Influência dos intermediários de distribuição de produtos turísticos no processo de decisão do meio de hospedagem pelo consumidor

This study examines the complex hotel buyer decision process in front of the tourism distribution channels. Its objective is to describe the influence level of the tourism marketing intermediaries, mainly the travel agents and tour operators, over the hotel decision process by the buyer-tourist. The data collection process was done trough a survey with three hundred brazilian tourists hosted in nineteen hotels of Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The data analysis was done using some multivariate statistic techniques as correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, factor analysis and multiple discriminant analysis. The research characterizes the hotel services consumers profile and his trip, and identifying the distribution channels used by them. Furthermore, the research verifies the intermediaries influence exercised over hotel buyer decision process, looking for identify causality relations between the influence level and the buyer profile. Verifies that information about hotels available on internet reduces the probability that this influence can be practiced; however it was possible identifying those consumers considers this information complementary and non-substitutes than the information from intermediaries. The characteristics of the data do not allow indentifying the factors that constraint the intermediaries influence neither identifying discriminant functions of the specific distribution channel choice by consumers. The study concludes that consumers don t agree in have been influenced by intermediaries or don t know if they have, still considering important to consult them and internet doesn t substitute their function as information source

Gestão do marketing de relacionamento: um estudo em empresas hoteleiras de Natal - RN

The present study it analyzes the Management of the Marketing of strategy Relationship as distinguishing for the host s companies of the city of Natal - RN. To carry through this analysis interviews with managers had been carried through, as well as the direct comment of processes, documents, actions and strategies developed for the hotels, with intention to know the level of perception and valuation of the relationship with customers, to verify resources and technologies used in the Management of the Relationship Marketing, identification, segmentation and differentiation of customers, personalization of products and services, and results of the emphasis in the relationship with customers for the host s companies. The research can be classified as exploratory - descriptive, and its universe is limited to the city of Natal, having enclosed hotels that have carried through tourist activity in 2005 and 2006. Still on the criteria of election of the sample, the study it investigated host s companies who if fit in the category superior luxury, or either, five stars, pertaining the national nets and international. How much to the treatment and analysis of the data the was made to leave of the theoretical support of the authors who work the thematic one and of the analysis of the interviews with managers, documents and processes observed for the researcher in the studied hotels. The research sample that the interviewed ones understand the importance to work the Management of the Marketing of Relationship in the host s companies me intention to get sustainable competitive advantage. One still evidenced that the searched hotels make use of strategies and instruments of Management of the Marketing of Relationship, however without an ample theoretical knowledge and yes only as base in the experience of the managers and spread processes already, generating one moment competitive advantage and not relationships of long duration

Influência de variáveis arquitetônicas no desempenho energético de hotéis no clima quente e úmido da cidade de Natal/RN

This master thesis aims to assess the influence of the design decisions on the energy building performance of hotels. The research is based on the integration of field study and computer simulation. Firstly, a detailed field study is carried out to identify the characteristics of hotels in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The items assessed are occupancies, light and equipment densities, types of air conditioning, total and monthly energy consumption, among others. A second and more comprehensive field study is carried out to identify the range of occurrence of architectural variables, with a larger number of buildings. A base case is modelled in VisualDOE, based on the first field study. Then, a first set of simulations are run to explore the sensitivity of the variables on the energy consumption. The results analyses were the base of a second set of simulations, which combined the most influential variables. The results of 384 models were assessed, and the impacts of design decisions were quantified. The study discusses tendencies and recommendations, as well as the methods advantages and disadvantages

Natal como destino turístico : um estudo das imagens (re)veladas pela mídia, pelos turistas e suas implicações educacionais e culturais

