Academic Articles in Hospitality Sales (Feiertag Collection)

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/78367

This is a collection of peer-reviewed academic research in the area of Hospitality Sales that may be of interest to hospitality industry managers and executives.

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 99

Financial Implications of Competitive Pricing Strategies: Evidence from the Jordanian Hotel Industry
Al-Shakhsheer, Firas J.; Habiballah, Ma’moun A.; Al-Ababneh, Mukhles M.; Al-Sabi, Samer M. (Business Management Dynamics, 2017)
The present study aimed to investigate the differing effects of competitive pricing strategies on the performance of hotels operating in bad regional political conditions. To this end, two complementary analyses were carried out based on a three-year dataset (2014-2016) collected through a questionnaire from 120 star-rated hotels in Jordan. The results of the one-way multivariate analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences in the key performance indicators between hotels adopting a discount pricing strategy and those implementing a premium pricing strategy. The results showed that hotels adopting a discount pricing strategy enjoy a relatively higher market penetration index, but lag behind their competitors in terms of revenue generation index. On the contrary, hotels implementing a premium pricing strategy have a relatively lower market penetration index, but outperform their competitors in terms of revenue generation index. The results of the detailed descriptive analysis further demonstrated that although lower-priced hotels compared to their competitors have relatively higher occupancy rates, they experience relatively lower RevPARs. By contrast, hotels with higher prices compared to their competitors lose some occupancy, but achieve relatively higher RevPARs. Overall, the results suggested that adopting a premium pricing strategy, as opposed to a discount pricing strategy, is the most convenient way for improving hotel long-term financial performance, especially when hotel demand is relatively inelastic due to poor regional political conditions.
Correlation Between The Penetration Strategies And Marketing Mix Of International Hotel Chains In Romania
Adina, Cosma Smaranda; Fleseriu, Cristina; Marius, Bota (Review of Innovation and Competitiveness: A Journal of Economic and Social Research, 2016)
On the Romanian market there are 21 international hotel chains, having 51 hotels. The goal of the research paper is to analyze which are the marketing mix policies and strategies used by the hotels, belonging to an international hotel chain on the Romanian market. For this purpose, a descriptive research was implemented through investigation of all the hotels that are part of an international hotel chain. The research reveals that hotels operate by abiding the norms established by contract. The higher the risk, the investment and control are, the more influence the hotel chain has regarding the pricing strategies. Hotels use their own channels but also the parent chain channels. Promotion strategy takes into account global, regional and local issues encountered. The majority of the hotels have the possibility to decide some internal elements for their personnel. All the hotels apply norms and standardized procedures regarding the quality of the services. The most expected advantage for a hotel that belongs to an international chain is the visibility at international level.
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).
Price formation of tourist hotels of the city of São Luís/Maranhão
Santos, Mauro; Flores, Luiz Carlos da Silva (Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo, 2017)
A hotel is a business establishment that provides accommodation and food services, and for that, it has physical structures that meet the specific and basic conditions to receive guests, in exchange for payment. Pricing in this sector may have a focus on cost, market competition, and the perception of value. The formation of price takes into account demand, segmentation, weather, competition behavior and characteristics of the property, among others. The aim of this paper is to analyze the pricing strategies in the lodging facilities in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. The study is justified by the importance of pricing for hotel management, from the reality of the hotel industry in São Luis. We adopted descriptive research procedures, predominantly quantitative in a sample of 31 hotel companies of São Luís, with managers from these establishments. Data were analyzed with support software R version 3.2.1. The research shows that the hotel chain in São Luis do Maranhão uses tools and price management strategies recommended by the legislation and other support for price management. It is concluded that there is an effort of the management of hotels to professionalize the calculation of daily rate, using techniques that give them more security in the decision and pricing, abandoning the informal or empirical methods, without abandoning the market research.
The Pricing for Same-Day Arrival Guests in the Hotel Industry
Beck, Jeffrey A.; Kim, MiRan; Schmidgall, Raymond S. (International Journal of Business and Applied Social Science (IJBASS)., 2018)
The objective of this study was to recognize the impact on pricing dynamics that elements such as reservation channels, price decision makers, and pricing for same-day and very late (after 11 PM) same-day arrival guests. The data was collected via a random sample from a list of 3,000 hotels provided by Smith Travel Research, with 283 responses being analyzed. Though this is an exploratory study, it fills a need in the hospitality literature for empirical research, as it reveals hotels’ pricing patterns for same-day arrival guests. This study enables managers and scholars to form a better understanding of hotels’ actual pricing for same-day arrival guests. Researchers can thus have a starting point for developing models that can empirically demonstrate what pricing strategies are effective for same-day arrival guests.
Effect of Pricing Strategy and Growth of Selected Hotels in Nyeri County, Kenya
Wangui, Wachira Lucy; Kiragu, David; Wachira, Anita (International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 2018)
