Deborah Breiter

Leveling the playing field: E-marketing's impact on lodging operations.

Abstract Since 1998 there has been a 54% increase in the number of travelers using the Internet to obtain information on destination or make travel arrangements. Travel has become the Webs top e-tail segment with online hotel bookings hitting

An Exploratory Study of Differences among Meeting and Exhibition Planners in their Destination Selection Criteria

164 million in revenues (AAHOA Hospitality, May, 2000). With Internet traffic doubling every 100 days a “flash point” in technology has been reached. When technology becomes commonplace and seen as an integral part of the marketplace a flash point occurs (Chandler, 2000). Electronic commerce has revolutionized the way services are delivered and changed the traditional relationship between consumers and service providers (Zeithaml & Bitner, 2000). The purpose of this research is to analyze and compare the impact marketing technology application has on lodging properties in the pursuit of individual travelers. This exploratory study identified issues that respondents felt were important and affected their marketing and management activities.

A comparison of motivators and inhibitors for association meeting attendance for three generational cohorts.

ABSTRACT Destination selection criteria for meetings, conventions, trade shows, and other events have been explored by a variety of researchers. Most research in this area, however, has not evaluated how planners of different events rate the destination selection variables. The current study identified three international associations for different types of event professionals and compared members’ ratings of 13 destination selection criteria. Findings show that there are differences in the most important criteria used by each of the associations, with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) rating exhibit space, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) rating perceived value for the money, and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) rating support services for events as the highest criteria. Choice of restaurant and variety of nightlife are the lowest rated criteria by all groups. This information will help destination marketing organizations and event venues in specific destinations market themselves more effectively by positioning themselves appropriately in the marketplace.

Group sales and marketing in convention hotels: internet and web usage.

This study is the first to examine the similarities and differences in what motivates and inhibits meeting attendance within generational groups. Three generational cohorts were identified as the older Generation Xers, the younger Baby Boomers, and the older Baby Boomers. The members of four professional associations were surveyed. The results suggest that motivations and inhibitors to conference attendance by all three cohorts were relatively similar, contradicting some literature depicting specific differences between generations.

The Attrition Condition What Hotel Sales People Need to Know

Abstract The goal of hotel sales and marketing is revenue generation. The methods employed by group sales and marketing professionals have evolved overtime to incorporate an array of technological innovations. The purpose of this research is to ascertain the perceptions that convention hotel sales and marketing professionals have about Internet and Web integration in the group sales process. The findings indicate that Internet and Web based marketing tools have become an integral part of hotel sales and marketing activities, though convention hotel managers do not necessarily attribute an increase in revenue to these activities.

Proposing a Regional Impact Based Feasibility Studies Framework for Convention Centers: A Quantitative Analysis of the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC)

Attrition provisions in group-business contracts have become increasingly problematic for meeting planners in recent years because meeting participants and exhibitors increasingly seek their own accommodations outside room blocks, particularly when they find low-price rooms via Web sites. A 2002 survey of 143 meeting planners (primarily working with associations) found that most signed contracts containing attrition provisions for the largest meeting they held in 2001, but only one-third of those who came up short on room-block guarantees were billed for attrition. Many planners negotiated some form of settlement. Rather than have attrition continue to be a point of contention for hotels and meeting planners, a better approach might be for hotel sales managers and meeting planners to work together to formulate reasonable attrition policies. From the meeting planners’ view-point, this would include receiving credit for the business that the meeting brings to the hotel, whether in the room block or through other sales channels.

An analysis of hotel employees' motivation using Kovach's Ten Factor Model.

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this article is to propose a Regional Impact Based Feasibility Study (RIBFS) framework, which is an alternative model to the traditional feasibility study that is used to assess the benefits of the investment of public funds in convention centers. More specifically, the framework features a rigorous methodology that can be used to calculate a more comprehensive picture of what convention centers can deliver on public investments. Numerous studies have focused on the importance of the existence of convention centers; however, few authors have been critical of the failure of feasibility studies to accurately forecast economic impacts and operational pro-forma statements. The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida was used as a case study for assessing this proposed framework. Results indicate that despite operational deficits as an independent entity, a convention center provides income and jobs for a variety of businesses and produces a ripple effect of broad economic interactions that produces additional regional income.

An Exploratory Study of Convention Destination Competitiveness from the Attendees’ Perspective: Importance-Performance Analysis and Repeated Measures of MANOVA

Abstract Human resource professionals in the hospitality industry are faced with many challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining employees. Understanding what motivates employees may help to meet some of those challenges. This research employed Kovachs Ten Factor Model to analyze the motivators of a diverse work force in a large hotel in a major southeastern U.S. city.

Information communication technologies: usages and preferences of generation Y students and meeting professionals.

Destination competitiveness has become a prominent part of hospitality and tourism literature. Competitiveness, however, is not easily defined or uniformly calculated because a number of diverse factors must be considered. Although meeting planners’ site selection criteria has been studied in existing convention destination research, the attendees’ perspective has rarely been examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the indicators that affect a convention destination’s competitiveness in the eyes of convention attendees. Data were collected from three trade shows hosted by three different convention destinations, which resulted in 696 usable responses for data analyses. Importance-performance analysis (IPA) was implemented on seven attributes of convention destination competitiveness. In addition, the overall destination competitiveness indices were calculated to see the relative competitiveness among the destinations. Repeated measures of MANOVA were conducted to complement and to offer valid interpretation of the IPA results.

Building association attendance: differences between chapter, regional and annual meetings from the perception of the association members.

Researchers have been investigating the meeting and convention industry for many years. Recently, attention has been given to the attitudes and perceptions of stakeholders who represent the different generations. Generations’ views on information communication technology, in particular, are now of interest to academics and industry practitioners. The present study considers the preferences and usages of information communication technologies by Generation Y students and meeting professionals. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Findings confirm similarities and differences between the groups.