Orie Berezan

Sustainable Hotel Practices and Guest Satisfaction Levels

The purpose of this study is to identify which sustainable hotel practices guests would be most satisfied with, and what motivates guests to participate in these practices. In addition, the study tested for differences that may exist due to the sociocultural backgrounds of respondents, and whether they are willing to pay a premium for an environmentally friendly hotel. Data was collected in a popular tourist destination in Mexico. An analysis on satisfaction ratings revealed only minimal differences between demographic groups, which suggests that sustainable hotel practices are attractive beyond a niche market. Furthermore, Mexican and American respondents reported different views of environmentally friendly hotels, with Americans exhibiting more concern with functional aspects of sustainability, while Mexican guests were more familiar with emotional aspects of conservation. The study concluded that management should consider the sociocultural backgrounds, of their guests and may have to engage in efforts to educate guests about the benefits of balancing social responsibility with guest service expectations.

What’s in a Word? Building Program Loyalty through Social Media Communication

Customer loyalty is paramount for hospitality businesses, and social media communication is becoming a powerful way to increase touchpoints with customers. However, scant research evaluates the impact of social media behavior on program loyalty. Thus, the goal of our study is to determine the impact of social media communication on hotel program loyalty. We present a quantitative model of the differential impact of various forms of social media word of mouth (WOM) and verify it with a random sample of 575 participants. Our results suggest that hotelier social media communication style and information quality significantly affect consumer social media behavior; this leads to increased loyalty toward hotel reward programs. Combined with other findings, the friendly dimension of communication style has the highest impact, whereas interactive and professional display the lowest scores. In other words, study respondents are more likely to participate in friendly social media environments; such participation is more limited with regard to those that are simply interactive and professional. Therefore, this study adds to the body of knowledge on loyalty, WOM, social media communication, and rewards programs by proposing and testing an integrative model between social media communication style, information quality, social media behavior, and all of their ultimate impact on program loyalty.

Style before substance? Building loyalty through marketing communication congruity

Purpose Because communication channels are inherently unique, they may differentially affect customers depending on their preferred communication style. Therefore, the information that firms provide might not have the intended effect, which is to increase program loyalty. The purpose of the current study is to present a marketing communication model that focuses on promoting program loyalty via self-congruity with the communication style of information channels. Design/methodology/approach The study introduces a self-congruity theory-based structural equation model, which is validated through an online sample of 575 respondents. The model begins with communication style and investigates its impact on satisfaction and loyalty in relation to hotel loyalty program members. Findings The model confirms that different forms of communication have varying levels of relevance to program loyalty. Communication style, information quality, self-congruity and satisfaction are all significant predictors of program loyalty. Practical implications Management can cultivate a community of loyal program members through the recognition of self-image congruence and its relationship with communication style, along with a solid understanding of target markets. Originality/value Despite the apparent influence that communication has on loyalty, very little research evaluates the typologies (firm-created and customer-created), dimensions (electronic and in-person) and attributes of information in terms of their effects on program loyalty.

The impact of communication channels on communication style and information quality for hotel loyalty programs

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of communication channels on communication style and information quality as perceived by loyalty program members. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was utilized to collect data, and multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the study hypothesis. Findings – Study results indicated that the choice of a communication channel has a significant impact on the perceived communication style and information quality. Research limitations/implications – The use of an online survey restricted the ability to generalize findings beyond those that use the internet. Replicating this study in other areas where customers seek information outside of loyalty programs would provide valuable insight into the impact of communication channels on communication style and perceived quality of communication. Practical implications – Communication style and information quality have been shown to impact customer loyalty. The results of this study indic...

Loyalty Runs Deeper than Thread Count: An Exploratory Study of Gay Guest Preferences and Hotelier Perceptions

ABSTRACT Alongside many global businesses, hotels have recently shared in the movement to serve the gay market. If the perception of being gay-friendly is not the same for hoteliers and their gay guests, a marketing discrepancy may exist and loyalty of the gay segment could be at risk. To address this issue, a sample of 188 gay guests and 48 hoteliers was explored. Differences tests were conducted to evaluate the hotel attribute importance ratings of gay guests versus hoteliers when considering that segment. After conducting a factor analysis, a regression determined the impact of each factor on gay guest loyalty, with the social environment component having the greatest impact. Most importantly, hotels should support the gay community beyond simply offering a room, an intangible yet important display of social responsibility. This study augments previous hospitality research on the gay guest segment and provides avenues for future qualitative and quantitative studies.

