonesia, the model is put to the test. Testing of the model made in this study resulted in customers satisfaction and revisit intention positively influenced by CSR philanthropy. According to hypothesis testing, Environmental and Philanthropy CSR are more important to hotel guests' satisfaction and revisit intention than service quality and brand attitude. Purpose – CSR is regarded as a valuable resource, especially in the service industry. Only a few research have looked at the combined effects of brand attitude and service quality, in contrast to earlier research that concentrated on CSR activities and service quality. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate the possible reasons for hotel customers' positive perceptions of the establishment. Design/methodology/approach –The suggested model considers CSR efforts, service encounters, customer happiness, brand attitude, and intention to return. Samples of Indonesian and foreign hotel clients are used to test the model. In tests of the proposed model, path coefficients from CSR activities (environmental and philanthropic), but not from physical quality, staff behavior, and brand attitude provide meaningful results. Findings – According to hypothesis testing, perceived environmental and philanthropy CSR support are more important to customer satisfaction and intent to return than physical quality, employee behavior, and brand attitude. From these findings, it shows that hotels need to make better CSR strategies, especially in CSR philanthropy. CSR can be a good marketing tool to "attract customers" to the hotel industry. Research limitations/implications – The findings have crucial significance for researchers studying the impact of CSR initiatives on customer behavior to effectively manage customers' pleasant experiences with amenities and workers, as well as hotel brand sentiment. This research also has an impact on the hotel industry in deciding a better CSR strategy considering its positive effect on customer satisfaction and customer revisit intention. Originality/value –CSR is a topic that is frequently brought up by the hospitality sector, particularly hotels. By highlighting the essential elements of hotel patron behavior, current CSR literature supported by this study.

Predictors of Hotel Clients’ Satisfaction in the Cape Verde Islands

Tourism has been fundamental for countries’ economic development, and Africa is the destination with the biggest tourism growth potential. Using 1414 travelers’ online reviews collected from TripAdvisor, the present work aims to understand which variables predict the satisfaction of Cape Verde’s hotel clients. Satisfaction was analyzed using sentiment analysis and ANOVA to predict the effect of the gathered variables on clients’ satisfaction. Results indicate that 90% of the clients revealed positive satisfaction and that nationality, date of stay, and previous traveler experiences affect satisfaction. Contrarily to our predictions, there is no statistically significant evidence that gender influences satisfaction. The findings of this study will help hotel marketing managers to align their strategies accordingly and meet their clients’ expectations.

Establishment of Isolation and Noncongregate Hotels During COVID-19 and Symptom Evolution Among People Experiencing Homelessness-Atlanta, Georgia, 2020.

Local agencies across the United States have identified public health isolation sites for individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who are not able to isolate in residence. We describe logistics of establishing and operating isolation and noncongregate hotels for COVID-19 mitigation and use the isolation hotel as an opportunity to understand COVID-19 symptom evolution among people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Multiple agencies in Atlanta, Georgia, established an isolation hotel for PEH with COVID-19 and noncongregate hotel for PEH without COVID-19 but at risk of severe illness. PEH were referred to the isolation hotel through proactive, community-based testing and hospital-based testing. Daily symptoms were recorded prospectively. Disposition location was recorded for all clients. During April 10 to September 1, 2020, 181 isolation hotel clients (77 community referrals; 104 hospital referrals) were admitted a median 3 days after testing. Overall, 32% of community referrals and 7% of hospital referrals became symptomatic after testing positive; 83% of isolation hotel clients reported symptoms at some point; 93% completed isolation. Among 302 noncongregate hotel clients, median stay was 18 weeks; 61% were discharged to permanent housing or had a permanent housing discharge plan. Overall, a high proportion of PEH completed isolation at the hotel, suggesting a high level of acceptability. Many PEH with COVID-19 diagnosed in the community developed symptoms after testing, indicating that proactive, community-based testing can facilitate early isolation. Noncongregate hotels can be a useful COVID-19 community mitigation strategy by bridging PEH at risk of severe illness to permanent housing.

