Amy M. Gregory

Restaurant QSC inspections and financial performance: an empirical investigation.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between QSC (quality, service and cleanliness) inspection scores and financial performance in quick service restaurants.Design/methodology/approach – Restaurant QSC inspection data were collected from 25 quick service restaurants of an international chain over a period of 18 months. Audited financial data were also collected for these participating restaurants. Using SPSS software, the data were analyzed for possible relationships between the restaurant QSC scores and the financial performance measured as total unit sales per week, revenues per available seat per week, and gross operating income for each month. Restaurant unit size is measured by total revenues per month.Findings – Contrary to the commonly held belief, the relationship between QSC variable and restaurant performance is weak. This study found there was a “V” curve in QSC inspections and financial performance when restaurant size was chosen as the moderating variable.Resea...

Mobile application for the timeshare industry: the influence of technology experience, usefulness, and attitude on behavioral intentions.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine consumer perceptions toward the adoption of mobile technology within the vacation ownership/timeshare segment of the hospitality industry. Despite the proliferation of mobile applications in the greater hospitality and tourism industry, few timeshare companies use this technology. However, customers have expressed strong intentions to use technology. Therefore, this study examines consumers’ attitudes toward and experiences with mobile applications and then through the use of a prototype, examines consumers’ intentions to use a mobile application. The relationships between attitude, experience and usefulness are explored in relation to intention to use. Design/methodology/approach – Consumers that owned timeshares in the Orlando area responded to an online survey invitation from their resort management company. The survey instrument gathered data related to consumers’ attitudes toward and experiences with technology using established measures. A total of 9...

Kano's Model: An Integrative Review of Theory and Applications to the Field of Hospitality and Tourism

This research provides a comprehensive review of literature related to the Kano model of satisfaction measurement. Based upon the declaration that performance on certain product attributes produces greater consumer satisfaction than others, Kano Seraku, Takahashi, and Tsuji (1984) proposed that the relationship between product attributes and customer satisfaction is not always linear. Further, Kano et al. disputed conventional satisfaction models that propose that higher satisfaction occurs irrespective of the inherent nature of attributes. This research investigates the evolution of the Kano model across research contexts and its application in different industries. This article also presents an extensive review of literature on the Kano model, synthesis of competing concepts, criticism of the model, methodological implications, applications to the hospitality and tourism industry, discussion of limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Towards a functional model of website evaluation: a case study of casual dining restaurants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and apply a conceptual model that can be used to evaluate the functional performance of hospitality and tourism websites. This model will evaluate the websites from the perspective of information provision, communication, transactions, relationships, and technological merit, and how that applies to overall website functionality.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a case study methodology in order to evaluate a random sample of the top 400 casual dining restaurant chains of 2007. The casual dining restaurant segment is chosen because of its importance in the overall foodservice industry, as well as its predominant use of websites.Findings – Restaurant websites appear to be fairly strong in providing information in a technologically savvy environment. The areas that are found to be lower in functional efficiency are communication, relationship, and transaction. The three lowest‐rated individual attributes of the websites studied in the current resea...

Examining the effects of vacation ownership product attributes on customer satisfaction: An investigation of product purchase and use

Purpose – This research aims to propose a model that may be used to classify product attributes according to their effect on customer satisfaction within the services industry. It also aims to apply the model to vacation ownership products and to explore attributes related to both the purchase and use of the product: an owned luxury product. Design/methodology/approach – Data from 3,231 vacation ownership customers of multiple international companies were analyzed using a modified Kano model and related questionnaire. Findings – This study reveals the effect that specific product attributes have on customer satisfaction. It addresses previously unexplored attributes (i.e. sales techniques and hotel program benefits), confirms others previously identified with customer satisfaction (i.e. amenities, exchange benefits, hotel affiliation and vacation counselors) and reveals those that had no incremental effect on overall satisfaction (i.e. financing and activities). Practical implications – Results of this st...