This thesis is a result of a research on Natal/RN as a tourist destination. We understand that cities are chosen as tourist destinations beyond its cartographic localization, from other dimensions of meanings that, in its set, constitute images. These images are, probably, very different of the images constructed by native and resident populations, who possess relations of identity with the place. The knowledge of the meanings that others attribute to this city as tourist destination, bring us near to the symbolic bonds established by individuals or social groups on the act of their choices, as well as bring us near to the interaction process city-tourists where the expectations are confirmed or not. The images divulgated by the media also participate of the complex formation of the tourist image that is being constructed and available for the different public, in different social contexts. The tourism constitutes a symbolic asset of the modern society, being considered by the studious, as one of the most expressive phenomena of the modernity, for involving each year displacement and the interaction of thousand of people of different cultures in the entire world. All this people s mobilization points to practical social related to personal motivations, to the entailed desired to the idea to travel and to exceed borders. It is already consensus that tourism is a phenomenon of economic growth, generating jobs, income, professional, qualification, bringing improvements for the host cities. Since 1995, in Brazil, the tourism as a sector of the economy, passed to be considered one of the national priorities, and in this perspective, the national politics of the tourism invested in infrastructure of Brazilian cities with high tourist potential, objecting to increase the flows of Brazilian and foreign tourists. Owing to this fact, the country still invests in programs of tourist marketing, mainly divulging the images of the natural beauties of Brazil abroad. And for Brazilians, the campaigns appeal to rescue the feeling to be Brazilian, associating the idea to travel and know its country. Natal city possesses an excellent positioning in the tourist marketing, being predominantly divulgated in national and international level, for its naturalistic singularity, where the images of its natural enchantments as warm water beaches, white dunes, warm weather, constant breeze and an always blue sky are shown as the favorite scene on this city. From what was viewed above that the choice of a tourist destination articulates from a determined imaginary of a place, already constructed or in process of construction, we consider the knowledge of this imaginary a basic learning for the population of the city and especially, for educators, in the formation of professionals in this area and for tourism managers, elaborators of public politics. Based on this estimative, we developed this research that had as a general objective to identify the images that illustrate Natal city as a tourist destination - our objective of study, particularly the meanings and senses attributed by the tourist marketing (hotel s folders) and by the tourists that visited the city during this study. The discussions and reflections that had guided this research had been given from the theoretical link between imaginary and social representation, also considering some interfaces between the fields of communication and symbol. From the studied authors, Baczko (1985) clarifies that the study of social imaginary is directed for the mechanisms and structures of the social life, especially for the intervention accomplishes and efficient of the representations and symbols in the practical collectives, as well as in its direction and orientation . Following this same thought, Moscovici (1978) says that the social representation are produced in communicational and symbolic contexts, and these representations once that already constituted circulate socially as almost tangible entities. Based on this fundament and on the analyze of Barthes (1990), particularly in the approach given to the reading of photographic image, we could observe on hotel s folders that each page evidences senses and meanings of functionality of internal and external spaces, pointing to the way of leisure offered by the keepers of city which is the hotels. About, the leisure that they offer, it is directed to young public, giving meaning to the young myth of personalized leisure tourism on children, young and adults images. The image about security that hotels offer and the singular image of Natal city as a paradise place, provide an idealization of pleasure through the sun, dunes, and beaches and also due to the hospitability of the natives who are assigned as educated . For the tourist that participated on this research, Natal city is tied only by the imaginary of leisure and nature which constitute the emotional link of the relation media-city-tourist. And with such force and fullness of directions the city discloses without tensions and contradictions as a place protected by a mythical and sacred aura. The study also demonstrates us that the potiguar culture remains (almost) forgotten, due to the silenced in this imaginary. In this perspective, we highlight that this culture silence is very close related to the disvalue of education in its general meaning. We defend that the imaginary apprehended constitutes a new reading and a new looking and understanding the tourist reality that comes historically consolidating in this city. In this direction, we glimpse that this study and its future dismemberments can collaborate with the process of rescue the cultural values of the potiguar people, in the way that the meaning of tourist may be redefined, and the tourist image of the city can be also disclosed for its identities particularities of its culture

