International Hotel Research Articles

INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AND TOURISM BUSINESS: ANTI-CRISIS MANAGEMENT ASPECTS

Abstract. The aim of the article is creation of a conceptual framework and formulation of practical recommendations for development of the methodological foundations of anti-crisis management in the sphere of international tourism and hospitality services. The key problem investigated in the research is assessment of the scale of crises in the international hotel and tourism business sphere, as well as outlining the conceptual model of the anti-crisis management mechanism with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. The core scientific results have been obtained using the general scientific methods of research, the retrospective, statistical, financial, and factor analyses, the correlation between the studied phenomena and the existing practice, as well as the target-oriented method. The conceptual approaches to identification of the functional elements of anti-crisis management in international tourism and the hospitality services sphere have been determined. The scale and features of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis factors, which have caused lingering destabilizing processes in the international hotel and tourism business, as opposed to the consequences of the 2003 atypical pneumonia (SARS) epidemic and the 2009 global financial crisis, which had been of a short-term nature, have been analyzed. Special attention is paid to analysis of the international tourism environment in the European region, the consequences of quarantine restrictions implementation in the hotel and restaurant business sector are assessed. The internal structure of the mechanism of institutional support for hotel and tourism business, which includes fiscal and monetary policies, tools for human resources management, market intellectualization, public and private partnership, as well as a restart of tourism and hospitality, has been analyzed. The results of the research have permitted determination of the instruments for responding to the crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, formulation of conceptual approaches to identification of the crises sources and the process of anti-crisis management in hotel and tourism business. The practical significance of the obtained results shows the prospects of using the core scientific statements of the article in the practice of anti-crisis management of hotel and tourism business.
 JEL Classification F20, L51, L83, M10
 Formulas: 0; fig.: 3; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 13.

EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF TRAINING ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE UK HOTEL INDUSTRY: AN ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYEES’ PERSPECTIVES AT MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of training on employee performance in the UK hotel industry. It has also analysed the effectiveness of employee performance, impacts of on-the-job training on employee performance, the impact of off-the-job training on employee performance, and the impact of online training on the performance of the employees of Marriott International hotels.
 This study was conducted based on the deductive approach and positivism philosophy. Three hypotheses were developed based on theory and literature. Primary data was collected from the employees who were participated in different types of training provided by Marriott International hotels. An online questionnaire survey through the Kwik Survey platform was used to collect primary data from the respondents. A sample of 172 employees was chosen through a voluntary response sampling technique. The data were analysed through SPSS using standard deviation, mean, correlation, regression, and charts.
 This study found that on-the-job training and off-the-job training have significant impacts on employee performance, while online training has no significant impact on employee performance. It is found that on-the-job training has a significant impact on employee performance as β = 0.846, and p = 0.000. Similarly, off-the-job training has a significant impact on employee performance as β = 0.572 and p = 0.26. And online training has no significant impact on employee performance as β = 0.301 and p = 0.276, which is more than 0.05. Similarly, evaluation of the mean of the scores for employee performance variables suggests that every variable of performance has a mean score of more than 3, and the mean score for overall employee performance is 4.03, which equals 80.6%. This means employee performance at Marriott International hotels based on employees' own ratings is highly effective.

A Research on Hygiene and Ergonomics in Kitchens

This can be met effectively with ergonomics. Today's restaurants have a modern and stylish appearance. However, the interaction between hygiene, an indispensable element in industrial kitchens, and ergonomics should provide the same quality in the kitchens. In the literature, it is seen that hygiene is promoted more effectively and easily in workplaces designed under ergonomic conditions. Accordingly, the main purpose of the study can be expressed as the determination of the relationship between ergonomic factors and hygienic conditions in the kitchen of an international five-star hotel in Istanbul. The study was carried out by interview method, a qualitative data collection tool, with 31 chefs working at different hierarchical levels in a five-star international hotel in Istanbul. As a result, the concluded that the promotion of hygiene in ergonomically designed kitchens is more difficult than the kitchens without ergonomic design, the planning of the working areas in a way that will ensure the safety and efficiency of the staff can maximize the efficiency to be obtained from that business, and the ergonomically designed kitchens can increase the productivity of the staff and hygiene of the equipment.

