Basak Denizci Guillet

An Examination of the Relationship between Online Travel Agents and Hotels A Case Study of Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com

Although traditional travel agents have played an important role as proxies enabling travelers to make connections with hotels, the emergence of the internet has changed the traditional relationship between hotels and travel agents. Instead of a traditional agent–principal relationship, online travel agents (OTAs) seem to act as more than just intermediaries and more as business partners or vendors. Scholars have previously observed troubled, if not hostile, relationships between hotels and OTAs. This article reports a case study analyzing online comments on the 2009 feud between Choice Hotels International and Expedia.com. This analysis identified eight themes in three overall categories: the background to the feud (i.e., characteristics of the hotel industry, current business environment, Expedia’s business practices), the perspectives of hospitality industry professionals on the feud (i.e., wake-up call for hoteliers, Choice Hotels’ decision), and expectations concerning the nature of the relationship between hotels and OTAs (i.e., a symbiotic relationship between hotels and OTAs, experience of dealing with guests who book through OTAs and Expedia, and recommendations for hotels). Chief among the study’s conclusions is that hotels must find ways to make the most effective possible use of available technology and distribution channels, and perhaps even form consortia to share information about third-party distribution channels.

Are Tourists or Markets Destination Loyal

This study asks whether individual tourists are destination loyal or whether markets can be considered as loyal? While loyalty research has focused on the individual, a strong body of evidence suggests that individual tourists revisit international destinations rarely.Yet overall arrivals from mature markets are largely stable, suggesting some form of loyalty.The proposition of whether individuals or markets are loyal was tested by examining year-on-year visitation and repeat-visitation intentions of Hong Kong residents to 11 popular destinations. The study identified low individual repeat visitation intention, but overall market stability. Moreover, the profiles of actual and intended visitors were virtually identical. By contrast, the profiles of visitors to different destinations were substantially different. The study concludes, therefore, that markets are broadly loyal. The findings have significant implications for destination marketing organizations and also raise questions about tourism loyalty research.

Analyzing hotel star ratings on third‐party distribution websites

Purpose – This paper aims to examine hotel star ratings on selected third‐party distribution websites, taking Hong Kong hotels as the sample.Design/methodology/approach – Star rating information from 11 online distribution websites was retrieved and analyzed for all hotels in Hong Kong.Findings – About 60 percent of the hotels were found on at least six of the selected distribution channels, and only 24 percent of the hotels have consistent star rating across different distribution channels. Results of data analysis indicated that consistent star rating becomes more difficult to maintain as the number of distribution channels used increases.Research limitations/implications – Findings of the study are limited to the selected hotels and electronic distribution channels. Still, the online distribution channels represent some of the most widely used electronic distribution channels.Practical implications – Findings of this research will be of use to hotel managers and guests for better understanding the stan...

Revenue management research in hospitality and tourism: A critical review of current literature and suggestions for future research

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine hospitality revenue management (RM) research in the recent decade, to identify emergent issues/topics and suggest directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic process of literature review involving content analysis was adopted. The process involved searching for published articles in three major online databases for hospitality and tourism journals, evaluating and selecting the relevant articles, analyzing and synthesizing the findings of the selected papers and organizing the findings to determine what is known and what is yet to be known. Findings The paper established a broad range of topics that have engaged the attention of hospitality and tourism researchers in contemporary times. These topics were structured into seven major themes constituting the core activities of hospitality RM process and another eight themes covering the factors influencing the practice of RM. Practical implications The classification of the literature into core activities of RM process and factors influencing RM serves as a useful guide for practitioners and academics to trace relevant literature on various aspects of RM and to visibly notice the gaps in the existing literature. Originality/value By developing an RM framework and using it to evaluate existing literature, this study brings cohesion into the hospitality and tourism RM literature.

Travelers' takes on hotel-restaurant co-branding: insights for China.

Co-branding, or the collaboration of two or more brands to reach the objectives of all brands involved, is a strategic business option for many hotels and restaurants in the Western world, especially the United States and Europe. But many questions remain unanswered about hotel—restaurant co-branding in the Eastern world, especially in China, one of the world’s fastest growing and most promising tourism markets. As a new venue of inquiry within tourism and hospitality, co-branding has been investigated by only a few researchers, and mainly from the perspective of the industry in the West. The objective of the current study was to shed light on consumer perspectives in the East and to examine empirically how hotel—restaurant partnerships in China are potentially perceived by consumers of diverse characteristics. The findings indicate several opportunities, as well as threats, for both hotels and restaurants as potential co-branding partners in the Chinese market. The research and the practical implications are provided.