Influência das dimensões organizacionais na gestão do conhecimento: pesquisa empírica na rede de hoteleira de Natal/RN

This dissertation of Master of Science investigates the influence of the organization dimensions in the development of the management of the knowledge in the administrative activities developed by the tourist sector of the city of the Natal/RN. The adopted methodology was a descriptive research and exploration, using the technique of analysis of Cluster and Box Multiple Plot. The objective of if using descriptive and exploration analysis of the absolute values and the gotten percentages, are to present, on the basis of the studied dimensions, the degree of importance and the agreement related to the organization knowledge in the perception of the interviewed ones. The used instrument of research was a composed questionnaire for two parts: study of the management of the knowledge and profiles of the companies and interviewed. This questionnaire aims at the study of the organization environment, evidencing if the same it propitiates one administrative politics directed for the creation, storage and dissemination of the organization knowledge. Of this form, the general result presented a relationship of the content seen in the bibliography with the activities developed in the hotels, demonstrating that the management of the organization knowledge is of great importance for the development of this activity

Turismo de eventos como estratégia no combate à sazonalidade: uma análise na hotelaria de Natal - RN

The aim of this work is to analyse the tourism events and the performance of this segment from market as strategy in the combat of Natal's hotel seasonality, in the executives/managers's vision from this sector. Two searches were realized to turn available this study: Inicialy a bibliographic search involving the concepts associated with the tematic in question so that it arranges the embasament theoric-scientific and a survey from facts through the country search, where it was applicable in the establishments of work's population with the auxiliary from a formulary answered by a personal interview. The analyses techniques through facts were: estatistic descritive and Kolmogorov-smirnov test.Among the results found, it was verified that the main reasons alleged by the hotels to ingress in the segment from the events were the alinement from the competitive company, the diversification in the options in the sense of occupy the establishments during the period of low season and answer to the demand of market. Investigated the profile from the events occured in the Natal hotels referring to the port, public origin , kinds of events and frequency from their realizations, as well as , the capacity from these establishments to attend this segment.It was noticed that in spite of the hotels agree that the events are important estrategies to combat the seasonality, the establishments still suffer with the flutuation, what can be justified from the moment that it's considered that the events also behave from seasonal manner, having more concentration in certain periods from the year. It was evaluated that the main advantage noticed by the realization from the hotels's events is the utilization from alimentation and drinking services, surpassing the advantage from elevation of taxes occupation from the apartments

Avaliação da usabilidade de Websites de hotéis segundo as heurísticas de Nielsen: pesquisa exploratória em hotéis da Região Rordeste do Brasil

This Thesis deals with the usability in some sites of hotels placed in a specific region of Brazil. Usability is the property of a site that shows how it allows the user get all information available without a large effort and in a clear and objective way. A questionnaire was used as a tool to value, by the common user perspective, navigation, on line reservation simulation, appreciation of the available content and, by this way, an easiness in the interaction site-users. As a result, it is possible to say that, considering all material analyzed, those sites that present usability criterion are more interactive and dynamic, demonstrating an easy navigation in a users view. By other side, it was possible to note that, about heuristics used in the search, the most of the websites demonstrated a deficiency in questions as firmness, user control and how to avoid mistakes. There was still valued as deficiency by the most of users in websites the general characters and the view of user. It was presented, seeing general characters, that a big part of the websites needs tools that can make user rapidly find what looks for. It was yet possible to see that users don't believe in secret when websites ask them some information. This is a point that needs to be appreciated because it causes some insecurity during navigation

Análise tecnológica sobre os aspectos ambientais de empreendimentos hoteleiros da Praia de Ponta Negra Natal/RN: um modelo de sistema de gestão ambiental