Evaluation of Contemporary Management Approaches in Hotel Businesses: A Qualitative Application in Four and Five Star Hotels

Intense competitive environment makes it mandatory for hotel businesses to apply modern management approaches. In this direction, the aim of the study is to determine at what level contemporary management approaches are applied in four and five-star hotel businesses. The phenomenology model, one of the qualitative research models, was used in the research. The working group consists of 10 hotel businesses with four and five stars located in Ankara, İstanbul, Muğla and Antalya. A total of 61 questions were asked to the study group. Interviews were held with the managers of the hotel businesses. The data were obtained by content analysis and the findings were presented comparatively in the form of a table. As a result of the study, it has been determined that while the majority of the hotels apply most of the modern management approaches at the high level, there are also the hotel businesses that apply them at the middle and lower level. It can be interprated that this situation is caused by the fact that they are not an international chain hotel business and they do not have sufficient knowledge about contemporary management approaches. As a result of the study, suggestions were made about every contemporary management approach to hotel businesses.

Estimating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international hotel guests in Spain

Estimating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international hotel guests in Spain

How We Failed in Context: A Text-Mining Approach to Understanding Hotel Service Failures

Service failure is inevitable. Although empirical studies on the outcomes and processes of service failures have been conducted in the hotel industry, the findings need more exploration to understand how different segments perceive service failures and the associated emotions differently. This approach enables hotel managers to develop more effective strategies to prevent service failures and implement more specific service-recovery actions. For analysis, we obtained a nine-year (2010–2018) longitudinal dataset containing 1224 valid respondents with 73,622 words of textual content from a property affiliated with an international hotel brand in Canada. A series of text-mining and natural language processing (NLP) analyses, including frequency analysis and word cloud, sentiment analysis, word correlation, and TF–IDF analysis, were conducted to explore the information hidden in the massive amount of unstructured text data. The results revealed the similarities and differences between groups (i.e., men vs. women and leisure vs. business) in reporting service failures. We also carefully examined different meanings of words that emerged from the text-mining results to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of the guest experience.

The Fitting Process

Amid a general trend toward the informalization of employment, the globalizing sector of high-end hospitality services creates a limited number of formal employment opportunities for manual workers in specific locations with large pools of potential recruits. This paper examines the hiring criteria and recruitment process for waiting staff positions at an international luxury hotel in coastal Vietnam. Data collected through interviews and observation suggest that particularly young, taller-than-average, fair-complexioned candidates with foreign-language skills and the financial resources to compensate local brokers through traditional gift-giving rituals are more likely to get formal jobs. Aspiring formal employees perform work on their bodies and outfit to meet these requirements—a process we call “fitting.” The paper makes a contribution to the sociology of labor markets and to the understanding of access to formal employment in the context of globalization.

Does work engagement mediate the impact of green human resource management on absenteeism and green recovery performance?

PurposeThis paper tests a research model that examines work engagement (WENG) as a mediator between green human resource management (GHRM) and absenteeism and green recovery performance.Design/methodology/approachTo gauge the aforesaid linkages, the authors used data collected from employees and their supervisors in the international five-star chain hotels in Istanbul, Turkey. One-hundred and eighty-two respondents completed the surveys.FindingsGHRM fosters WENG. As predicted, WENG alleviates absenteeism and triggers green recovery performance. Employees' favorable perceptions of GHRM (cognitive evaluation) give rise to higher WENG (emotional response), which in turn directs their behaviors such as reduced absenteeism and higher green recovery performance (behavioral response).Originality/valueNo empirical study has gauged the linkage between GHRM and WENG and nonattendance behavior or absenteeism so far. Moreover, there are few empirical pieces in the current literature that have tested the mechanism through which GHRM is associated with green and/or nongreen outcomes.

The Role Of Hotel Public Relations In Crisis Management During The Covid-19 Pandemic

The hotel industry has felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The social restriction policy implemented by the government to prevent the transmission of the virus has made mobility levels decline, and hotel occupancy rates have drastically decreased. This pandemic has created severe crisis management. This research was conducted at two five-star hotels in Yogyakarta to determine how public relations practices deal with crisis management. One hotel is a local brand, and the other is included in an international hotel chain. The novelty of this research is in the nature of the crisis, which does not have a pre-crisis stage. The research was conducted with qualitative research methods and using a subjective approach. The data was dug in depth from hotel management, employees, and customers. When the research was conducted, the crisis had not yet ended, so the researcher focused on efforts to overcome the crisis and had not yet arrived at the post-crisis condition. The results showed that there was a shock from the management over the impact of the pandemic. Therefore, these two hotels need time to overcome the crisis in different timescales. Further, the leadership began to take the necessary strategic steps: forming a crisis management team, working with professional consultants (for international chain hotels), preparing crisis management plans, identifying laws or government regulations regarding Covid-19, and taking action. At the same time, marketing and public relations are spearheading in improving marketing and maintaining the brand during times of crisis. However, the hotel is still faced with the aspect of occupancy amid low supply. Meanwhile, public relations maintain a brand image as a form of investment that can be reaped when the crisis is over.

