Gurel Cetin

Influence of customer experience on loyalty and word-of-mouth in hospitality operations

Customer experience is emerging as a relatively new concept and is regarded as an important determinant for the success of hospitality organizations. However, factors affecting customer experiences and the influence of experiences on consumer behaviour are still unclear. Through a quantitative field research, this paper attempts to determine and exhibit the impacts of customer experiences on customer loyalty and recommendation behaviours in hospitality organizations. To reach this objective, a sample of 350 adult respondents staying in five-star hotels in Istanbul were requested to rate the items related to physical environment and social interactions that are found to be relevant to hotel stay experiences. The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between desired customer behaviours and perceived dimensions of customer experiences.

Components of cultural tourists' experiences in destinations.

Destinations provide a combination of products and services. Using these resources, tourists create their own experiences. Providing a pleasing tourist experience is crucial for destinations’ long-term success. Although travellers’ experiences have been subject to extensive research, various segments might perceive them differently based on their motivations. Despite the fact that cultural tourism is considered as an important segment for most urban destinations, factors affecting cultural travel experiences have not been clarified in the literature so far. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting cultural tourists’ overall travel experiences. In order to achieve this studys goals, we chose Istanbul as a research context. After interviewing 21 tourists and analysis of transcribed data, 64 items were merged under 5 dimensions emerging as the key constructs affecting cultural tourist experiences in a destination, namely social interaction, local authentic clues, service, culture/heritage and challenge. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Understanding the Customer Experiences from the Perspective of Guests and Hotel Managers: Empirical Findings from Luxury Hotels in Istanbul, Turkey

Customer experience has been acknowledged as an important factor affecting positive customer behaviors such as loyalty and recommendation. The hospitality industry is also considered to be among the experience-intensive services. This study aims to explore hospitality experiences from guests’ and managers’ perspectives through a qualitative study. A total of 33 luxury hotel guests and 14 hospitality managers in Istanbul, Turkey, were interviewed to determine factors affecting guest experiences. The content was then analyzed according to two major factors—physical environment and social interactions—under which eight major categories were grouped. The findings imply that ambiance, space/function/amenities, design, and signs/symbols/artifacts may be considered main themes under the physical environment factor, whereas under the social interactions factor, the guests’ experiences can be grouped under interactions with staff (professionalism, attentiveness/customization, attitude) and interactions with other guests. The results offer valuable insights to managers regarding dimensions of guest experiences and possible misperceptions. The study also suggests various implications and directions for future research.

The professional relationship between tour guides and tour operators

ABSTRACT Tour operators and tour guides are major stakeholders during production and operation of organized package tours. However, the relationship between them received little attention in tourism literature. This study intends to identify the dimensions of the relationship between the two parties and importance attained to different guiding roles both by tour operators and guides. It also explores the attitude gaps between tour operators and guides on various guiding attributes. The analyzed data were collected from 110 professional tour guides and 56 inbound tour operators. Numerous differences in perceptions were identified regarding importance attained to foreign language skills, group cohesion, holiday experience creation, entertainment, representation skills, contract compliance, image creation, itinerary compliance and identification with tour operators.

Coping with reintermediation: the case of SMHEs

The structure of hospitality distribution has experienced profound changes within the last few decades. With the evolution and spread of internet, a substantial number of consumers started to use electronic channels for hotel bookings. This has resulted in disintermediation of traditional offline travel agencies. Yet, it has also initiated a new type of middleman to emerge and grow. Much powerful than its former version, online travel agencies (OTAs) bring about some benefits but also challenges particularly for small and medium sized independent hotels (SMHEs). This paper focuses on the difficulties SMHEs face during this transformation. The characteristics of SMHEs, the evolution of channels and the role of OTAs were discussed based on a qualitative study. 22 SMHE managers were interviewed about their perceptions of OTAs and challenges with reintermediation. Based on the data the challenges were grouped under; complexity, dependency, unfair competition and commodification. Solutions to complications of reintermediation for SMHEs and directions for future research are suggested.

Understanding the challenges of refugee entrepreneurship in tourism and hospitality

ABSTRACT In recent years, the refugee crisis has emerged as a major global challenge with social, economic, and political implications. Figures indicate that there are currently over 22 million refugees around the world. While refugees are usually regarded as a burden for their host countries, their entrepreneurial ventures might offer significant contributions to local economies. Although refugee entrepreneurship has become significantly evident in several economies, theoretical and empirical research tackling this issue is still scant. This study aims to explore the characteristics of and challenges faced by refugee tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs in Istanbul, Turkey. Drawing on qualitative data collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with refugee tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs, the findings suggest that refugee entrepreneurs were challenged by four key issues; legislative and administrative, financial, socio-cultural and market-related obstacles. The study also offers insights into characteristics of refugee tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs and their integration into their host communities.

Tourism Destination: Design of Experiences

Originality/value Although there are numerous papers on experiences from individual services (e.g., hotels, airlines, restaurants) in the destination, literature on overall stakeholder and creation of holistic destination experience has been overlooked. This chapter offers a theoretical model that would assist policy-makers to design experiences in the destination by looking at the roles of different stakeholders and to improve the competitiveness of the destination.

Research methods in tourism, hospitality & events management, edited by Paul Brunt, Susan Horner and Natalie Semley, SAGE Publishing, London, 2017, 360 pp.,

Research Methods in Tourism, Hospitality & Events Management makes an important contribution as a text book and covers basic terminology, concepts and approaches for undergraduate level research me...