Italian Hotels Research Articles

The Impact of Web 2.0 on the Website Use of Small Italian Hotels

Purpose: The digital revolution is causing profound transformations, characterised by how companies and customers approach the market, helping to significantly transform the tourism sector. Traditionally, the Internet was used to search for timetables, find information and compare prices, or book basic tourist products. Today, thanks to Web 2.0, people can create their own trips by following the advice and examples of other users on the Net who have shared the contents of their tour and expressed opinions on their own travel experience. The study aims to investigate how small accommodation enterprises use their website for marketing following the development of Web 2.0, which differs from the initial concept of the Internet because it departs from the classic static websites. Study design/methodology/approach: After the analysis of the literature, which relates to the relationship that has gradually developed over the years between small businesses in the tourism sector and the use of the Internet for marketing purposes, it was decided to carry out an empirical survey on a sample of websites of small Italian hotels. The research hypothesis is that website adoption is conditioned by the marketing communication of the tourist experience that favours interactive tools. Sixty websites of micro-enterprises with less than thirty rooms were analysed, revealing an important use of social media for marketing communication. Findings: The research results show that small hotel enterprises present a limited use of the website, limited to the web presence, while the customer relationship is managed through social networks. Originality/value: This work is believed to provide useful ideas for starting a more substantial study activity in the field of small accommodation to understand the reasons behind the low use of the website.

The Role of Hotel Environmental Communication and Guests’ Environmental Concern in Determining Guests’ Behavioral Intentions

Over time, more and more hotels have begun to include sustainability policies into their operations management. Hotels go green for a variety of reasons, including cost savings, public funding, staff commitment, public scrutiny, investor relations, and general societal good. However, one of the primary motivations for hotels to go green is to respond to rising consumer awareness of environmental issues. Indeed, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of hotels’ environmental impact and seem to appreciate hoteliers’ efforts towards sustainability, enhancing customer satisfaction and contributing to the formation of positive behavioral intentions and indirectly increasing firms’ competitiveness. By reason of that situation, many hotels started to introduce green practices in a proactive manner, with the double goal to involve green consumers and to improve their economic performance. Third-party verified eco-labels ensure that hotels meet environmental performance criteria and provide reliable communication to their customers in this context. We propose a conceptual framework to investigate whether green practices implemented by Italian “Legambiente Turismo” certified hotels contribute significantly to the formation of guests’ positive behavioral intention toward green hotels and the importance of green communication on guest attitude and behavior, starting with a review of the literature on eco-labelled hotels. To test the hypotheses, a survey of visitors from two Italian hotels with the ecolabel was undertaken, and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used. The PLS-SEM analysis leads to accepting eight out of the eleven hypotheses tested. Results from the model testing show the role played by guest environmental concern in influencing guests’ perception of hotels’ green communication and the role of the latter in influencing guest perception of hotel green practices. The findings of the study are useful for hotel managers and decision-makers because they clarify the relevance of environmental communication and guest environmental awareness in visitor recognition of hotels’ environmental efforts. The study also confirms the link between green practices implementation and increased market awareness and loyalty to green hotels.

The Mediating Role of HRM in the Relationship between CSR and Performance in the Hospitality Industry

In recent years, the concepts of human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have gained significant focus across industries. The role and implications of CSR are vital for organizational success; similarly, HRM plays a vital role in understanding, developing, and implementing CSR strategies. Therefore, we claimed that the nexus of HRM and CSR is worthwhile to study and relevant in the current pandemic situation. Despite recent calls about the role of human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in achieving sustainable performance, a few studies have investigated their role combinedly in the hospitality industry, especially in a cross-cultural context. Therefore, the present study addresses the current lack of comparative research about the impact of HRM and CSR on sustainable performance in the hospitality industry of Pakistan, the UK, and Italy and shows the mediating role of HRM in such a relationship. A quantitative methodology is applied to the survey of the employees from 354 Pakistani, 438 British, and 520 Italian hotels working in three-, four-, and five-star hotels. The results showed a positive correlation between CSR, HRM, and sustainable performance. Moreover, the results also indicated significant differences among the three countries analyzed concerning the mediating role of HRM in this relationship.