Effects of brand innovation and marketing dynamic capability on the performance of international hotels

The Covid-19 epidemic has resulted in a dramatic decline in hotel public consumption. Hotel performance must be enhanced through the use of a hotel marketing strategy to compete with others. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the innovation of the brand, dynamic capability of marketing, brand communication, brand experience, and brand performance in Indonesian 3-5 star international hotels. The data for this study were acquired using an electronic questionnaire on Google Forms from 530 customers who stayed in hotels throughout Indonesia prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Smart-PLS 3.2.9 was used to analyze the data using the outer model and the inner model. The findings indicated as follows: brand innovation has a positive effect on brand communication; dynamic marketing capability has a positive influence on brand communication; brand communication directly has a positive effect on brand experience; brand experience significantly has a positive effect on brand performance; brand communication directly has a positive effect on brand performance; brand innovation has a positive influence on brand performance, and dynamic marketing capability has a positive effect on brand performance. This study contributes to the worldwide hotel strategy’s global marketing efforts in order to compete and improve performance in an increasingly competitive hotel business.

Transforming Brand Identity to Hotel Performance: The Moderating Effect of Social Capital

Hotel performance is one of the core concerns for managers and investors. However, a clear pathway from investment in branding to hotel performance is scarce. To fill this research gap, the study aims to explore the effects of brand identity, physical facility quality, and brand equity on hotel performance; and to examine the moderating effect of social capital in the brand–performance transformation model in both international and domestic brand hotel settings. Data were collected from 1,201 hotel managers in China, with 757 from international and 444 from domestic brand hotels. Theoretically, this study represents a first attempt to reveal the indirect roles that social capital plays in the hotel financial performance formation. The identified brand–performance pathway also provides implications for hotel practitioners regarding how to boost desirable hotel performance through both internal and external resources.

FRANCHISING AS A STRATEGY OF ENTERING FOREIGN MARKETS IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Objectives: This paper aims to provide the theoretical basis of a franchise business with particular reference to the hotel industry. In addition, this paper aims to provide a detailed analysis of the world's most prominent franchises in the hotel industry and compare the situation in Croatia to the rest of the world. Methods: Almost half (47%) of all franchised hotels globally are owned by four large franchise chains: Accor, Marriott International, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group. In order to provide the essential theoretical knowledge about the franchise and franchise business, these four hotel franchises are analyzed. Results: Franchise business presents an excellent opportunity for future hotel owners. However, the analyzed hotel groups do not offer direct or indirect financing forms to help interested entrepreneurs enter into a franchise business. Conclusion: A franchise business is an attractive entrepreneurial alternative for entrepreneurs who have lack of knowledge and lack of capital. The franchise business in the hotel industry in the Republic of Croatia is present but not to the same extent as in other tourist developed countries. Therefore, it is necessary to design appropriate sources of financing that would facilitate entry into the franchise relationship.

АКАДЕМІЧНА ДОБРОЧЕСНІСТЬ У ПІДГОТОВЦІ СУЧАСНИХ КВАЛІФІКОВАНИХ ФАХІВЦІВ З МІЖНАРОДНИХ ВІДНОСИН, ТУРИЗМУ ТА ГОТЕЛЬНО-РЕСТОРАННОЇ СПРАВИ