The present work aimed the elaboration of an environmental study focused on the hotel sector in order to present an analysis of the environmental aspects of Ponta Negra Beach, in Natal, RN, Brazil and also the aspects of the small and medium hotels existing in this area. By means of this work, it is possible to elaborate a model of a simplified System of Environmental Management which can attend to the exigencies required by NBR ISO 14001: 2004, as well as to present economical viability and possibility to be implemented in a way that hotels may converge to the sustainable environmental development of the tourism in Ponta Negra Beach. The research methodology presents itself divided into three items: execution of the environmental characterization of Ponta Negra Beach, by way of technical visits and interpretation of satellite images and cartograms of the main environmental characteristics of the region; execution of the work already made concerning the development, application and interpretation of the evaluation of the environmental aspects of each hotel, considering the hotels and the period of data collection, these used in evaluation, research instrument and a description of the procedure utilized for the analysis of the collected data and the utilized methodology for the elaboration of a model of a simplified System of Environmental Management. In a general way, it has been concluded that the practices executed by hotels in Ponta Negra Beach are impact-like and harmful to the environment. The simple implementation of analysis procedures and control of the environmental aspects could suggestively contribute to the reduction of environmental impacts promoted by the hotel section at this beach and in the nearby areas. It had been noticed that the study contributed to the sensitization of managers concerning the environmental problems since, in many other times, the detected problem was, in fact, the non-acquaintance about the environmental aspects and impacts from those hotels administrators, because of the lack of surveys and studies about the theme. It had also been noticed the arousing of a possible environmental attitude from some managers

Fatores da satisfação e fidelidade de clientes na hotelaria: um estudo sobre a percepção dos gestores de hotéis

This Master of Science Thesis deals with the perception of hotels managers about the factors affecting the loyalty and satisfaction of its customers. It is surveyed a group of managers attending a hotel industry meeting and the results of their responses are compared with three surveys on tourist satisfaction and loyalty factors in Natal, Brazil, including international, national and regional tourist. The main findings suggest a divergence on the managers perception and the customer significant factors affecting satisfaction surveyed, but a certain convergence on the factors affecting loyalty. The research suggest a need for a customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement system in order to contribute for the alignment of managers perception and its customers evaluations

Diagnóstico Socioambiental da disposição final dos resíduos sólidos no distrito de Guajiru São Gonçalo do Amarante/RN, ressaltando a situação socioeconômica dos catadores

One of the concerns of this century is with the handling and the final destination of urban solid waste (RSU), where depending on the form as they will be made use, they can cause diverse problems, they are of ambient or social order, being able to generate the loss of the quality of life and illnesses to the population, of direct or indirect form. The objective of the present work was to diagnosis the environmental partner situation of the Final Destination of the urban solid residues in the District of Guajiru, city of São Gonçalo do Amarante/RN, standing out the partner-economic situation of the scavengers. The research was carried through in the period of March of 2008 the October of 2009, with a methodology developed through analyzes them of documents made available for the state ambient agency, the Air base of Christmas and managing agencies of the city. For collection of the date, it was used directly application of the questionnaire with 20 existing scavengers in points of destination of residues, evaluation of the old place of final destination through the use of the spread sheet of the IQR (Index of Quality of the Residues), developed for the CETESB, identification of the matter dump and photographic register. For effect of treatment of the data, a descriptive analysis with regard to the answers of the interviewed scavengers was carried through. The acquired date, Scale had been according to tabulated and analyzed in Excel 2003, where they had been generated graphical to observe the behavior of the data. The results show that of the twenty interviewed scavengers, 35% possess age between 20 and 30 years; 75% possess incomplete basic education; 60% inhabit in houses of waal or huts (cardboard or wood); 55% do not make use of system of water supply and system of sanitary exhaustion; with regard to income monthly for scavengers, 35% had presented income between R$ 200,00 and R$300,00 and 20% possess income above of R$ 500,00 for possessing another source of income; 80% of the interviewed ones, use some type of equipment of individual protection; In the year of 2009, confirming what it was informed by the State agency of Environment, during the field visit, we evidence that the city of Is Gonçalo do Amarante, currently, destines its residues in Sanitary landfill of São Region Metropolitan of Natal in the District of Massaranduba in the city of Ceará-Mirim, after some interventions of the State Public prosecution service. However, in the district of Guajiru some diggings still exist that today are used as final destination of RCD' s (Residues of Construction and Demolition) of the cities of Natal and São Gonçalo do Amarante, as well as private dumps that are used by scavengers that deviate the final destination (Sanitary landfill) of the residues of the great generators (supermarkets, shopping Center and hotels), with presence of urubus, generating a new ambient problem for the city and the aeroportuária security. Ahead of this scene, the study it suggests viable alternatives for the elimination of the private dumps and for the social situation of the escavengers, aiming at to improve its quality of life and 10 to minimize the ambient impacts caused by the inadequate destination of the solid waste in the community of Guajiru, São Gonçalo do Amarante/RN, being able to contribute so that the public managers carry through action in the handling and the control of the final destination of the urban solid waste

