Vincent C. S. Heung

Customer complaint behaviour towards hotel restaurant services

The area of customer complaint behaviour has received considerable attention from hotel managers as dissatisfied customers engage in a variety of complaint actions that could ruin the reputation of a hotel. This study examined Chinese customer complaint behaviour towards Hong Kong hotel restaurant services. The main objectives were to identify complaint patterns and the relationships between customers’ demographic backgrounds such as age, gender and education levels; and their complaint behaviours. Based on a survey of 220 hotel restaurant diners, complainers and non‐complainers were identified. The research findings suggested that at most customers are likely to engage in private complaint behaviours such as word‐of‐mouth communication and ceasing to patronize the restaurant. It highlights that the complaint intentions of Chinese diners were quite low and they were passive about communicating dissatisfaction to restaurateurs. Restaurateurs can make use of these findings to improve their existing customer feedback systems and complaint handling strategies.

Consumer complaint behaviour of Asians and non‐Asians about hotel services: An empirical analysis

Purpose – This paper aims to test the differences in the consumer complaint behaviour of Asian and non‐Asian hotel guests in terms of culture dimensions. It also aims to examine the relationship between demographic factors (age, gender and education level) and complaint behaviour.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts the Hofstedes typology of culture as a framework to investigate cultural differences and demographic characteristics in the complaint behaviour of hotel guests. A face‐to‐face interview survey is conducted to collect data in this research. Data are then analyzed by various statistical methods such as two‐way contingency table analysis, non‐parametric Mann‐Whitney U and Chi‐square tests.Findings – The survey reveals that older complainants tend to resort to “public actions,” but people with a higher level of education tend not to complain publicly. In addition, Asian guests are less likely to complain to the hotel for fear of “losing face” and are less familiar with the channels for ...

A conceptual model of medical tourism: implications for future research.

ABSTRACT An extensive review of the current literature reveals that no integrated theoretical framework for the holistic study of the medical tourism industry exists. This study, therefore, aims to fill this gap by proposing an integrated model for the investigation of this burgeoning tourism field. It is developed with a view to capturing the current situation of medical tourism in a given country or region from the supply and demand perspectives. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques are suggested as systematic tools to test and validate the model. This study not only has implications for future research, but also provides useful information for practitioners in the medical tourism industry.

Internet usage by international travellers: reasons and barriers

Despite the growing importance of the Internet as an information source for international travellers, as a marketing tool and as a way of doing business, there is a general lack of information on how these travellers use the Internet for information, booking and purchase of travel products and services. Understanding how travellers behave is of critical importance to travel marketers in formulating appropriate marketing strategies so as to fully exploit the developing potential of this new channel. This study attempts to identify the levels of usage of the Internet as an information source and product‐purchasing tool by international travellers across seven countries. A survey of 1,114 international travellers shows that approximately 30 percent of travellers use the Internet for reservation or purchase of any travel products or services. Findings also indicate that those travellers, predominantly from Western countries with higher education levels and higher annual household income, are more likely to use the Internet for online purchase of travel products.

Important Factors Affecting Hong Kong Consumers’ Choice of a Travel Agency for All-Inclusive Package Tours:

All-inclusive package tours contribute significantly to the success of travel agencies in Hong Kong. It is the major source of revenue for most travel agencies, and success or failure in the market determines the long-term prosperity or closure of the business. This study aims to identify the important travel agency selection factors in relation to choosing a travel agency for all-inclusive package tours, as perceived by Hong Kong consumers. A total of 183 Hong Kong consumers were surveyed and were asked to rate 29 attributes that might affect their choice of travel agency for all-inclusive package tours. Results showed that of the 29 attributes, “agency reputation” was rated as the most important attribute in travel agency selection, followed by “word-of-mouth communication” and “staff attitude.” Using factor analysis, six factors were derived, namely, Interactive Agent Quality, Formal Communication, Overall Convenience, Pricing, Product Features, and Image. Results of independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA revealed that the Interactive Agent Quality, Formal Communication, and Pricing factors varied significantly by gender, and the Formal Communication and Pricing factors varied significantly by income level. Implications for future studies are given at the end of this article.