How is Corporate Social Responsibility Perceived by Managers with Different Leadership Styles? The Case of Hotel Managers in Hong Kong

The purpose of this study is to investigate how social responsibility is perceived by hotel managers in Hong Kong with different leadership orientations. The majority of the managers surveyed exercised a professional style with a touch of transformational leadership. The third most dominant style was an equal combination of the first two styles. Our findings show that disregard for corporate social responsibility issues is negatively correlated with the professional style with a touch of transformational leadership, and positively correlated with the bureaucratic style with a touch of Machiavellian leadership. Among all of the leadership styles, managers with the professional management style with a touch of the transformational style perceive corporate social responsibility issues to be most important. An important practical implication of this study is that the findings show the industry the type of leaders to choose when firms intend to pursue socially responsible activities.

Can setting hotel rate restrictions help balance the interest of hotels and customers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assist hoteliers to design hotel rate restrictions that are in the interest of hotels and of customers, under the joint influence of room rates and rate fences. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a questionnaire as the data collection instrument. Conjoint analysis was applied to examine customers’ preferences regarding hotel rate fences. Findings – The results indicate that refundability, price and advance requirement, in that order, are identified as the most important attributes in the overall decision-making process of customers. Changes allowed and rule type are comparatively less important attributes. Research limitations/implications – This study extends the hotel revenue management literature by examining customer preferences for hotel rate restrictions based on their socio-demographic characteristics and travel behavior. This study also illustrates the usefulness of conjoint analysis in determining the utility values of hotel-room rates and rate...

Rate Fences in Hotel Revenue Management and Their Applications to Chinese Leisure Travelers A Fractional Factorial Design Approach

In the first study of its kind, a conjoint analysis of 530 Chinese leisure travelers visiting Hong Kong analyzed the relative value that these travelers assigned to a variety of hotel rate fences or rate restrictions. Not surprisingly, the attributes with the highest utility scores were also the least restrictive. That is, the respondents preferred the lowest price (947 Hong Kong dollars [HKD]), the least restrictive advance reservation or purchase requirement (seven days in advance), and an advance reservation requirement that included a full refund and unlimited changes without any restrictions. Of all the rate fences presented, price and refundability were consistently the most valuable to these travelers. The implication for hotel operators is that Chinese travelers will accept hotel rate restrictions, but they must be carefully constructed and avoid stringent restrictions, particularly advance purchase and refundability, unless those restrictions are offset by favorable price.

Temporal Changes of Airfares Toward Fixed Departure Date

ABSTRACT Despite the existence of numerous published articles that examined the online fares for air-tickets, no prior studies have investigated the issue of temporal changes of airfares toward a fixed departure date. In other words, consumers have no knowledge of when the best time is to purchase their lowest fared air-tickets from the Internet. This study investigated the daily changes of fares for return air-tickets on five online travel agency (OTA) websites with fixed dates of departure during shoulder and high seasons. Empirical findings showed the lowest airfares from Hong Kong to Beijing and Bangkok, representing two most popular short-haul travel destinations, were not found at the initial stage of the data collection period. In other words, consumers should not make online purchase of air-tickets too early.

Spa market segmentation according to customer preference

Purpose – This paper aims to segment spa customers based on their preferences for a set of spa attributes. With the considerable growth rate of the spa market, it is vital for spa professionals to understand spa-goers’ preferences. However, academics and industry professionals have not devised a structured method by which to manage spa customers. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted using a face-to-face survey with visitors to Hong Kong who had visited a spa. By applying conjoint and cluster analysis, customers could be categorized into distinct segments. Findings – Four customer segments were identified: spa enthusiasts, high spenders, value seekers and price-sensitive spa-goers. Spa enthusiasts were the largest segment among the four, followed by value seekers, price-sensitive spa-goers and high spenders. Research limitations/implications – Given the limited academic interest in the area, this study contributes to the literature by providing insights into spa-goers’ preferences and how those preferences can be used to segment spa-goers. Practical implications – Based on the different needs, preferences and socio-demographic characteristics of the four segments – spa enthusiasts, high spenders, value seekers and price-sensitive spa-goers – spa industry managers could customize their strategies and design different spa services and packages to meet the needs of the four segments. Originality/value – The combined use of conjoint and cluster analysis provides a new method of market segmentation in the spa industry. This study could help spa professionals to design customized spa products for the distinct segments, and thus retain and attract more spa visitors.