Gestão de satisfação e fidelidade do cliente na hotelaria :um estudo sobre os fatores que influenciam a satisfação e a fidelidade do turista internacional no Brasil

The objective of this thesis was studying the factors which contribute to customer s satisfaction and loyalty, focusing the Norwegian model of satisfaction and loyalty of the consumer, applied in the sector of hotel services in Natal/RN, Brazil. The theoretical research was led through the concepts of service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty, models of quality management systems, national index of customer s satisfaction and methods which evaluate the customer s satisfaction. The field research was carried through from December 1st of 2004 to 24 st, among 381 international tourists who had been housed in the hotels of Natal. The analyses of the data had been made through the descriptive statistics and analysis of multiple regression. The results had evidenced that the main precedents variables of satisfaction had been: hotel s room, staff friendliness, hotel restaurant food and price paid; these are factors which explained, in 56,0% the variation of satisfaction with hotels. In relation to the constructs which had influenced the tourist s loyalty, were founds: tourist s satisfaction, hotel image and affective commitment, which had explained 53.0% of the data variability. The complaint management resulted as a basic factor for the tourist s satisfaction and loyalty

Sistema de gestão da qualidade na hotelaria :um estudo comparativo da ISO 9000 com os modelos de classificação no Brasil

Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar os sistemas de Classificações existentes para a garantia da gestão da qualidade no setor hoteleiro, tendo como foco principal a Matriz de Classificação para os Meios de Hospedagem da EMBRATUR e a ISO 9000, observando os benefícios que esses sistemas e/ou processos de gestão poderão vir a proporcionar para o setor hoteleiro no que se refere à qualidade de seus serviços. Para a obtenção dessas informações foi realizada uma análise comparativa dos sistemas de gestão da qualidade através de pesquisas bibliográficas e de questionários enviados para empreendimentos hoteleiros certificados e classificados, onde os principais resultados fornecidos pela pesquisa foram trabalhados de forma a apresentar, de maneira clara, a superioridade de um sistema em relação ao outro

Abordagem da ergonomia para análise da acessibilidade a hóspedes com deficiência visual em hotéis: soluções de inclusão de pessoas cegas e com baixa visão

This study evaluates the level of accessibility for people with visual impairment (blindness and low vision) hotels in the city of Natal-RN, Brazil, and provides principles, guidelines and means of projective make hotels accessible, to promote comfort, autonomy and security of these people. We used a qualitative research methodology and quantitative trait descriptive, analytical and interpretive. Was taken as a base for field studies Ergonomic Analysis of Work, beginning with a study of the demands of accessibility of hotels and analyzing the modeling activity in these establishments through the application of interactional and observational techniques, such as film, photographic records, conversational actions and observation protocols. A protocol was developed and applied to evaluate the compliance of accessibility of hotels in the face of Brazilian technical standard NBR 9050 (2004). We used methods of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) associated with simulated activities to identify the processes of decision making and analyzing the observables of the activities performed by people with visual impairment (POS). Interviews were conducted with people who are blind and low vision in various cities in order to meet accessibility difficulties they faced in hotels and recommendations for improvement that they indicate. The mapping results showed that of 16 hotels 4 and 5 star studied in Natal-RN, reached only 7% of the 50 items of the protocol, while none of them reached 70% of the items. About the results obtained in simulated activities and analyzed from the ATC, we saw that the hotel where it was performed this step shows a need to adequately address the guests with visual impairments

