The influence of online reviews on consumers’ attributions of service quality and control for service standards in hotels

Online travel reviews are emerging as a powerful source of information affecting tourists' pre-purchase evaluation of a hotel organization. This trend has highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the impact of online reviews on consumer attitudes and behaviors. In view of this need, we investigate the influence of online hotel reviews on consumers' attributions of service quality and firms' ability to control service delivery. An experimental design was used to examine the effects of four independent variables: framing; valence; ratings; and target. The results suggest that in reviews evaluating a hotel, remarks related to core services are more likely to induce positive service quality attributions. Recent reviews affect customers' attributions of controllability for service delivery, with negative reviews exerting an unfavorable influence on consumers' perceptions. The findings highlight the importance of managing the core service and the need for managers to act promptly in addressing customer service problems.

Exciting Moments - Reval Hotels ja mainonnan merkitykset

Pro gradu työni käsittelee virolaisia mainoksia ja niiden kohderyhmiä. Tutkimusaihe on erityisen mielenkiintoinen, sillä virolaisesta mainonnasta on tehty kansainvälisellä tasolla varsin vähän tutkimuksia. Halusin pro gradu -työssäni selvittää, mitä analysoimillani mainoksilla halutaan viestiä, kenelle ne suunnataan sekä millaisin kielellisin ja kuvallisin keinoin niitä tuotetaan. Käytin tutkimuksen materiaalina kuutta Reval Hotels ketjun mainosta, jotka ovat ilmestyneet viron- ja/tai englanninkielisinä viimeisen kahden vuoden aikana lehdissä, esitteissä tai hotellissa pöytä- tai seinämainoksina. Tutkimukseni teoreettinen viitekehys perustui kolmeen erilaiseen näkökulmaan: mainostekstien tutkimukseen, semiotiikkaan sekä Pierre Bourdieun teoriaan symbolisesta pääomasta ja sosiaalisten luokkien eroista. Sosiologisen näkökulman käyttö oli perusteltua erityisesti sen uutuusarvon vuoksi, sillä Bourdieun teoriaa ei ole aikaisemmin hyödynnetty virolaisten mainosten tutkimuksessa. Mainosten kuvien ja tekstien analyysi osoitti, että mainokset olivat rakenteellisesti oikeaoppisesti laadittuja. Mainoksista löytyi lukuisia symbolisen pääoman elementtejä, kuten englannin kieli, raha, aika, tehokkuus ja eurooppalaisuus. Mainokset olivat samalla varsin konservatiivisia ja yllätyksettömiä. Materiaalin joukosta erottui kuitenkin yksi mainos, jolla rikottiin perinteisen mainostamisen kaavaa ja josta avautui paljon erilaisia merkityksiä. Johtopäätöksenä voitiin muun muassa todeta, että Reval Hotels voi markkinointistrategiaansa kehittämällä hankkia itselleen uusia tuottavia kohderyhmiä. Pro gradu työtäni voi myöhemmin laajentaa esimerkiksi vertailevaksi jatkotutkimukseksi, jossa tarkastellaan useampien Virossa toimivien hotellien mainontaa.

Gottschalk Family on porch of Kurhaus Brunig; Norderney, Germany. Business Establishments; Hotels

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Gottschalk Family on porch of Kurhaus Brunig; Norderney, Germany. Business Establishments; Hotels

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Abbazia Hotel; Pensione Istria Business Establishments; Hotels

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Test document - Investigation into the supply and demand of breakfast muffins in Paris hotels.

This survey was undertaken by the film crew accompanying Cary Grant when making the film "Charade" in 1963.

Guest reputation indexes to analyze hotel’s online reputation using data extracted from OTAs

Nowadays many travelers use online travel agency (OTAs) to book flights, hotel rooms, rent-a-cars, cruises or entire vacation packages. Usually OTAs allow their users to give scores and to write reviews about what was used. Each OTA defines the terms and conditions for guest rating or review score and hoteliers are giving increasing importance to the scores and reviews their guests do in OTAs. This paper proposes two guest reputation index to help hoteliers to monitorize their presence in OTAs. The Aggregated Guest Reputation Index (AGRI), which shows the positioning of a hotel in different OTAs and it is calculated from the scores obtained by the hotels in those OTAs. Another one, the Semantic Guest Reputation Index (SGRI), which incorporates the social reputation of a hotel and that can be visualized through the development of word clouds or tag clouds. Examples of usage of these indexes are given with data extracted from 5-stars hotels in the Algarve, south region of Portugal, that are available on Booking and Expedia.