UJI EKSPERIMEN PEMBUATAN ”ADONAN PIZZA” BERBAHAN DASAR TEPUNG BAKAU SEBAGAI SUBTITUSI TEPUNG TERIGU

ABCTRACT
 Eksperimental Test of Mangrove Flour as a Substitution of Wheat Flour in Pizza Dough Production
 
 Author: Yudy Sunantri
 Politeknik Bintan Cakrawala, program Studi Seni Kuliner
 Institusi: Politeknik Bintan Cakrawala, Program Studi Seni Kuliner
 Jalan Kota Kapur Kawasan Pariwisata Bintan, Lagoi Bintan Utara, 
 Kepulauan Riau 29155 Indonesia
 Email: yudy.sunantri@gmail.com
 This eksperimental study aims to obtain a standard recipe for pizza dough and determine the feasibility of the effect mangrove fruit flour (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) substitution on texture quality, taste and market viability, the eksperimental was conducted into 4 formulation namely TT ( 100% Wheat Flour: 0% Mangrove Flour), Tt ( 90% Wheat Flour: 10% Mangrove Flour), Tb (60% Wheat Flour: 40% Mangrove Flour), TB (Wheat Flour 40%: Mangrove Flour 60%) with fairly decent results. This data collection was done by various respondents from 40% Italian hotels / restaurants culinary professional, 30% academics, and 30% Bintan, Riau Islands residents in order to ensure the quality of innovative pizza dough from feasible basic ingredients of lindur mangrove flour. The data analysis technique was employed to determine the results and conclusions from the four formulations in the research.
 Based on the results and discussion, the mangrove fruit flour based pizza had good results on texture, color and market feasibility indicators, the pizza dough method from lindur mangrove flour can be mixed with wheat flour as its gluten content, because pizza dough is classified as a type of bread dough that requires gluten which highly needed for bread dough.
 Thus the objectives of this research is to maximize and utilize the lindur mangrove type in the Bintan island, those mangrove types are very diverse and can help small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Bintan to make variants of cakes and breads into culinary businesses by utilizing potential sources.
 
 Keywords: Substitution, lindur mangrove flour, feasibility, micro business

Point-of-consumption interventions to promote virtuous food choices of tourists with self-benefit or other-benefit appeals: a randomised field experiment

There is very limited research on point-of-consumption/point-of-purchase interventions to promote more ecological and healthier food choices among tourists. To fill this gap, this paper analyses the impact of different factual appeals including information about taste (placebo), nutrients, carbon footprints and distance of transportation on food choices of tourists at hotel salad buffets. The research pursued a randomised field experiment in two Italian hotels adopting a 4X2 between-group experimental design (appeal content X endorsement). In addition to measuring the actual consumption of salad vegetables by weighting, a short survey was administered on 329 tourists. By comparing effectiveness of persuasion along a continuum of self-benefit vs other-benefit appeals, this experiment finds a higher effectiveness of pure self-benefit appeals stressing healthiness or mixed self/other-benefits stressing local origin, compared to other-benefits that focus on ecological friendliness. These findings are in line with the idea that egoistic and selfish-altruistic motivations dominate in tourism consumption over mere altruistic motivations.

The research-practice gap in hotel revenue management: Insights from Italy

Abstract This paper deepens the knowledge in the field of revenue management (RM) by investigating the extent to which RM practices are adopted by hotels in Italy. Specifically, using a sample of 248 Italian hotels, it aims to identify whether they actually adopt RM practices, to profile them based on the frequency/degree of usage of RM tools, and to investigate whether the organisation’s characteristics (i.e. hotel category, size, location, and chain affiliation) shape the RM practices of hotels. Findings reveal that hotels are not homogenous in their RM practices and the organisational characteristics (category, size, location, and chain affiliation) play a significant role in the RM practices of hotels in Italy. Results also highlight that a wide research-practice gap exists in the area of hotel RM. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations and future research directions are discussed as well.

The Relationship among Family Business, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance: An Empirical Assessment in the Tourism Sector

Tourism has been the subject of great attention of policy makers. The centrality of the sector derives from multiple factors, including the high number of subjects employed within the supply chain, the contribution to developing nations’ economic growth, and the environmental implications of establishing new productive activities. Under this scenario, family holdings play a central role as the main types of organisations active in the sector. In this sense, an understanding of these companies’ financial performance cannot disregard the understanding of the governance mechanisms that characterize the same given the potential divergence between “family” and “business” objectives. The research aims to encourage the development of new empirical evidence about this business model, providing specific contributions regarding the role of family members in companies’ decision-making mechanisms. For our purposes, an empirical analysis based on the evaluation of 343 Italian hotels was built.