Fatores inibidores do uso de técnicas ambientais nos postos de combustíveis: um estudo de caso em Natal/RN

The objective of this work was to investigate the factors that inhibit the use of Environmental Techniques in the Gas Station of the city of Natal/RN. For this, a survey with the aid of a questionnaire was used like research instrument. It s used a sample for convenience, not probabilistic. For collection of the data, it was used directly application of the questionnaire to the Managers or Assistant managers of the gas station, in accordance with its availability or presence. The data was collected in all the regions of Natal (North, South, East and West). The population in accordance with the data of the ANP of September 2005 is of 111 ranks and the collected sample was of 86. To carry through the analysis of the data of this research had been used softwares Excel and Statistic version 5.0, for Windows. The analysis of data is divided in two parts; descriptive analysis and analysis of groupings (clusters). The results showed that bigger part of the interviewed ones has between 30 and 39 years of age; they have second grade completed; they had declared to have little between and reasonable knowledge how much to the use of Clean Technology (CT) in gas station; and a small part of the interviewed ones had informed to have much knowledge how much the resolutions of the CONAMA established for the Gas Station. Of the searched ranks, the majority is national(76.7%); the most accurate practice environmental used in the gas station are: it collects selective of oil used or contaminated and ecological tanks - coated with strengthened fibre glass; great part of the interviewed ones (33.8%) informed that never the TL makes planning of referring future action; about of the half of the interviewed ones (84.9%) they had more declared that its employees have of none to a reasonable level of training for deal with problems that compromise the environment; the majority of the ranks (72.1%) functions has for more then six years. It is observed that almost all the interviewed ones (96.5%) evaluate as being important or very important the implantation of CT in Gas Station and the great majority (82.1%) evaluates the difficulty in if implanting these technologies in Gas Station as being easy or very easy. In the analysis of cluster, it was verified existence of two groupings (as much in the variable of the barriers and benefits), being that inside of each clusters exists homogeneity and between clusters exists heterogeneity. In reality, everything is important or very important in the opinion of the interviewed ones. There only exists a small significant difference that separates them in clusters

Gestão de satisfação e fidelidade do cliente: um estudo com turistas em hotéis

This Thesis deals with a study on customer satisfaction and loyalty focusing on a model of factors antecedents of customer satisfaction and loyalty. The model is based on a Satisfaction Index model adopted in Norway developed by Johnson et al.(2001) and the service quality drivers from the literature. It is surveyed a sample of tourist in Natal. It is used a survey questionnaire applied at the airport in the departure moment of the tourist. The final sample results on 198 cases. Is is used a multiple regression analysis as the method to verify the factor affecting satisfaction and loyalty. Two models arise from the analysis. The first model concerning satisfaction results with cleaness and hygiene of the bathroom, leisure facilities, employees promptness, and price as the significant factors affecting satisfaction. The model has a R2 of 0.6430 and the also check in service, cleaness of the apartment and the hotel in general, bedroom setting have colinearity with some factors entering the model. The loyalty model results with satisfaction, affective commitment as the main factors affecting loyalty, with a R2 0.5396, and also image has collinearity with satisfaction. A small part of the sample has complained and this factor was not considered in the models. The results are consistent with the literature in term of quality as the main driver of the satisfaction and that it is not the only one factor to explain loyalty