The article substantiates the system of formation of academic integrity during the educational process of higher education students in "Service" and "International Relations" fields of knowledge. The specific features of the manifestation of academic integrity in the educational process of training specialists in international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business have been highlighted. The peculiarities of observance of academic integrity by applicants for higher education during the study of components (academic disciplines), training, industrial and undergraduate practice, writing course and qualification papers have been substantiated. General recommendations on the peculiarities of adherence to academic integrity by higher education students, teachers and the administration of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the training of specialists in international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business have been given. It has been proposed to introduce an integrated indicator to measure the level of academic integrity (academic integrity rating) for an individual student, teacher and a representative of the management of a higher education institution. It has been determined that academic integrity in the training of higher education students and their preparation for work in a particular field (international relations, tourism, hotel and restaurant business) in modern conditions is of key importance. The level of integrity in further work in the field after graduating from a higher education institution largely depends on it, which in turn affects the career, financial, economic and image-reputation success of the graduate. Manifestations of integrity for different areas of work are different, which should be taken into account in the formation and maintenance of academic integrity during training. The main core of the upholding of academic integrity in the training of specialists in international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business should be the formation of moral qualities and traits. An important incentive to increase the level of academic integrity for each individual participant of the educational process (including stakeholders) and in general for higher education institution and its educational units, may be the introduction and calculation of an integrated indicator of academic integrity, calculated using a number of criteria according to justified formulas, separate for the training of professionals in various specialties and fields of knowledge, taking into account their specifics. Emphasis has been placed on the need to take into account the dependence of the nature and level of conscientious work in the field after graduation on the level of academic integrity of a graduate of a higher education institution. Key words: academic integrity of participants in the educational process, training of specialists, rating of academic integrity, dependence of conscientious work in the field on the level of academic integrity, conscientious research in international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business.

ІНТЕРАКТИВНІ СОЦІО-КОМУНІКАЦІЙНІ МОДЕЛІ: ПЕРСПЕКТИВИ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ В МІЖНАРОДНИХ ВІДНОСИНАХ, ТУРИЗМІ ТА ГОТЕЛЬНО-РЕСТОРАННІЙ СПРАВІ

This article is devoted to the use of socio-communication models in the fields of international relations, tourism, hotel and restaurant business in the context of the interdisciplinary orientation of classical research. The main trends in the development of socio-communication space as part of the general information space and the Internet, in particular, are summarized. The commonality of the interdisciplinary approach for the study of communication tasks in the field of interaction as a certain interactive model of communication technologies is proved. The peculiarities of the interactive socio-communication model and its expediency of use in international relations, tourism, and hotel and restaurant business as a part of strategic, image, and business communications are established. It is determined that isolated examples in the fields of international relations, tourism, and hotel and restaurant business prove that the use of this interactive model of communication is a promising area for practical activities in these areas and further scientific forecasting, modeling, and study. The model of interactive communication is becoming relevant, based on the formation of trust by reducing the load in the information space, the formation of trusting relationships (the risk of distortion is minimized by implementing real-time communication). Isolated examples in the fields of international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business prove that the use of this model is a promising area for practical activities in these areas, as well as for further scientific forecasting, modeling and study of features. Areas of further research are determined by the need to use interdisciplinary methodological and theoretical developments in the field of communications and the practical implementation of certain socio-communication technologies in the fields of international relations, tourism and hotel and restaurant business. Further study of the implementation of interactive models of interaction between participants in communication processes will clarify and improve the effectiveness of the implementation of strategic and business communications in various fields.

Corporate social responsibility development strategy as a factor of sustainable development of the international hotel chain Scandic

After extensive training and many years of work in the field of environmental protection, Scandic team members and management are well aware of the environmental impact of the chain, as well as relevant strategies for environmental control and prevention of adverse environmental impacts. Scandic’s environmental work has brought the network an image of an organization committed to environmental protection with strong competitive advantages, including a more recognizable and valuable corporate brand. This was facilitated by long-term strategic work towards the development of corporate social responsibility, as well as support for achieving the goals of sustainability and environmental friendliness.

THE IMPACT OF STRATEGIC DECISION-MAKING ON BUILDING THE HOTEL PROMOTIONAL MIX - A FIELD STUDY OF A SAMPLE OF ADMINISTRATIONS WORKING IN IRAQI KURDISTAN HOTELS

The research aims to show to what extent the managements working in the hotels of the Kurdistan region realize the importance of adopting the mechanisms of strategic decision-making in order to achieve a more developed image of the organization’s performance to reach the standards of modern and advanced hotel organizations in the global hotel work environment, and crystallize the research problem, especially in its field framework. In the exposure of the managements working in hotels in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to problems and situations that necessitate adopting modern approaches to the strategic decision-making processes in order to build nontraditional organizations characterized by modernity to eventually create an organization that can be described as having a distinct promotional message capable of attracting tourists from many locations at the level of the region At least, and not only the activity of domestic tourism, and the study sample was represented by (140) views from the operating departments in the hotels of the Kurdistan region, and those operating within the classification of (5 and 4) stars in its three governorates (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk) as their opinions were surveyed through a questionnaire form It was prepared for this purpose and the data was processed according to specialized statistical programs. One of the most prominent conclusions is that the departments operating in the hotel environment depend on The adaptive method in the decision-making processes, which indicates that it remains in the reaction circle on the nature of environmental changes, that is, it lacks the strategic thinking initiative in the decision-making processes, and one of the most important recommendations of the research is the need for the managements working in the hotel sector to move in the processes of strategic decision-making from curricula Reactions arising from the loss of the feature of reactiveness in strategic work, which is what distinguishes modern international hotel organizations, which are described as making events and not waiting for them to happen.

