International Hotel Companies Research Articles

Women’s representation in the hotel industry: An update five and ten years later

The hotel industry was reviewed to compare the percentage of women found in executive positions in 2023 findings to those found in 2012 and 2017 and to explore those changes. Hotel associations/organizations were reviewed and the number of women in executive positions were documented. The findings reveal the number of women in executive positions in hotel and tourism associations in Canada has increased by 24.87% from 2017. In international hotel associations the increase is 8.17% and there was an increase of 12.88% in international hotel companies. Recommendations to increasing women’s representation in the hotel industry are discussed.

INTERNATIONAL HOTEL SERVICE INDUSTRY TRENDS

Objective. The objective of the article is an overview of the current state of the global market of hotel services, an analysis of trends in the hotel industry. Methods. Data from international hotel companies, data from hotel groups by the number of rooms, and the main global trends in the hotel industry were used in the study of trends in the world market of the hotel industry. Results. The article examines the current state of the world market of hotel services and analyzes current global trends in the hospitality industry using data from international hotel companies, data from hotel groups by number of rooms, as well as the main international trends in the hotel industry. The results of the article are that the hotel industry has undergone enormous changes and destruction over the past two decades. In order to survive in the conditions of modern competition, hotel companies began to introduce innovations and monitor trends in the hotel industry. Hospitality international companies represent an industry in constant flux, where major hotel companies compete with innovation and growth strategies to remain competitive in the global hospitality industry market. The development of international hotel companies is the result of the expansion of the world market of hotel services and reflects the general trend towards globalization. The modern global hotel industry is characterized by several key trends - deeper specialization of services, the use of information systems for technological support and marketing, the creation of hotel chains, the integration of capital with other sectors of the economy, the use of scientific management and the development of a network of small hotel enterprises.

СТРАТЕГІЇ РОЗВИТКУ МІЖНАРОДНИХ ГОТЕЛЬНИХ МЕРЕЖ

The article is devoted to the study of the development strategies of international hotel chains. The purpose of the study is to reveal the peculiarities of organization of international hotel companies, to identify the advantages of the hotel chain form, to classify and characterize typical development strategies of hotel chains. General logical methods of analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison and generalization were used, which ensured the systematization of scientific, statistical, scientific and journalistic information of publicly available organizational and economic data on the functioning of hotel chains. The key place in the study is given to the method of classification with the identification of qualitative, quantitative and dynamic characteristics of hotel operators. The article analyzes the conditionality of the development of hotel chains as a result of fierce competition in the business environment. It was found that the strength resources of hotel chains ensure their high and long-term stability. The advantages of managing finances, marketing, quality, and strategy in hotel chains compared to independent hotels are highlighted and analyzed. The study classifies and characterizes the main types of hotel chain development strategies, in particular, global geographic expansion, consistent focused local expansion strategy, brand portfolio expansion, real estate portfolio development, external orientation strategy, geographic advantage orientation, segmentation strategy, cost leadership strategy, internal orientation strategy, branding strategy, etc. The study revealed the diversification of international hotel chains as a reflection of significant competition in the segment of four-star and five-star hotels of well-known brands. The authors state that the future of hotel chains will depend on the convergence of growing competitiveness with a diverse customer base that is constantly evolving and looking for unique and personalized experiences. The results of classifying the strategy of hotel chains can be used by market operators to select the optimal model of competitiveness, which determines the practical significance of the study.