The Dependability of Event Organizers as Hotel Clients in Medan

This research was carried out due to the development of current Event Organizer business that has entered the hotel services market, especially in Medan City. This makes hotel industries compete to offer the best and various services quality. This study was carried out to find out how service quality influences fulfillment and Dependability of Event Organizer service providers who use hotel services. The population in this study was the Event Organizer in Medan. Using Slovin technique, samples of 40 respondents were obtained. The method used in this research was quantitative descriptive. Data that had fulfilled the validity and reliability criteria then were analyzed through Path analysis which showed the results that the service quality had a significant influence on Dependability. Service quality has a significant influence on fulfillment and fulfillment has a significant influence on Dependability.

Problems and Opportunities in the Hospitality Industry in a Masked and Rubber-Gloved World

As the global tourism industry is under sway of the novel Coronavirus, and the world still remains with a limited medical capacity to threat the pandemic, with no vaccine and with its only weapon of precautionary measures, masks, gloves and lockdown, a part of hospitality industry develops new stratagems and applies new tactics to survive the upcoming financial debacle. The almost worldwide lockdown, the brutal impact of mass cancellations caused by the virus spread, and the people's significantly reduced willingness to travel produce major upheavals in the tourism economy. The purpose of this study is to systematize the problems and opportunities in the hospitality industry in a pandemic. For this study there has been applied the secondary research methodology with several pieces of literature such as scientific journal articles, preprint papers, government documents, data from global organizations and mass media data etc., but no primary research was conducted. As the phenomenon is still ongoing, there is not yet the significant number of published papers about the opportunities in the hospitality sector. The main findings of the present study are demonstrating that, although this situation makes tourism highly vulnerable, the sector is also in a unique position to contribute to broader and just recovery plans and actions. Significant conclusions are the vulnerability of the travel sector and travel restrictions’ effects on hospitality industry, the appearance of a new form of hotel clients - ‘quarantine guests’, and the need of new survival strategies on hotel industry based on virtualization and domestication.

ЕКОЛОГІЧНА СТІЙКІСТЬ ІНДУСТРІЇ ГОСТИННОСТІ ХАРКІВСЬКОГО РЕГІОНУ: СПРИЙНЯТТЯ ТУРИСТАМИ ЕКО-ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНИХ ПРАКТИК ЗАСОБІВ РОЗМІЩЕННЯ

UDC 332.8; JEL Classification: L 85 Purpose is investigating the tourists’ attitudes towards eco-responsible practices for accommodation facilities of the Kharkiv region, clarifying the aspects needed to be improved, and identifying if accommodation facilities’ focus on environmental protection can provide them competitive advantages. Methodology of research. In the study, in addition to general scientific methods such as systematization, comparative analysis, and synthesis, empirical study methods were used. The survey was conducted, which results were processed through statistical methods. Findings. The essence of sustainable development in the travel and tourism industry was revealed. Ecological sustainability’s importance from a position of providing high-quality customer service and tourists’ overall satisfaction was considered. International organizations’ approaches to the evaluation of ecological sustainability for the hospitality sector’s enterprises were systematized. After reviewing characteristics of the tourist accommodation market of the Kharkiv region, the absence of official eco hotels with the active implementation of eco-responsible practices, and eco-certificates’ obtaining were found. In order to identify the importance level of components of ecological sustainability and environmental protection for hotel clients, the survey was conducted. The 408 questionnaires were completed, and the collected data were subjected to statistical analysis. The main socio-demographic features of respondents were outlined, most of whom were men aged 31-40 years, married, and with higher education. The answers were evaluated with the use of the Likert interval scale. Among the indicators characterizing the environmental friendliness in using accommodation facilities’ resources, the comfort of room temperature and rational use of water are considered as the most important. Among the environmental responsibility indicators, informing about local public transport and typical restaurants’ food are particularly important. In line with tourists’ attitudes towards eco-responsible practices for accommodation facilities, their classification was made, and four typical kinds of tourists were identified. It was found that the two largest groups are really interested in the environmental friendliness of tourist accommodation. In general, the answers of respondents displayed a significant ecological orientation and dissatisfaction with the actions of accommodation facilities towards environmental protection in the Kharkiv region. Originality. There was the author’s approach introduced to dividing the ecological sustainability estimates for accommodation facilities into the two сlusters: the indicators of rational use of resources and the indicators of an enterprise’s eco-responsibility. Practical value. The obtained results are the tool, which management of tourist accommodations can use in developing their own marketing policy aiming to attract a segment of environmentally friendly customers. A better understanding of tourists’ environmental culture and their attitudes towards ecological innovations is necessary for strategic planning of regional tourist complex development and forecasting consumer demand for environmentally friendly services of the hospitality industry.