Experience of creation and development of international hotel chains (using the example of hotel chains “Okura Hotels and Resorts” and “Prince Hotels and Resorts”)

Okura Nikko Hotels is a Japanese hotel chain, the development of which began with seven hotels and the rapid coverage of the international market of hotel services, becoming a player in the hospitality industry in America, Europe and Asia with the predominant development of hotel services in Japan. Its activities are aimed at rapid development and high quality of service, contributing to economic stability and sustainable development in the hotel services market around the world. The article also presents an analysis of the development of the Prince Hotels and Resorts hotel chain, the main stages of the growth of the hotel chain, its geographical location, as well as the main features of sustainable development.

Conference Report: 11th India International Hotel Travel & Tourism Research Conference “Re-Strategizing Hospitality & Tourism: Through Food, Facilities & Films” February 25th – 27th, 2021

Conference Report: 11th India International Hotel Travel & Tourism Research Conference “Re-Strategizing Hospitality & Tourism: Through Food, Facilities & Films” February 25th – 27th, 2021

An Evaluation of the Relationship Between Human Resource Practices and Service Quality: An Empirical Investigation in the Canadian Hotel Industry

Human resource (HR) practices have been recognised as a key function in enhancing organisational productivity and competitive advantage. It has been noted that most studies that are based on the relationship between HR practices and performance indicators (e.g., service quality) in hotels hide an important element that tells hoteliers which factors to concentrate on in cases of poor performance. Our study aimed to examine the influence of HR practices on service quality in the Canadian hotel industry. This study seeks to investigate how HR practices (recruitment and selection, training, rewards and incentives, and internal career opportunities) help to improve the service quality. We used a qualitative method by establishing three sets of semi-structured interviews to obtain data from the top to the bottom of the hierarchy within hotels. We found that HR practices help in delivering high service quality. A key contribution of this study that it offers a workable definition of service quality and then a robust model for the relationship between HR practices and service quality that contributes to enhance knowledge of the causal relationship between them. In addition, our study contributes by identifying which HR practices a hotel could adopt to gain a service quality advantage in the marketplace. The data gathered for the proposed study may limit the findings' applicability to independent hotels that are not affiliated with international hotel chains. However, because of the low number of empirical research and the need to get a deeper knowledge of the link between HR practices and service quality, generalisation of the findings from the current descriptive-qualitative study is not a concern. Further research may include some control and context variables (e.g., hotel ownership type, position level, gender) that we did not include in this investigation. In addition, in the future, we recommend using mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) in order to come up with more generalisable results.

Embracing Tea Culture in Hotel Experiences

Tea forms a part of food and beverage services in hospitality settings and thus has potential for delivering culinary and gastronomic tourism experiences. In particular, tea presentations and services can play a role for tea tourism as a niche within food and beverage operations. Furthermore, tea and food pairings as well as tea cocktails and tea cookies or tea-flavored sweets in hospitality settings while providing the visitor with tea experiences could be profitable for hospitality operations. These specialized tea products and services may serve to brand hotel offerings as different from that of others. In addition, international hotel chains as well as family-owned hotels by embracing national and regional tea traditions can deliver on the authentic beverage services that visitors expect to receive at local destinations. Also, tea culture and traditions can affect the design of hotel facilities and services. Special trainings as tea masters or sommeliers are offered by a few hotel-related tea companies in order to set quality standards and to allow tea sommeliers to rise to a similar recognition as wine sommeliers. Teatime services can be used a signature food and beverage service in hotels, showing the variety of high-quality services and excellence of food and beverage knowledge. Hotels can take this offer as an embracing attraction to guide guests, making them familiar with cozy interior design and a light meal in order to present the abilities of cuisines and gastronomy outlets, too. Creating tea experiences becomes an important instrument contributing to tea-related tourism highlighted by the case of teatime services in international hotels.