МІЖНАРОДНИЙ ГОТЕЛЬНИЙ БІЗНЕС В УМОВАХ ГЛОБАЛЬНОЇ НЕСТАБІЛЬНОСТІ

The article considers the international hotel business in the conditions of global instability. It is noted that the functioning of the hotel business and the economy as a whole directly depends on the state of tourism development in a country. An analysis of the TOP-20 countries whose economies depend on the development of tourism is presented. It is determined that the leading place in the world hotel industry is occupied by the European continent, the hotel fund makes more than 55% of all world hotel fund (171 thousand hotels). The hotel fund in European countries, without losing leadership throughout history, is growing annually by an average of 2-2.5%. Thus, the European market is of strategic importance for both leading international and national hotel companies. For example, their activities in the region form the main trends in the hotel services market. The hotel chains of Europe are also presented according to the list of TOP-100 hotel brands of Europe. It is noted that if you combine the mega brand Ibis hotel brands – Ibis, Ibis Styles and Ibis Budget, they will take first place even in the number of chain hotels in Europe. Based on the analysis, a number of key factors have been identified that force hotel facilities to constantly increase the efficiency of their activities. However, world practice shows that even against the background of global instability, the hotel industry remains a reliable source of revenue for the budgets of countries, including Ukraine. Also identified global trends in the development of the hotel business, the main of which are: the development of the hotel business in the context of close cooperation with enterprises in other industries; intensification of the hotel business, which will increase the availability of hotel services for consumers; strengthening the specialization of the hotel business, which allows a clearer focus on certain segments of consumers, taking into account various characteristics; integration and globalization of the hotel industry; individual approach to customer service needs; wide introduction of new forms of information and communication technologies, which allows mobile integration into the world space.

Failure of play on asset disposals and share buybacks: Application of game theory in the international hotel market

The principal purpose of this study has been to investigate the impact of an asset disposal strategy, often coupled with share repurchase programs, by international hotel companies on financial performance, earnings stability and share values. Utilising ratio analysis, stock returns and risk-adjusted measures, the study analyses the differences in performance, stability and market valuations between asset light and more capital intensive hotel companies. The findings of the study indicate negligible differences in most accounting measures of earnings growth and stability between asset light hotel companies and traditional hotel companies with significant holdings of owned or leased property. Drawing on game theory, we conclude that international hotel companies dispose of their assets in an effort to manipulate financial markets and make their stocks more attractive to investors and traders. Notwithstanding the absence of significant differentiation in accounting measures of performance fundamentals, market based measures show that hotel groups failed in the aim of manipulating financial markets. This study recommends avoiding playing this game as dual asset light/share repurchase strategy generated superior risk-weighted returns to that of more capital intensive traditional hotel companies across the period of the study.

Service gap in hotel website load performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how well hotel website load time performance compared against customer expectation benchmarks. In a competitive market, service interactions are important. As customers move to mobile devices, the time to load a website is a critical part of the service delivery. Long load times can lead to poor service experiences, customer frustration and lost business. Hotel website load times on both mobile and desktop devices were examined and compared to service expectations. Design/methodology/approach The study used an online service to assess and compare website load performance using both desktop and mobile devices for 259 international hotel company and sub-brand websites. Findings The time to load hotel websites was significantly slower on mobile devices compared to desktops. Load times on both platforms exceeded 3 s, which is considered best practice. Long load times represent a service gap and can cause dissatisfaction resulting in a potential customer abandoning the website for a competitor’s site, thus affecting sales. Research limitations/implications While the population for the study was robust in size and contained most of the major hotel companies worldwide, it was not exhaustive. Data also represent a snapshot and will change over time. Load times vary based on test location, access device and network traffic. Additionally, web page load times and customer expectations will change as technology evolves. Originality/value Increased use of mobile devices for hotel reservations increases the importance of mobile service delivery. This is the first known study to measure hotel website load times for mobile devices, and to examine both mobile and desktop performance against best practice. The results of this study highlight a service gap, which can lead to loss of business. Given the consistency of the results, the authors suspect that this is an issue that has not been recognized within the industry. This study is valuable because it exposes an issue of website design not generally addressed in the hospitality industry, even though tools are available to monitor site performance.

A scale development study of CSR: hotel employees’ perceptions

PurposeThis study aimed to develop an industry-specific, original, valid and reliable scale for measuring hotel employees’ perceptions of CSR activities undertaken by their organizations.Design/methodology/approachBased on the solid grounding of a conceptual framework and a systematic scale development process, both qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Data were collected from 18 in-depth interviews with CSR/HR managers and employees working in world-renowned international hotel companies and local hotel groups in Hong Kong. A pilot study of 204 employee samples was subjected to exploratory factor analysis to determine the underlying factorial structure of the scale. A further 732 usable samples in the main survey were used to assess the latent structure and validity of the scale using confirmatory factor analysis.FindingsThe scale revealed sound psychometric properties based on the findings from reliability and validity tests. The results of the analysis validated previous research that employees’ perceptions of CSR are a multidimensional construct and the five-dimensional model for the hotel industry consists of employees, guests, local community, the natural environment and owners/investors.Practical implicationsThe developed scale can help organizational behavior researchers to examine the causal relationship between an organization’s CSR activities and employees’ outcomes, thereby enhancing further development of predictive and prescriptive studies that provide prescription to hotel managers with instrumental reason to pursue CSR in an organizational setting.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first scale development studies of employees’ perceptions in the context of the hotel industry.