Willingness to Pay More to Stay at a Boutique Hotel with an Environmental Management System. A Preliminary Study in Spain

Since 1990, both people’s recognition of the need for sustainability around the world and environmental management systems in the tourism industry have been growing. Academic studies have primarily focused on the willingness of consumers to pay more to stay in major hotel chains, finding that the incorporation of environmental management systems (EMSs) is a way to save money by reducing costs, while improving the image and competitive advantage of these chains in the market. However, the aggregate environmental impact of tourism activity does not only depend on the practices of industry leaders. It also relates to the degree to which all stakeholders adopt these practices. Boutique hotels fall under the category of small-sized accommodation and are characterized by their size, independent management, and respect for the local environment. Hotel consumers display positive attitudes with respect to green hotel practices, which provides a starting point for motivating hotels to continue working on improving their environmental impact performance. For this reason, the objective of this paper is to determine whether boutique hotel clients are willing to pay more for a hotel with an environmental management system. Two dependence techniques are applied, logit regression and linear regression. The results show that the respondents’ age and income, as well as the strength of their environmental commitment, are determinant factors of whether clients would pay more to stay in a boutique hotel with an EMS. This preliminary study tries to investigate the “willingness to pay” in the Spanish boutique hotels. The originality of this article responds to the demand for a more holistic perspective on the hospitality sector, contributing to the understanding of hotel clients and their willingness to pay more for an EMS.

Kvalitet usluga i zadovoljstvo korisnika u hotelijerstvu Srbije

The significance of quality measurement and the value of components of a hotel service offer can be observed in the connection with the clients' satisfaction. The goal of this paper is to measure the level of satisfaction with the quality of hotel service, i.e. to identify the possibilities for establishing and development of long-term relations with the hotel's clients. Happy guests show a larger degree of satisfaction and loyalty and they visit the hotel again, recommend it to their friends, which affects the hotel's profits, and the development of tourism as a whole. The research was conducted in eight hotels in Serbia. Primary data were obtained by using survey method and 87 respondents, all of which were the guests of the hotels. The respondents expressed their claims on 7 points of Likert scale. The data analysis was conducted by applying the statistical program IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS 20).

Ranking of Performance Assessment Measures at Tehran Hotel by Combining DEMATEL, ANP, and SERVQUAL Models under Fuzzy Condition

An effective hybrid model has been proposed by combining ANP, SERVQUAL, and DEMATEL techniques. This model aims to meet different purposes of the hotels and diverse needs of customers at different stages, that is, reservation, reception, accommodation, catering, and check-out. High quality services are ensured when customer expectations have been provided at the expectation level of the customers or beyond that. SERVQUAL model is used to assess the performance of the organizations in terms of five dimensions: responsiveness, empathy, reliability, assurance, and tangibles. Super matrix calculations and pair comparisons required in ANP model have been carried out using DEMATEL model in order to measure the influence of performance assessment measures on each other. In this paper, SERVQUAL model parameters have been considered as the expectations of the hotel clients. Then these customer expectations have been analyzed using DEMATEL model and finally have been ranked using ANP model. Parameters of SERVQUAL model are comprised of verbal and vague criteria in terms of the responses provided by the organizations and customers. This has led to fuzzy conditions in this research. The hybrid model provided better results compared with each individual model, in terms of meeting customer satisfaction and the organization’s objectives.

