Hugh Charles Wilkins

The Determinants of Loyalty in Hotels

The hotel industry is a large industry contributing substantially to global economies and providing employment for many million people worldwide. Given the size and economic significance of the industry, it is important to understand the aspects of business performance that persuade customers to become repeat purchasers, and to exhibit behavioral loyalty. Despite the significance of the industry, there has been little research to investigate the antecedents of, and influences on, behavioral loyalty. The major global hotel corporations place considerable emphasis on the brand for marketing but there has been little research found that has investigated the role of the brand in determining behavioral loyalty in hotels. This article provides an evaluation of the linkages between service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and behavioral loyalty. The impact of brand trust and brand attitude is added to the model and provides new understanding on the interactions between the constructs within a service sector context. Findings indicate that service quality, mediated by customer satisfaction is the largest determinant, but that brand trust, mediated by brand attitude, is a significant moderator of behavioral loyalty.

Using Importance-Performance Analysis to Appreciate Satisfaction in Hotels

The hotel industry is highly competitive and customer satisfaction is essential for consumer loyalty and business sustainability. This article reports on 2 analyses of customer perspectives on hotels. Firstly, the results of an importance-performance analysis are provided. The research identifies a number of areas where hotels overperform and underperform. Secondly, this article provides an evaluation of the effect of gender, age, and purpose of trip on the factors customers consider important for hotel selection. The results reported will enable hotels to better manage their product to ensure the sustainability of business performance.

Inhibitors to host community participation in sustainable tourism development in developing countries

The involvement of host communities (or destination residents), particularly in developing countries, is critical to the success of tourism development and to the creation of a “Just Destination”. This paper investigates host community perceptions about obstacles to their participation in tourism development in Lombok, Indonesia, providing new insights into institutional influences on tourism opportunities and issues. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques targeted separate groups of destination residents who live in a developed tourism destination, a less developed tourism destination, a remote rural village far away from tourism destinations, as well as a group of university students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, qualitative questionnaires and observation, and were analysed using content analysis. Results show three main institutional factors inhibit host community participation in tourism: tourism agencies, private sector providers and tourism infrastructure, and perceptions of the negative impacts of tourism. The underperformance of state tourism agencies and private sector providers resulted in a lack of tourism infrastructure and limitations on host community opportunities to participate in tourism development and businesses. The findings suggest the need for improvement in the training of state tourism agency employees, better coordination among government agencies, and improved education and training for tourism operators.

The travel behaviours of international students: nationality-based constraints and opportunities.

International students represent a large and potentially lucrative market for various sectors of the tourism industry. Although previous empirical studies have examined this topic, most treated the market as homogeneous and small sample sizes have been the norm. The present Australia-based study represents the first large-scale investigation of the travel activities of international students. The large sample size (N = 4633) has allowed the researchers to identify nationality-based differences between international student travel behaviours and the factors that constrain their travel. The approach that has been adopted extends theoretical and applied understanding of this important tourism market and informs how tourism industry leaders may capitalise on the opportunities by undertaking initiatives, such as innovative tourism marketing, product development and packaging initiatives.

How self-image congruence impacts customer satisfaction in hotels.

The importance of self-image congruence for product selection has been established across a number of purchase contexts, but the research that has included postpurchase evaluations is limited to a few examples, including a tourist destination, jewelery, and the use of ATMs. Despite recognition of the role of self-image congruence for hotel consumption, no research has been identified that addresses the affect self-image congruence has on postpurchase evaluations. This article reports an empirical analysis of the importance of self-image congruence to the postpurchase evaluation of hotels. The results indicate that self-image congruence affects the level of customer satisfaction. The results also indicate that the impact of self-image congruence varies with purpose of trip and gender.

Feeling 'Protected' in Mass Organized Group Tours: A South Korean Case

Abstract This study provides further understanding of mass organized tourists by identifying the push factors for mass tourism in a Korean context. It is proposed that ‘protection seeking’ tendency and perceived travel risks are two push factors that encourage Korean tourists to choose mass tourism products. This study employed a mixed method approach in which qualitative and quantitative approaches were sequentially conducted across two stages. This study successfully identified the dimension of ‘protection seeking’ and found it plays a significant role in a Korean tourist context. The ‘protection seeking’ tendency increases the likelihood of potential tourists to choose the mass organized tours. However, perceived risks were not found to be directly related to choosing the mass organized tours; perceived risks were significantly related to ‘protection seeking’. This study reveals that a critical reason why Korean tourists choose mass tourism products is because they want a psychological ‘shelter’ and the ability to call for help in case of emergency. This implies that various types of mass organize tours are needed to be designed for the future. This result is particularly of significance for those who desire to make their holiday products more attractive to Korean outbound tourists.

Liminal experience of East Asian backpackers

Acknowledging the increasing popularity of independent travel from East Asia, this article explores the backpacking experience of young travellers of the region, from a socio-anthropological angle. Using liminality theory as a guideline and adopting a qualitative investigative approach, 31 interviews with East Asian backpackers were conducted. The findings suggest there are dual facets of the liminal experiences of the backpackers. On one hand, young travellers were motivated to escape from temporal, spatial and social pressures at home. On the other, their narratives reflected a strong commitment to home through a sense of filial piety, an awareness of their identity and positive evaluation of home. These findings advance our understanding of the liminal experiences in an Asian backpacking context.

The social identities of Japanese backpackers

This research adopted a qualitative approach with data collected through in-depth interviews, informal conversations, and participant observation to identify the social identities of Japanese young travelers in relation to their group dynamic. The findings indicate that the diversity of out-group interactions with travelers from different countries enhances cross-cultural understanding and language learning, while in-group interactions with other Japanese offer a pseudohome while traveling. The issue of identity ambivalence is important as the spheres of familiarity and diversity in travel group interactions are dynamic and complementary. The current research furthers our understanding of the interrelation between culture, communication, and the action of travel among independent travelers.

Preferences for destination attributes: Differences between short and long breaks

This article reports the findings of differences in tourist preferences for short and long breaks. Cluster analysis is employed to explore specific preferences of tourist clusters taking long or short breaks. Four distinct clusters were found for each type of break, exhibiting distinctive demographic characteristics and activity preferences. Different preferences for short versus long breaks were also found. Assumptions that the same customers prefer the same kind of destination and activity when taking either a short or long break are dispelled. Implications for markets include developing distinct campaigns for short- and long-break tourist segments.

E-service Quality Management of a Hotel Website: A Scale and Implications for Management

ABSTRACT This study conceptualizes e-service quality with respect to a hotel website and develops a corresponding measurement scale. Using a mixed methodology research design, 29 semi-structured interviews first defined customers’ perceptions of hotel websites and identified the important areas for investigation. A subsequent online survey of people who had recently visited a hotel website resulted in 843 usable responses, from which the e-service quality measurement scale was developed. The measurement scale for hotel websites comprised 24 items across six factors: functionality, atmospheric quality, reliable information, locality information, customer reviews, and emotional engagement. The investigation found two higher order factors (environment and process quality) to measure e-service quality for hotel websites. The newly developed scale gives a better understanding of e-service quality in the hotel context and enables hotel practitioners to improve hotel website quality.