Online content responsiveness strategies in the hospitality context: exploratory insights and a research agenda

PurposeThe article investigates different types of strategies for managing user-generated content (UGC) and provides some insights into their implications.Design/methodology/approachA unique sample of Italian hotels with current and prospective customers in the digital environment is investigated. A taxonomy of user-provider interactions mediated by UGC is developed. A mixed approach was designed to meet the study aims. Firstly, an exploratory factor analysis was performed in order to illuminate different strategies of UGC and electronic word-of-mouth (E-WOM) management. Secondly, a cluster analysis was implemented in order to explain hoteliers' behavior toward users' contents.FindingsThe study results suggested the existence of three clusters, which reflected three different types of interactions between hotels and customers in the digital domain. Interestingly, most of Italian hotels were found to adopt a reductionist approach to UGC and E-WOM management, turning out to be ineffective to exploit them for the purpose of quality improvement and hospitality service excellence.Research limitations/implicationsHotels were found to be largely unaware of the importance of UGC and web-based communication with customers to improve their digital business strategy. Tailored management approaches are needed to realize the full potential of hotels' online content responsiveness for the purpose of value co-creation and service co-production.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies investigating the strategic and management perspectives embraced by hotels to handle their interactions with customers in the digital arena.

Investigating financial statements in hospitality: a quantitative approach

The aim of this paper is to investigate, through financial-statement analyzes, the economic-financial performance of Italian hotels, after the international economic crisis, also considering the possible macro-regional differences. The study focuses the financial statements of 5473 hotels from 2009 to 2018. National data are also disaggregated in the three macro-areas that characterize Italy for different social and economic aspects. Anova test and Tukey–Kramer test are used. Results show that the crisis affected profitability. Italian hotels have a low capitalization, unable to cope with the large structural investments that require significant debts. The profitability indicators record similar trends in the three macro-areas, while the financial independence index and the coverage index show significant different values in the three observed areas. Therefore, in the digital era, Italian hotel industry has all the potential to restructure itself. Here five ratios are considered to observe medium sized hotels. Future research with other variables will be useful, even on smaller hotels, and the analysis of their trends by cohorts of companies is necessary, as well as the integration of quantitative data with qualitative evidence. This paper encourages the culture of temporal sector comparison, re-evaluating the potential of accounting information systems, in order to promote data-based growth and development strategies. Furthermore, it contains indications for government officials, as well as for countries in the process of developing the hospitality sector following the example of the Italian experience.

Narcissistic leadership and behavioral cynicism in the hotel industry: the role of employee silence and negative workplace gossiping

Purpose Building on leader-member exchange and social cognitive theories, this paper aims to propose a model of the influence of narcissistic leadership on hotel employees’ behavioral cynicism through the mediating roles of employee silence and negative work-related gossiping on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The model was examined using covariance-based structural equation modeling using data collected from 468 employees working in several different departments in Italian hotels. Findings The findings illustrate that narcissistic leadership positively affects behavioral cynicism. Furthermore, employee silence and negative work-related gossiping are shown to have a significant mediating effect on this relationship. Practical implications The study may be of use for hotel managers as it demonstrates how narcissism can be very damaging to their organizations and employees. Originality/value To date, this study is the first to examine negative work-related gossiping and employee silence as mediator variables in the relationship between narcissistic leadership and behavioral cynicism in the hotel industry. Further, this research makes a significant contribution to the hospitality literature as the topic of narcissistic leadership has not, to date, been adequately investigated in the sector.