As relações públicas para além das guest relations: relatório de estágio no grupo Porto Bay Hotels & Resorts

Foi realizado um estágio no grupo Porto Bay Hotels & Resorts, um grupo hoteleiro da Região Autónoma da Madeira, com a duração de três meses. Apresenta-se assim no presente trabalho uma perspectiva das Relações Públicas no sector do turismo e hotelaria bem como a discussão do porquê do afunilamento desta função de gestão das relações entre as organizações e os seus públicos nas Guest Relations em algumas das unidades hoteleiras em que trabalhámos. O turismo é actualmente um dos principais sectores da economia mundial. A sobrevivência de um destino turístico, unidade hoteleira ou mesmo de um resort, depende em muito da percepção que os seus stakeholders têm da qualidade dos seus serviços. Assim as Relações Públicas, como em outros sectores, assumem um papel de destaque sendo que estas têm a capacidade de trabalhar a relação entre uma organização e os seus stakeholders, gerindo conflitos e expressando uma identidade positiva sobre a mesma e trabalhando a sua reputação e visibilidade. Em suma este trabalho pretende compreender e reflectir sobre as relações públicas no sector do turismo e hotelaria mesmo quando não o são assim entendidas. Defender-se-á uma perspectiva global, integrada e proactiva das Relações Públicas no sector hoteleiro.

Key performance indicators and the balanced scorecard at the Luxury Brand Hotels of Pestana Group

Traditional approaches to evaluate performance in hotels, have mainly used financial measures. Building on Speckbacher et al. (2003), this Work Project aims to design and propose a Balanced Scorecard Type II as a performance measurement/management system for the hospitality industry based on data collected at the Luxury Brand Hotels of Pestana Group. The main contribution is to better align the vision, strategy and financial and non-financial performance measures in this category of hotels, in particular those of Pestana Group, and by doing so, lead their managers to focus on what is really critical and, consequently improve the overall performance.

Vila Galé hotels' internationalization to Cape Verde

The intent of this paper is to assess the most suitable internationalization strategy for Vila Galé Hotels into the Cape Verdean market (namely into Sal Island), under an investment on a 5-star resort with an all-inclusive system. First, the company’s historic moves onto opening new business units, its corporate strategy triangle and its brand communication channels were studied. Afterwards, the macroeconomics, the hotel industry and other relevant trends of the country at stake were analysed in order to understand the best positioning for Vila Galé in the market as well as the most fitting plan for the project. Finally, it was shown that building a 5-star resort is the most appropriate mode of entry into this market. Keywords:

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from UK hotels in 2030

The feasibility of halving greenhousegasemissions from hotels by 2030 has been studied as part of the Carbon Vision Buildings Programme. The aim of that programme was to study ways of reducing emissions from the existing stock because it will be responsible for the majority of building emissions over the next few decades. The work was carried out using detailed computer simulation using the ESP-r tool. Two hotels were studied, one older and converted and the other newer and purpose-built, with the aim of representing the most common UKhotel types. The effects were studied of interventions expected to be available in 2030 including fabric improvements, HVAC changes, lighting and appliance improvements and renewable energy generation. The main finding was that it is technically feasible to reduce emissions by 50% without compromising guest comfort. Ranking of the interventions was problematical for several reasons including interdependence and the impacts on boiler sizing of large reductions in the heating load

The relationship between entrepreneurial marketing and the characteristics of Thai hotels and their managers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore empirically whether there are meaningful relationships between key entrepreneurial marketing (EM) variables and the demographic characteristics of the organization and its manager. Design/methodology/approach – The data were gathered from a sample of 369 hotels from all regions of Thailand through the use of a postal survey. Several multiple regression models were used to test the relationships in the study. Interaction terms were added to some models to test the moderating effects of major demographic variables on various EM attributes. Findings – The study shows which types of hotels and which types of managers were associated with EM characteristics. The results indicate that demographic characteristics, such as age, size, location, experience, and gender, significantly explain sets of entrepreneurial marketing variables. It was found, for instance, that both a young hotel and a large hotel are positively associated with entrepreneurial marketing, while owner management is positively associated with market orientation and negatively associated with growth aspirations but has no significant relationship with entrepreneurial orientation. Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive overview of selected relationships between key EM dimensions in the existing literature. It is suggested that future research involves a more in-depth exploration of some of the relationships found in this study.