Extending the scope of hotel client reactions to employee injustice: Hotel employer reviews on the Internet

Third-party literature is concerned about the way others perceive what happens in organizations. When dealing with the perceived justice of the employer-employee relationship, it has mainly adopted an on-site approach. The scarce research focusing on the consequences of perceived justice for client variables in hotels has shown that it can impact client loyalty. In this study, we adopt an on-line view, and we analyze how the comments posted by hotel employees on the Internet about their work conditions influence guest perceptions. This topic is relevant because it is well known that clients’ perceptions influence client satisfaction, WOM and revisit intentions. Through an experiment based on real hotel employer reviews, results confirm that these comments have an impact on the organizational image dimension of service quality, hotel clients’ satisfaction, WOM, and revisit intentions. Thus, as occurs with client eWOM, hotel managers should be aware of these comments and manage them appropriately.

From OTA interface design to hotels’ revenues: the impact of sorting and filtering functionalities on consumer choices

Using conjoint analysis and choice data from 1492 Dutch participants, this experimental study explores the impact of user interface functionalities on hotels’ customer online behavior and the subsequent economic ramifications for both the search engine service providers and their hotel clients. Specifically, it explores the impact of sorting and filtering on the relationship between a hotel’s placements on the initial search results booking page and the likelihood of being booked. The findings indicate that the availability of sort and filter functions generates a more balanced distribution of booking choices, as users pay more attention to the hotel characteristics that are subject to sorting and filtering functionality. If the sort and filter functions are applied to price, visitors are more likely to choose cheaper rooms, whereas when applied to customer ratings, visitors are more likely to choose rooms with better ratings. The functions affect the search agenda and consequently the economic value of placement in top positions. In addition, sorting and filtering increase the competitiveness of the search engine because it encourages users to apply additional choice criteria beyond merely relying on the hotel’s placement on the search result page.

Exploring the relationship between co-creation and satisfaction using QCA

Customer behavior is one of the key components of value co-creation. Several authors believe that co-creation generates satisfaction. However, few studies exist that focus on that relationship. This study explores the relationship between value co-creation and customer satisfaction in spa services through a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). QCA analysis allows exploring the relations between the variables. The main contribution of this article is going beyond identifying the concrete co-creation variables that relate to satisfaction. The sample consists of hotel clients that use the spa service.

Segmenting hotel clients by pricing variables and value for money

The main objectives of this study are to answer the following important research questions: (a) Are pricing and value-for-money variables good segmentation bases for clustering hotel clients? (b) What type of tourists can be identified through pricing and value-for-money bases? The main conclusion of this paper is that marketers who apply yield management in their firms should take into account price perceptions of clients and that pricing decisions should be made by properly communicating changes in prices and the reasons behind them. Furthermore, two segments of hotel clients are revealed and analysed in the study: ‘price-elastic’ and ‘price-rigid’ segments.

Hotels and Travel Agents

Travel agents book more than 90 percent of airline tickets but are responsible for only 25 percent of hotel reservations. Although there is some negative history to overcome, hotel companies and travel agents are coming to recognize the advantages of collaboration over competition. With the advent of new computer-based distribution systems, travel agents can negotiate with hotel clients for volume contracts, recommend hotels to individual travelers, and consult with corporate travel planners. The partnership is mutually beneficial: travel agents constitute a large and relatively inexpensive labor force for the hotel industry, and booking hotel reservations helps to bolster travel agents' bottom lines as airline fare wars have meant lower commissions.