Performance measurement and management in small companies of the service sector; evidence from a sample of Italian hotels

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how modern small-medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in the tourism industry perceive and define corporate performance, and how they measure and monitor businesses’ achievements. Actual performance measurement activities are expected to show how (and if) companies manage the key factors that drive value creation and value erosion processes. Are effective performance measurement activities aligned with main theoretical prescriptions?Design/methodology/approachTheory and previous empirical research on SMEs’ performance is instrumentally used to identify those key factors that are supposed to drive small/medium hotels’ business performance; building on a resource-based view (RBV) framework, which provides the theoretical perspective to link resources, capabilities and actions to firm performance, a model based on the financial, the operational and the organisational dimension of firm’s success is developed through the selection of a set of consistent financial and non-financial indicators. The balanced performance measurement model is then tested via a field research study based on a semi-structured questionnaire sent to 540 selected SMEs active in the tourism sector.FindingsThe results suggest that small-medium Italian hotels, typically family firms managed by owners, tend to adopt a balanced system of performance measurement that keeps track of the financial and non-financial dimensions of hotel’s performance; customer orientation proves to be an extremely important leading indicator of non-financial corporate performance. Amongst traditional financial indicators, net profits, profitability ratios such as return on investment and return on sales, revenues for available room, occupancy rate and some cost efficiency ratios are found to be relevant, whereas extensive use is made of non-financial metrics such as customer satisfaction, number of complaints, number of new and repeat customers, employee competencies and staff abilities. Furthermore, some interesting results about frequency of measurement and purpose of measurement are also presented.Research limitations/implicationsData used in this study do not allow for a comprehensive analysis of the correlation between hotel performance and a specific measurement model implemented. Further future research that is meant to be developed will focus on the issue of addressing the nexus between firm performance and resource and capability used as strategic factors and monitored with an effective performance measurement system. The sample can also be expanded to carry out comparative analysis.Practical implicationsThe results shed some further light on performance measurement activities actually implemented by Italian hotels. The evidence gives a contribution to understanding the relationship between critical resources and capabilities that need to be developed and effectively managed to reach superior business performance. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to design and implement a customised performance measurement model, which accounts for firm-specific resources and capabilities and sector-specific features for the hotel to properly manage those strategical success factors that can deliver sustained competitive advantage to the firm.Originality/valueThis research paper contributes to performance measurement literature, by suggesting that the development and the implementation of a simplified but structured and complete performance measurement system, designed on the specific needs and features of SMEs, seems to be a sensible way to improve resources and capabilities utilisation and to obtain a holistic understanding of the achievements of these organisations.

Analyzing online reviews in hospitality: data-driven opportunities for predicting the sharing of negative emotional content

ABSTRACTHospitality is one of the sectors that are nowadays most heavily characterized by consumers’ tendency to share online reviews on dedicated digital platforms. While most past work has focused on understanding the effect of online reviews and ratings on consumers’ evaluation and purchase decisions, this research tackles the issue of what drives the sharing of certain types of online content. Specifically, we investigate the sharing of user-generated content characterized by negative emotional valence, and study the effect of two factors on the extent to which user-generated content contains negative emotions. One such factor is reviewer's expertise, while the other is hotel quality. Our analysis of 1200 TripAdvisor reviews on Italian hotels located in three major Italian cities confirm our hypothesis that expert reviewers might share reviews containing less intense negative emotional content compared to less expert reviewers especially when the hotel is of high quality. To support our hypothesis, we build on the research on psychological antecedents of word-of-mouth behaviour suggesting that expert consumers are particularly reluctant to share negative word-of-mouth to avoid projecting a negative image of themselves in social contexts, thus possibly damaging their reputation.

Reservation Forecasting Models for Hospitality SMEs with a View to Enhance Their Economic Sustainability

In many tourism destinations, sustainability of the local economy leans on small and medium-sized hotels that are individually owned and operated by members of the community. Suffering from seasonality more than their big competitors, these hotels should undertake marketing initiatives to counteract wide demand fluctuations. Such initiatives are most effective if based on accurate occupancy forecasts, which must be performed at the individual hotel level. In this aim, the present paper suggests a demand forecasting approach adapted to specific features that characterize reservation data for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality sector. The proposed framework integrates historical and advanced booking methods into a forecast combination with time-varying, performance-based weights. Whereas historical methods use only past observations about the number of guests recorded on a particular stay night to forecast future room occupancy (long-term perspective), advanced booking methods predict bookings-to-come based on partially accumulated data from reservations on hand (short-term perspective). In order to provide a possible solution to data sparsity issues that affect the application of advanced booking models to hospitality SMEs, a procedure that incorporates length-of-stay information directly into the reservation processing phase is also introduced. The methodology is tested on real time series of reservation data from three Italian hotels, located either in a city center (Milan) or in a typical destination for seasonal holidays (Lake Maggiore). Model parameters are calibrated on a training dataset and the accuracy of the occupancy forecasts is evaluated on a holdout sample. The results validate earlier findings about combinations of long-term and short-term forecasts and, in addition, show that using performance-based weights improves the quality of forecasts. Reducing the risk of large forecast failures, the proposed methodology can indeed have practical implications for the design and implementation of effective demand-side policies in hospitality SMEs. These policies are expected to provide a competitive advantage that can be crucial to the sustainability of small establishments in a context of growing global tourism.