Do members want the bells and whistles? Understanding the effect of direct and partner benefits in hotel loyalty programs

ABSTRACT As a way of increasing the perceived value of hotel loyalty programs, hoteliers are partnering with non-hotel brands to differentiate and drive member engagement. We examine the effect of such strategic alliances on the loyalty to a member program and further test a structural equation model with n = 469 active loyalty members. Our model investigates whether tier status and satisfaction function as mediators of the effects of a strategic alliance on brand loyalty. Our findings indicate that the benefits that loyalty programs and partnerships with non-hotel brands offer can positively influence brand loyalty when the member’s tier status and satisfaction mediates.

Creating strategic relationships with online travel agents to drive hotel room revenue: An OTA perspective

Hoteliers are often frustrated by the significant fees charged for bookings by Online Travel Agents (OTAs), and they try to encourage more direct bookings that circumvent the OTA system. However, there are billions of dollars of room revenues generated by OTAs every year; and many companies in other industries sell their products through multiple channels. The purpose of this study is to investigate how hotel revenue managers can collaborate successfully with OTAs.,Qualitative methods are applied in this study, specifically focus groups and in-person interviews with market managers of a leading OTA. Content analysis is performed, using ATLASti 5, to discover emerging themes and categories from the transcripts.,This study highlights several OTA value propositions and how hotels can benefit from them. Additionally, the findings of this study reveal that effective two-way communication between OTAs and revenue managers is the key to success. An “optimization loop” is established, which specifies that partnership and collaboration between OTAs and hotels must occur in a circular sequence of communication, engagement, collaboration and strategy.,A major limitation for this study is that interviews were conducted only with market managers, limiting the perspective to that of OTAs.,There is a paucity of research and dialogue discussing productive relationships between OTAs and hotel firms. Through in-depth in-person interviews with a diverse set of market managers from a leading OTA, this study brings to light an array of perspectives of what is required to optimize the OTA/hotelier relationship.,酒店经营者常常受到在线旅行社（OTA）收取高额预订费用的困扰。酒店试图鼓励客人直接预订房间，绕过OTA程序。然而，每年OTA贡献仍有数以十亿计美金的订房收入; 其他行业的很多公司采用多渠道销售产品。本论文研究目的在于探索酒店经理人们如何能够成功地与OTA合作。,本论文采用定性研究方法，主要以小组讨论和个人访谈的形式，与一家行业领先的OTA市场经理们进行深度访谈。本论文借用ATLASti 5 内容分析工具进行样本分析，总结出主题和分类。,本论坛提出了多个OTA价值组成，以及酒店如何从中盈利。此外，本论文还指出了OTA和财务经理的有效双向交流的重要性。其中，需要建立“循环展开”（Optimization Loop），即OTA和酒店之间的合作交流需要建立在循环、有序、通畅、以及战略的基础上。,本论文一个主要的理论限制就是只采访了OTA的市场经理。,理论上，关于OTA和酒店之间的战略合作的讨论，我们知之甚少。本论文采用与一家行业领先的OTA市场经理们的深入访谈，将这一合作关系进行积极讨论分析，提供一系列优化战略合作的方案和见解。,在线旅行社（OTA），酒店订房收入，合作关系，Expedia，市场经理，收入优化

Understanding Discount Program Risk in Hospitality: A Monte Carlo Approach

This study exhibits the usefulness of simulation analysis in understanding discount program risk from hospitality consumer behavior. A comprehensive review of hospitality discount programs, discussion of the methodological approach, and potential extensions of the technique is provided, along with applications to hypothetical restaurant and casino discount programs. We show changes from complex consumer behavior that are difficult to directly measure or forecast with traditional methods. One simulation outlines a scenario in which the profitability of restaurant discount programs can easily be misinterpreted leading to poor management decisions, while the other simulation reveals a scenario where casino house advantages could vary substantially from those typically used in profitability calculations.