Browsing by Author "Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria"

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    AirBnB Competition and Hotels’ Response: The Importance of Online Reputation
    Aznar, Pedro; Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria; Segarra, Guillem; Claveria, Jorge (Athens Journal of Tourism, 2018-03)
    AirBnB and other similar platforms are changing the market structure of the accommodation industry, threatening the status quo of the traditional hospitality industry. This is a new paradigm in which low cost accommodation options press down prices in an industry with a non-flexible cost structure. This paper analyses the role of quality perceived by customers as a key factor explaining prices differences among hotels. In a context characterized by instant access to past guests’ valuations on the Internet, the role of these valuations is compared with the traditional rating system, which is less flexible through time and based in legal standards that vary across countries. According to our empirical research, quality as assessed by past customers increases a firm’s capacity to set higher prices, working as a signalling mechanism, including the hotels in the same star category. Managers capable of building a reputation of consistent high quality service will show a higher market power.
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    Differences in seasonal price patterns among second home rentals and hotels: empirical evidence and practical implications
    Salo, Albert; Garriga, Anna; Rigall-I-Torrent, Ricard; Vila, Mar; Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria (Tourism Economics, 2012)
    Hotels and second home rentals are two of the most important tourist accommodation options in Spain. In terms of seasonality, almost all previous studies have analyzed tourism demand from the point of view either of total arrivals or the number of tourists lodged in a single accommodation type (hotels, rural accommodation, etc). However, there are no studies focusing on price seasonality or comparing seasonality among different accommodation types. By using seasonality indicators and a price index constructed by means of hedonic methods, this paper aims to shed some light on seasonal pricing patterns among second home rentals and hotels. The paper relies on a 2004 database of 144 hotels and 1,002 apartments on the Costa Brava (northeast Spain). The results show that prices for second home rentals display a smoother seasonal pattern than hotels due to reduced price differences between shoulder (May and October) and peak periods (August).
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    The Financial and Economic Performance of Hotels in Spanish Beach Tourist Destinations
    Aznar Alarcon, Juan Pedro; Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria (Athens Journal of Tourism, 2015)
    This paper analyzes the differences in financial structure, size and profitability of hotels located in three main Spanish coastal areas: Costa Brava, Costa Dorada and Costa del Sol. The study focuses on the analysis of the financial statements of a sample of approximately 100 hotels, finding key differences in hotels’ performance in these three regional clusters of the hospitality industry. The three areas show significant differences in terms of hotel size, financial structure and economic performance. The hotels located in Costa del Sol are much bigger than the hotels located in the other areas but this also implies higher levels of debt and accordingly higher interest payments with a negative effect on the profits level. Hotels in Costa Dorada have a size that allows benefiting from economies of scale, with reasonable interest payments. This size combined with higher occupancy rates are the main reasons for the better economic performance of this area compared with the other two. Finally, we found that there exist exit barriers due to the specificity of the assets involved in the hotel sector.
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    The irruption of Airbnb and its effects on hotel profitability: An analysis of Barcelona’s hotel sector
    Aznar, Juan Pedro; Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria; Rocafort, Alba; Galiana, Jorge (Intangible Capital, 2016)
    The aim of this study is to analyze the existence of a relationship between the presence of nearby substitute products, mainly Airbnb flats or rooms, and the effect on the revenue and profitability of hotels.
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    Sustainability Commitment, New Competitors’ Presence, and Hotel Performance: The Hotel Industry in Barcelona
    Aznar, Juan Pedro; Sayeras Maspera, Josep Maria; Galiana, Jorge; Rocafort, Alba (Sustainability, 2016)
    The hospitality industry is facing major challenges, among them the new competition from novel forms of supply in the sharing economy. Airbnb, Homeaway, and Niumba, among other websites offering accommodations, are having an important impact in the sector, changing existing conditions and the market for the traditional hospitality industry. In this context, a strategy based in differentiation can help to prevent drops in revenues and profitability. The main objective of this paper is analyze if commitment towards sustainability has a positive impact on financial performance and can be considered a positive strategy in this new environment. The empirical data refer to a sample of hotels in Barcelona, one of the most important tourist cities in Europe. Our results suggest that there is no clear relationship between sustainability and better financial performance; however, sustainability commitment is associated with a minimum size, which can also have positive effects in terms of economies of scale and finally affect profitability. Hotels more committed to environmental issues are located in areas with a lower density of Airbnb apartments, and this geographical distribution can be more positive than a situation of massive tourist concentration in specific areas with negative externalities for neighbors