The influence of firm characteristics on profitability

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to inspect factors influencing profitability in the Italian hospitality industry during the period 2008-2016.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the profitability and its determinants using a sample of 2,366 Italian hotels. The author applies a multidimensional measure of profitability comprising return on equity, return on assets, occupancy rate and gross operating profit per available room. The author investigates variables influencing performance and includes them into five groups: market variables, business model, ownership structure, management education and control variables.FindingsThe results show that financial crisis, business model and ownership structure affect hotel firms’ profitability. Particularly, findings suggest that size, internationalization, location, accommodation as first activity and chain affiliation influence profitability positively.Research limitations/implicationsResults confirm the importance of firm-specific factors for evaluating the profitability of a hotel firm. Findings also provide new evidence for academics to assess factors that would guarantee profitability of hotels in developed countries such as Italy.Practical implicationsThis investigation offers valued information and strategic suggestions for hotel investors, hotel owners, hotel managers, tourism playmakers and government.Originality/valueThis paper offers an in-depth examination of the practices and characteristics of profitable hotels in Italy. Few empirical studies examined the determinants of performance in the European and Italian hospitality field so far. Hence, this study attempts to bridge the gap in prior literature on profitability of the Italian hospitality industry.

Does social couponing stimulate positive eWOM and online referrals?

Purpose of the paper : Social couponing campaigns are becoming increasingly popular among hotels. However, while their short-term impacts have been assessed, their medium and long-term benefits for the hotels’ reputation have not been measured yet. The purpose of this study is to provide evidence of the potential of social couponing to stimulate positive electronic word ‐ of ‐ mouth (eWOM) and online referrals to hotels. In addition, this research intends to identify the factors related to the design and management of the couponing campaign, which influence the couponers’ willingness to engage in positive eWOM and referrals. Methodology : The study is based on the content analysis of 564 TripAdvisor reviews posted by guests that have stayed at 76 Italian hotels using a Groupon’s coupon. Both frequency and co-occurrence analysis are performed. Findings : The results show that social couponing stimulates intense positive eWOM and referrals. The analysis also highlights the most important coupon-related factors, which are able to influence the valence (positive vs. negative) of the eWOM. Research limits : The small sample of hotels, considered in this research and the specific features of the Italian hotel industry suggest caution in generalizing the results to other settings. Practical Implications : Hotel managers should design and manage their couponing campaigns carefully considering several factors, identified by this study, which directly stimulate positive eWOM. The findings of this research also suggest that hotel managers could use couponing campaigns as effective tools for their online reputation management strategies. Originality of the paper : This paper provides empirical evidence of the eWOM and referral effects of social couponing. Hence, it complements previous studies, which have mostly considered the short-term effects of social couponing related to sales increase.

How small hotels can drive value their way in infomediation. The case of ‘Italian hotels vs. OTAs and TripAdvisor’

Infomediaries such as online travel agencies (OTAs) and review aggregator websites are profoundly changing the structure of the hospitality industry with consequences in the mechanisms of creation and capture of economic value for hotels. By drawing on arguments from resource-based views, transaction cost economics and industrial organisations, we look inside these mechanisms by assessing whether in regard to creation and capture of economic value hotels should pay more attention to diversify the number of OTAs that distribute their services or to improve their reputation through travellers’ reviews posted on TripAdvisor. Gathering data on 62,865 travellers’ reviews on TripAdvisor and on the presence of hotels on multiple OTAs, we built a panel dataset of 355 hotels spanning from 2004 to 2014 and also including hotels’ financial data. Fixed effects regression models show that hotels listed on multiple OTA bolster sales revenue and operating profitability. We demonstrated that for hotels, the online visibility on OTAs counts more on value capture than the online reputation gained on TripAdvisor. Through the presence on multiple OTAs, hotels are expected to have a higher bargaining power towards each individual distributor. We discuss the implications of these results on the way hotels, OTAs and TripAdvisor can generate and capture value in the vertical chain of the travel industry.

