Tom Baum

An empirical analysis of oligopolistic hotel pricing.

Abstract Inflexible supply and volatile demand make the resort industry one where the effects of oligopoly are destabilizing. Theoretical Ricardian models predict that such instability should be asymmetrically related to the state of demand. High and stable prices characterize periods of excess demand. However periods of excess supply are characterized by prices that are downwardly inflexible and do not reflect the true state of demand. Data from Bermuda resort hotels are used to test these predictions. The study found that during periods of excess demand, prices are well-behaved. However, during periods of excess supply, prices are unrepresentative of the state of demand. Thus, the Ricardian model is supported by the data.

The development and implementation of national tourism policies

Abstract This paper reviews a variety of approaches to tourism policy development and reports a research study into the issues which influence the development and implementation of national tourism policies, with particular reference to the position of human resource concerns within this process. The study also considered the specific role of national tourism organizations in policy development. The research, based on a postal survey of NTOs, identifies the primarily economic determinants of tourism policy but notes a number of important variations between policy development in developed and developing countries. Human resource concerns feature consistently as factors in policy development but are seen as relatively peripheral to the process.

A Ricardian Analysis of the Fully Inclusive Tour Industry

The UK fully inclusive tour industry is characterised by (a) demand volatility, (b) an oligopolistic market structure and (c) an unstorable product. The interplay of these factors leads to an asymmetric reaction of industry pricing to demand forecasting errors. Demand underestimation results in stable and relatively high prices. However, demand overestimation ensures price and market structure instability. During such periods, lowering price is unlikely to yield a stable outcome for the industry. In fact, there are forces working against prices falling to levels commensurate with demand. Concentration of unit ownership at the margin, and not elsewhere, determines the extent of this price rigidity.

Contracting out food and beverage operations in hotels: a comparative study of practice in north America and the United Kingdom.

Abstract This paper addresses one of the most significant changes that is taking place with respect to the food and beverage area in hotels, that of contracting out operations to external operators, whether individual restaurateurs or branded restaurant chain names. This development is widely regretted by many traditionalists but represents a reality in north America and, increasingly, in the United Kingdom as well. This paper considers the current situation in north America and the UK and reports the findings of a survey of individual hoteliers and corporate interests in both localities. The survey sought information on current attitudes to contracting out within the hotel industry and mixed responses are reported here. What can be reported with some confidence is that this practice will continue to grow in both locations.

National tourism policies: implementing the human resource dimension

Abstract This paper addresses an area that has, largely, been neglected in academic discussion: that of the specific position of human resource factors in tourism policy formulation. In addition, responsibility for the management of policy and its implementation has also been subjected to similar neglect and this paper reports a survey into the role of national tourism organizations and other agencies in this area. A comparative dimension is provided, within this discussion, through the replication of a 1975 WTO study into NTO functions (the only comparable work in this area) which allows some assessment to be made regarding changes in NTO roles in the human resource domain. The outcomes of the study point to considerable fragmentation in the management of human resource matters within tourism at a national level. A diversity of agencies, including NTOs, were identified as key actors in this area, but with oversight and coordination. NTO functions have not changed significantly in the time between the two studies reported here, although reduced roles for NTOs in developed countries and increasingly sophisticated commitments among NTOs of developing countries were reported. The conclusions suggest a classification of the agencies which play a role in human resource policy development and implementation within tourism and also point to areas where further research would be desirable.

Images of tourism past and present

Explores aspects of the changing relationship between tourists and those working in the tourism industry. Gives a historical overview of the development of tourism and notes its change from elite to mass consumption. Considers aspects relating to the customer‐employee interface, particularly the aspect of “social distance”. Suggests that ideally this interface will be one based on mutual respect and equality and that the search for such a relationship will be a goal for the industry as it moves towards the next millennium.

Human resource concerns in European tourism: strategic response and the EC

Abstract Human resource issues present a growing challenge to European tourism. They are likely to become of increasing importance as the threat from other tourism destinations, particularly East and South-East Asia, grows. Issues of labour mobility, recruitment, education and training, will come to the forefront as part of strategies by which European tourism aims to retain its share of the global market.

Attracting Hotel Investment : Insights From Principal-Agent Theory

Government agencies are becoming increasingly involved in the process of providing investment supports to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper focuses on the problem of how best to structure the investment supports in the context of the hotel industry. The scenario analyzed has four players-the govern ment sponsor, the local development agency, the hotel enterprise, and the private financier. Five different types of investment supports are analyzed in the specific context of the large hotel and resort industry- grants, subsidies for infrastructure development, taxconcessions, loans, and interest subsidies. In each case, the effect of the cascading principal-agent relationships are assessed in the strategic context. It is shown that in some cases, governments may prefer support schemes that appear to be more expensive, but have better incentive or risk-sharing implications. The various alternatives may also be combined so as to carefully calibrate the risk borne by the hotel developer, the private lender, and the state.