When cosmopolitan corporations meet local environments: The impact on managerial structure in international luxury hotels

With the rapid growth of global business and travel, many international hotel companies have expanded their operations to China. Effective staff strategy becomes a key issue when corporations face a paradox between their strategic mission in the global context and their daily operations in local environments. Through in-depth interviews with executives and senior managers from hotel associations, international hotel groups and hotel owners, this paper explores the current managerial structure of international luxury hotels and how it is shaped by this paradox. The findings indicate that international hotel companies prefer to assign cosmopolitan general managers to run their properties and maintain company policies and standards, while using local medium managers or seconds-in-command to assist the key executives in dealing with local issues. By rethinking this phenomenon under the wider contexts of globalization and cosmopolitanism, we argue that the current managerial structure represents a cosmopolitan elite culture developed in the context of Western modernity. The influences of the hotel industry’s features and the outstanding characteristics of the Chinese context on the talent localization process are also discussed, and some implications are provided.

Современные проблемы развития гостиничного бизнеса в Российской Федерации

The state of the hotel fund acts as a deterrent to development of the tourist industry in the Russian Federation. In addition, the processes of concentration and integration take place on the tourist market, directly affecting the hotel business. The article analyzes the existing problems in the hotel business and identifies possible ways to solve them, also considers development trends in the Russian hotel business, and identifies problems hampering its development.
 The human factor in the hospitality industry plays a leading role and is an important resource of an enterprise. Professionalism in service, the price of the service provided and the ergonomics of the hotel space have been, and continue to be the success factors in the relationship between an employee and a customer.
 Within the last ten years in Russia rapid development of hotel business is observed. The international hotel companies come to the large cities, the number of small private hotels grows, old Soviet hotels are reconstructed. However the proliferation isn't always followed by simultaneous improvement of quality and level of service.
 The hospitality industry is a basis of tourism infrastructure of any country including Russia that is confirmed by target indicators of implementing the tourism development strategy in the Russian Federation

Analysis of additional hotel services in the international luxury hotels – a case-study from Budapest

AbstractThe investigation of additional services from the aspect of local embeddedness is a novelty in the academic literature related to the tourism and hotel industry. The primary function of hotels is to provide accommodation and other services for the hotel-guests. Secondarily, they may also offer complementary-services and a community space for the city-residents and for non-hotel guests. Due to the globalization, the change in the consumer behaviour and global firms, the question of location and local resources are becoming more and more significant especially in the case of international hotel chains. The international hotel company is a member of a hotel market at a specific location, and it is surrounded by a sociological environment, local people, culture and traditions which have an impact on the competitiveness of the hotel. The author explains the results with the application of the multidimensional scaling model, finding answers for the questions in which ways the local embeddedness can have an effect on the competitiveness of a hotel based on a case-study carried out in a five-star hotel (member of an international chain) of Budapest in 2016.

Инновационные технологии в гостиничном бизнесе

Today, innovation is becoming a major feature of modern economy, as basic innovations are a powerful and strategic crisis management tool. The relevance of innovative technologies proved by rapid globalization of the world market and a reduction in product life cycles, as well as by the need of a strategic approach to upgrade the quality characteristics of products and services. In the hotel businesses innovations involve technological aspects of the production of hotel services and marketing tools.
 In an increasingly competitive hotel enterprises are forced to look for new ways to improve and appeal.
 To remain competitive and develop efficiently, as well as to attract foreign tourists in hotels of Russia there is a need for an active introduction of innovative technologies used by leading international hotel companies. Innovation should not only meet the needs of the client, but also create a sense of excitement from the time spent in the hotel.
 The article gives a theoretical justification of the term "innovation", the features of the introduction and use of "green" technologies in the hospitality industry in Russia and abroad as one of the most important indicators of success and competitiveness of a modern hotel businesses, noted the role of these innovations in the transition to the new course of "green" economy in the process to ensure public safety and the environment, due to inherent "green" technologies as an integral part of management in the hospitality industry. The article also highlights the need for enhanced problem-solving of ecological and economic efficiency for hotel businesses in regions, which receive significant volumes of tourist flows.