Satisfaction levels of mainland Chinese travelers with Hong Kong hotel services

Among all the Asian markets, mainland China was least affected by the economic downturn. It provides a leading source of tourism revenue to Hong Kong. In order to fully capture this market, it is important to satisfy the needs of the mainland Chinese travelers. This study aims to measure the satisfaction levels of Chinese travelers in relation to the hotel services in Hong Kong. The satisfaction levels of the mainland Chinese travelers on 34 hotel service attributes were studied using the disconfirmation paradigm. A total of 203 mainland Chinese travelers were interviewed. The results indicated that mainland Chinese travelers were satisfied with “Availability of personal care amenities”, “Quietness of the room”, “Availability of food and beverage variety” and dissatisfied with “Recreation facilities” “Availability of frequent travelers’ program” and the “Baggage handling service”. Eight dimensions of hotel services were identified. “Service quality and value” and “Augmented product quality” dimensions were found to be more important than others in influencing their overall satisfaction levels and the likelihood of returning to the same hotels. Implications of the findings for hotel operators in Hong Kong were discussed.

Barriers to implementing E-commerce in the travel industry: a practical perspective.

Abstract An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the barriers to implementing E-commerce as considered by the travel agencies in Hong Kong. A mail survey was used and to collect the relevant data and the results were based on 103 travel agencies. The findings indicate that Hong Kong travel agencies are mostly concerned about the “Management support” and “Partner’s participation” when they decided to implement E-commerce in the marketplace. Implications of the findings were discussed and recommendations for future studies were included.

The Effects of Relationship Marketing Orientation on Business Performance in the Hotel Industry

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between relationship marketing orientation and business performance in the hotel industry. Data were generated from 63 hotels in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that relationship marketing orientation was positively and significantly associated with marketing performance and financial performance of a hotel. Implications of the findings are discussed, and limitations of the study as well as further research directions are addressed.

Play or not to play—An analysis of the mechanism of the zero-commission Chinese outbound tours through a game theory approach

Abstract The purpose of this study is to demystify the mechanism of the so-called zero-commission tours that have become synonymous with the booming Chinese outbound tourism market in the past decade. Two models of game theory are applied to identify nine proposed key factors that constitute the “zero-tour” phenomenon. These involve interactions in both the temporal and spatial dimensions of all of the stakeholders concerned with such tours, from outbound tourists and outbound and inbound operators to local guides and governments both within and beyond the Chinese border. It is concluded that zero-commission tours, underpinned by the proposed factors and notwithstanding their current legal and practical viability, have a tremendous negative impact on all of the stakeholders. This study may serve as a reference for the drafting and implementation of both policy and business countermeasures to curb zero-commission tours, thus facilitating more positive contributions from Chinese outbound tourism to the development of world tourism.

Cronyism: One possible consequence of guanxi for an insider: how to obtain and maintain it?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine a model of how a foreign businessman obtains and maintains cronyism from his Chinese counterpart that emphasizes on an insider perspective to convert him from a new friend to an old friend of his Chinese counterpart through a guanxi adaptation mechanism. Design/methodology/approach – A vigorous analysis of extant literature and an investigation of insider dynamics within a new friend/old friend perspective. Findings – Gift‐giving is strategic and a foreign businessman must manage its monetary value very cautiously in order to alleviate the “face” and provide renqing so as to generate ganging and to obtain cronyism from his Chinese counterpart. In saying that, relativism prevails. A foreign company must establish a zone of ethical tolerance so that its executive knows the limits when practicing gift‐giving. In China, an old friend is a supporter and therefore a foreign business should not openly criticize his Chinese counterpart. Frequent visits to China must be maintained. Practical implications – A foreign businessman needs to understand the guanxi dynamics of renqing and ganging and their sequential arrangement in the adaptation mechanism. He should use gift‐giving to offer renqing so as to establish ganging with his Chinese counterparts. Originality/value – Provides a depth analysis of two emotional aspects in the guanxi adaptation mechanism, i.e. renqing and ganging which is a definitive device to convert a foreign businessman from a new friend to an old friend of his counterpart in the Chinese market.