Pricing strategies for resort fees: consumer preferences favor simplicity

Purpose – The purpose of this study is twofold: to determine hotel customers’ preference among hotel amenities pricing strategies, specifically a bundled, all-inclusive charge in the form of a resort fee, a limited choice resort fee at a lower price or a la carte pricing, and to determine whether hotel customer prefer bundled or partitioned pricing when faced with a mandatory resort fee. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey of participants aged 18 years and older who had taken an overnight leisure trip in the past six months is conducted. A fixed-choice set conjoint analysis is performed to analyze the 353 usable surveys. Findings – Results of this conjoint analysis show that 67 per cent of respondents prefer bundled pricing over partitioned pricing. Respondents also show higher utility for no resort fee and paying for amenities based on usage instead of being forced to pay a mandatory resort fee. Practical implications – Guest preferences for pricing strategies can provide hotel operators with ...

Timeshare research: a synthesis of forty years of publications

Purpose This paper aims to facilitate an immediate immersion of academic literature in the timeshare/vacation ownership industry. Through a synthesis of 92 articles published in academic journals over the past 40 years, the authors demonstrate the breadth of the current research. Topical areas, methodologies and findings are presented, as well as opportunities for further investigation. This paper also provides the reader with a robust consolidation of literature in a tabular form to include authors, publication dates, sources and titles. Design/methodology/approach Through a comprehensive search of multiple academic research databases, university catalogues and references of existing literature and conference proceedings, the authors compiled a review of timeshare research with the aim of classifying the various components and issues that have been examined to date. Findings The timeshare segment of the greater lodging industry is unique due to its real estate ownership component, complex management characteristics and regulatory environment. The unique nature appeals to researchers and provides an opportunity for investigation of generally accepted theories and principles. The literature follows industry advances in the segment, with the majority of research focused on sales and marketing practices, and resort services and operations. An abundance of future research opportunities is identified in the literature, to which only a few have been addressed. Originality/value A synthesis of timeshare literature has not been published to date, either in hospitality literature or in other fields of study, i.e. real estate. Therefore, the authors provide a foundation for researchers, academics and students to utilize in further study and investigation.

An Attribution Approach and the Subsequent Satisfaction, Value, and Loyalty of Service Delivery in Private Residence Clubs

This quantitative case study examines attribute-level satisfaction scores of a private residence club. The article examines relationships between overall satisfaction and loyalty, overall satisfaction and value, and value and loyalty. The research context introduces characteristics of affluence and ownership that are not widely researched in general, nor in the hospitality industry. Comparisons of the results of service satisfaction were found to be significant and consistent across various settings including beach, urban, mountain, and golf resorts. A positive relationship between satisfaction and loyalty, satisfaction and value, and value and loyalty existed. However, a stronger relationship between perceived value and loyalty was identified than with satisfaction and value or satisfaction and loyalty. The results of this study address a gap in the research by exploring satisfaction across operational attributes of the private residence club, as well as the relationships between satisfaction, loyalty, and value within an owned luxury-lodging product.

Gender Dynamics from an Arab Perspective Intercultural Service Encounters

Gender plays an important role in Arab customers’ evaluation of intercultural service encounters. Even though Middle Eastern tourists are a growing market segment in the travel industry, academic research on them from a service management perspective remains relatively sparse. To understand Arab customers’ evaluation of service experiences, this research focuses on the gender dynamics between service providers and Arab customers during a service encounter. Online surveys of a scenario-based experiment were created and distributed to respondents of Arab descent in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. The findings, based on 326 respondents, suggest that Arab customers are more comfortable—more satisfied with the service encounter and more willing to provide feedback—if the employee is the same gender. However, employee efforts to solicit feedback did not intensify the gender interaction effect on comfort. The findings of this research provide valuable implications for hospitality managers to better cater to the needs of Arab customers by understanding gender boundaries of them in an intercultural service encounter.

An Examination of Organizational Commitment and Intention to Stay in the Timeshare Industry: Variations Across Generations in the Workplace

ABSTRACT This study examines differences among individual generations’ organizational commitment and intention to stay in the timeshare industry. The timeshare segment is worthy of study due to expected growth and increase in worldwide lodging brands’ presence. Responses from more than 1,000 survey respondents reveal generational differences that highlight the variations in employee commitment and intention to stay. In addition to the contributions to literature for contemporary study among generational attitudes and behaviors, the implications may provide Human Resources practitioners insight into employee retention drivers relating to organizational commitment. Finally, this study adds to literature and practice by further clarifying generational differences.