A framework for key account management and revenue management integration

Key Account Management (KAM) and Revenue Management (RevM) have been widely practiced in the service industries for more than three decades, but the effects of RevM on KAM remain largely unknown. This paper addresses this neglected area of study in the marketing field by presenting a framework for KAM and RevM integration that aligns the potentially conflicting management priorities of the two. The study uses an international hotel company as a research context to investigate, first, how a long-term relational approach to KAM may have been affected by RevM short-term revenue maximization goals, and, second, how KAM could be facilitated by RevM through an integrated approach to yield optimization from perishable products and from key accounts. The proposed framework is the first attempt of its kind to amalgamate KAM and RevM, involving critical analysis to assess comprehensively the revenue and the relationship value of a key account.

Globalization or localization of consumer preferences: The case of hotel room booking

The purpose of this study is to investigate potential differences in attitudes between Chinese and Western tourists towards various hotel room reservation policies. The study is meant to help the revenue managers of international hotel companies make informed choices on whether to pursue a globalized or a localized approach in the design of hotel room rates and rate restrictions. Three ranges of room prices and four types of rate restrictions are evaluated. The rate restriction policies considered are: a) rule type, b) advance requirement, c) refundability, and d) changes allowed. The results of customer surveys show that the Chinese and Western respondents do not express significantly different preferences concerning room rates, advance requirement, rule type, or refundability. They differ significantly only concerning the changes allowed policy. This result indicates that revenue managers of international hotel companies can take a globalized approach in designing rate restrictions. The identification of these customer preferences provides hotel revenue managers with empirical data on the attitudes of culturally diverse consumers, and this information can enable the design of hotel pricing policies that attract consumers in the global market.

The role of strategic groups in understanding strategic human resource management

PurposeThis article aims to explore how understanding the challenges faced by companies' attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry, this study identifies how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on firm and industry level analyses.Design/methodology/approachSenior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international hotel industry. The value of understanding industry structures and dynamics and intermediary levels of analysis are apparent where specific industries place occupational constraints on their managerial resources and limit the range of strategies and expansion modes companies can adopt.Research limitations/implicationsThis study indicates that further research on strategic groups will enhance the theoretical understanding of strategic human resource management and specifically the forces that act to constrain the achievement of competitive advantage through human resources. A limitation of this study is the dependence on the human resource divisions' perspectives on realising international expansion ambitions in the hotel industry.Practical implicationsThis study has implications for companies' engagement with their executives' perceptions of opportunities and threats, and suggests companies will struggle to achieve competitive advantage where such perceptions are consistent with their competitors.Originality/valueDevelopments in strategic human resource management have relied on the conceptual and theoretical developments in strategic management, however, an understanding of the impact of strategic groups and their shaping of SHRM has not been previously explored.

The impact of revenue management on hotel key account relationship development

Purpose This paper aims to address an identified gap in hospitality literature. It examines hotel key accounts' perceptions towards revenue management practice and its impact on key account relationship development. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adopted for the investigation through in‐depth interviews with account managers from an international hotel company and its key accounts from nine international companies across three main market segments: airlines, corporate and leisure. Findings The findings of this study show that revenue management practice has reduced relationship stability and the trust between hotels and their key accounts due to a number of reasons. These include: opportunistic behaviour such as unexpected contract rate increases and/or blocked room availabilities during high‐demand days; imposed contractual restrictions; and undisclosed cheaper rates being available via other distribution channels from the same hotel. Research limitations/implications The findings provide limited evidence of total commitment between the two parties and support the “states theory” of relationship development, which appears to be more applicable than the “stages theory” since the hotel key relationships did not necessarily follow a predictable stage‐by‐stage development process and any major incidents could lead to an abrupt termination of the relationship. The in‐depth research findings are limited to one international hotel company's key accounts, which cannot be generalized since it lacks the breadth required for comparability with other organisations. Originality/value This paper bridges the gap between revenue management and key account relationship management literature by providing an insight into the key clients' perceptions towards the effects that hotel revenue management practice has had on relationship development.