Latest technology and communication consistency in hospitality: a comparison between two Mediterranean countries

The goal of this research is to examine customers′ perceptions of the latest technology solutions and marketing communications within the hotel context in two Mediterranean countries – Croatia and Italy. In particular, hotel guests of four- and five-star hotels located in these countries participated in the research. Firstly, guest perceptions of advanced Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and communication consistency are analysed and compared in Croatian and Italian hotels. Secondly, the impact of ICT on communication consistency is tested in both studies. The findings show that the level of customer perceptions of communication consistency is relatively high in both countries, while the perception of technology is moderate. The influence of ICT on communication consistency is also corroborated. The findings of this study have important implications for marketing managers who deal with increasingly demanding consumers in the current digital environment.

The perceived effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels in Italy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of social couponing campaigns for hotels. In particular, the perceived effectiveness related to four specific objectives is explored (acquiring and retaining new customers, building brand awareness, balancing seasonality and stimulating demand among existing customers). Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based survey was conducted that involved 108 hotels, each of which has run at least one social couponing campaign through Groupon in Italy. The importance-performance approach was applied to analyze the data. Findings – Overall, the perceived effectiveness of social couponing for hotels is quite low. Social couponing is useful to increase brand awareness but does not encourage customer behavioral loyalty. Larger hotels can successfully use this marketing tool to balance demand seasonality. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is limited but includes approximately one-fourth of all Italian hotels that have run social coupon campaigns through Groupon. Only social couponing campaigns run through one daily deal site (Groupon) in one country (Italy) were considered. Practical implications – Social couponing is not perceived as equally effective for all hotels. This study provides hotel managers with suggestions for deciding whether to allocate a share of their marketing resources to social couponing. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to present field data to complement the available theoretical knowledge on social couponing for hotels.

Do ISO 9001-certified hotels get a higher customer rating than non-certified ones?

This article analyzes whether customers of hotels that are certified for quality management are more satisfied than the customers of non-certified hotels of similar category and location. An empirical study was carried out with a total sample of 186,769 guest ratings of 828 Spanish and Italian hotels. The findings show that quality certified hotels do not receive a statistically significantly better evaluation or rating from their customers. Indeed, the statistical analysis carried out confirms that certified hotels have a statistically significantly lower rating in terms of value for money than non-certified hotels. The implications for managers, customers and other stakeholders are discussed. The article also discusses the potential dangers in inferring directly that quality certification in the hospitality industry leads to superior customer satisfaction as is frequently suggested in both the practitioner and the scholarly literature in the field.

Are traditional forecasting models suitable for hotels in Italian cities?

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to assess the performance of different widely-adopted models to forecast Italian hotel occupancy. In particular, the paper tests the different models for forecasting the demand in hotels located in urban areas, which typically experience both business and leisure demand, and whose demand is often affected by the presence of special events in the hotels themselves, or in their neighborhood.Design/methodology/approach– Several forecasting models that the literature reports as most suitable for hotel room occupancy data were selected. Historical data on occupancy in five Italian hotels were divided into a training set and a test set. The parameters of the models were trained and fine-tuned on the training data, obtaining one specific set for each of the five Italian hotels considered. For each hotel, each method, with corresponding best parameter choice, is used to forecast room occupancy in the test set.Findings– In the particular Italian market, models based on booking information outperform historical ones: pick-up models achieve the best results but forecasts are in any case rather poor.Research limitations/implications– The main conclusions of the analysis are that the pick-up models are the most promising ones. Nonetheless, none of the traditional forecasting models tested appears satisfactory in the Italian framework, although the data collected by the front offices can be rather rich.Originality/value– From a managerial point-of-view, the outcome of the study shows that traditional forecasting models can be considered only as a sort of “first aid” for revenue management decisions.