Expatriate Hotel General Managers in Jamaica: Perceptions of Human Resource, Organizational, and Operational Challenges

International hotel companies employ expatriates all over the world as general managers to help professionalize the hospitality industry. Yet, there is very little research on expatriate management in the Caribbean. The present exploratory study was undertaken to research expatriate managers’ perceptions of managing on the island of Jamaica. Nine expatriate general managers from four and five star hotels were interviewed. Punctuality, educational levels, productivity, and low skill levels were seen as key human resource challenges. Crime, bureaucratic red tape, and shortage of materials were seen as impacting the organizations’ operations. Expatriates adjustment to the Jamaican culture and maintaining standards were seen as key factors for success.

Relationship or revenue: Potential management conflicts between customer relationship management and hotel revenue management

The concepts of customer relationship management (CRM) and revenue management (RevM) have been embraced by managers in the hospitality industry although, in practice, companies may find it difficult to accommodate both fully. This paper examines the compatibility between the two practices and discusses the possible management conflicts that occur from both account managers’ and revenue managers’ viewpoints. Findings gathered from an international hotel company reveal several causes of potential management conflicts including: management goals, management timescales, perceived business assets, performance indicators and management foci between CRM and RevM due to divergence occurring in managers’ priorities and in their approaches to achieving their individual set goals. These differences have rarely been comprehensively investigated in previous studies, yet are vital in integrating CRM and RevM practices.

Expert Attitudes to Management Contracts in the Dutch Hotel Industry: a DELPHI approach

This article reports an experimental Delphi study of expert attitudes to management contracts in the Dutch hotel industry. The study was prompted by appreciation of the apparent trend towards the divesting of property by international hotel companies, which is also explored here. The purpose of the research reported was to ascertain expert views of the implications of such a trend for the Dutch hotel industry, which has a history of risk aversion and aversion to management contracts as a model for hotel operations. The Delphi approach allowed access to a variety of experts regarding different groups and stakeholder perceptions. The findings of the study, which is the first of its kind to address this question in the Dutch hotel industry context, suggest that there is an expectation of greater diversity in the financial arrangements for managing hotel operations, but no inclination to radically change the business practices that have hitherto characterised the Dutch hotel sector.

The impact of hotel management contracting on IHRM practices

PurposeThe international hotel industry's growth has been achieved via the simultaneous divestment of real estate portfolios and adoption of low risk or “asset light” market entry modes such as management contracting. The management implications of these market entry mode decisions have however been poorly explored in the literature and the purpose of this paper is to address these omissions.Design/methodology/approachResearch was undertaken with senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs). Data were collected by means of semi‐structured interviews, observations and the collection of company documentation.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that management contracts as “asset light” options for international market entry not only provide valuable equity and strategic opportunities but also limit IHCs' chances of developing and sustaining human resource competitive advantage. Only where companies leverage their specific market entry expertise and develop mutually supportive relationships with their property‐owning partners can the challenges of managing human resources in these complex and diversely owned arrangements be surmounted.Research limitations/implicationsA limitation of this paper is the focus on the human resource specialists' perspectives of the impact of internationalization through asset light market entry modes.Originality/valueThis paper presents important insights into the tensions, practices and implications of management contracts as market entry modes which create complex inter‐organisational relationships subsequently shaping international human resource management strategies, practices and competitive advantage.

Individualism-Collectivism Insights into the Strategic Behavior of Hotel Managers

This study investigated the potential influence of the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism on the approaches toward business strategy development. A total of 207 responses from hotel top executives from the United States, Malaysia, Thailand, and Turkey were analyzed quantitatively. The results demonstrated that differences between executives from cultures with varied degrees of emphasis on individualism were significant regarding openness to strategic change, strategy evaluation time horizons, involvement of others in the strategy development efforts, and criteria for strategy performance evaluation. The findings concerning the focus of strategic objectives and formality of strategic control were mixed. Implications of the findings for the international hotel companies are discussed, and limitations of the present study and venues for future research are provided.