Price is a very important part of the marketing mix as it can affect both the supply and demand of the firms’ products. Since pricing strategies influence has an impact on market share, performance and growth of the firm, every firm has its separate pricing policy or strategy for its products. This study therefore sought to examine the effect of pricing strategy on growth of selected hotels in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study was anchored on Ansoff matrix; 4C’s marketing model and Unique Selling Proposition. The study used descriptive research design. The study used questionnaire as the primary research instruments. The researcher used Cronbach alpha Coefficient to assess reliability of data using. The target population for this study was the 57 respondents from selected hotels within Nyeri County. A self-administered, questionnaire was used to collect data from the target respondents. Data analysis results generated using SPSS version 21 was presented in form of frequency tables. Bivariate Linear Regression results indicated that price had positive and statistically significant effect on hotel growth. The study recommends the hotel managers to review their prices regularly without compromising quality. In addition, hotels should come up with criteria that should ensure communication reach all the potential customers effectively. Future research should focus on other marketing mix variables such as promotion, place and product to establish the effect on growth of hotels.
Dynamic pricing strategies: Evidence from European hotels
Abrate, Graziano; Fraquelli, Giovanni; Viglia, Giampaolo (International Journal of Hospitality Management, 2012)
How much do hoteliers actually make use of dynamic pricing strategies? We collected data on the price of a single room booked in advance (from three months to a single day), from almost 1000 hotels in eight European capital cities. Pricing strategies were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, box plots and econometric panel data techniques. The empirical results show that the inter-temporal pricing structure primarily depends on the type of customer, the star rating and the number of suppliers with available rooms.
Social Media and eCRM as a Prerequisite for Hotel Success
Milović, Boris (Management Information Systems, 2012)
Development of information and communication technology (ICT) has enabled the development of electronic customer relations (eCRM) as a business strategy that uses web technologies for developing the capacity and enabling hotels to engage guests in the strong, personalized and mutually beneficial interactive relationship, and thus increase their profitability and sales efficiency. Internet development has enabled the rapid growth of hotel industry. Today, hotel managers are completely aware of benefits that Internet as a promotion tool offers to their business, and accordingly, they are motivated to create greater awareness of their hotels with the goal of increasing number of guests and improving hotel reputation. This article describes how eCRM strategy is used by hotel managers to promote the hotel, more specifically, how much impact websites, social media and e-mail marketing campaigns have on hotel promotion and business performance.
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
Assessment of the Lodging Industry Profitability Performance: Invest in Independent or Chain Ownership?
Kapiki, Soultana; Mu, Lei; Fu, Jing (Turizam, 2014-03)
The purpose of this article is to evaluate the economic results of the independent hotels in comparison with the chain hotels as well as to propose suggestions for the viability of the lodging industry. The survey took place in Greece concerning the period 2008-2011 and it was conducted via on-line questionnaires among 165 hotel units. The average means of efficiency and profitability indicators of the sampled hotels are benchmarked and the data of 2009 are utilized to further compare their ratios by using ratio analysis. Furthermore, ANOVA test is used to conduct mean difference analysis in order to identify the differences among the means along with their associated variables between independent and chain hotels. The main findings of the survey show that, generally, the independent hotels tend to be more profitable than chain hotels. The sector’s good practices that have been identified through this study are highlighted as suggestions for the viability of the lodging industry both in Greece and worldwide. Based on the findings of the survey, investors and hotel operators may have a clearer picture of whether it is preferable to invest their funds in the development of an independent hotel or they should turn to chain ownership.
Revenue Management in China’s Hotel Industry
Li, Wenli (International Conference on E-business, Management and Economics, 2011)
China’s accession to WTO has exposed the local hotel industry to greater competition from foreign companies. Revenue management is a highly suitable management tool to be used by China’s hotel industry to survive in the changing market. This study aims to provide an exploratory study on the difficulties faced and strategies that China’s hotel industry can use to implement revenue management. Based on the review of revenue management, the study discusses the key elements of revenue management in the hotel industry. Then, it explores the barriers to revenue management implementation in China. Finally, the study proposes some strategies that China’s hotel industry can use to overcome these barriers and to implement revenue management effectively
Dynamic Pricing for Hotel Revenue Management Using Price Multipliers
Bayoumi, Abd El-Moniem; Saleh, Mohamed; Ativa, Amir F.; Aziz, Heba Abdel (Journal of Revenue Pricing Management, 2013)
In this paper it is proposed a new dynamic pricing approach for the hotel revenue management problem. The proposed approach is based on having “price multipliers” that vary around “1” and provide a varying discount/premium over some seasonal reference price. The price multipliers are a function of certain influencing variables (for example hotel occupancy, time till arrival, etc). We apply an optimization algorithm for determining the parameters of these multipliers, the goal being to maximize the revenue, taking into account current demand, and the demand-price sensitivity of the hotel’s guest. The optimization algorithm makes use of a Monte Carlo simulator that simulates all the hotel’s processes, such as reservations arrivals, cancellations, duration of stay, no shows, group reservations, seasonality, trend, etc, as faithfully as possible. We have tested the proposed approach by successfully applying it to the revenue management problem of Plaza Hotel, Alexandria, Egypt, as a case study.
Strategic and tactical price decisions in hotel revenue management
Abrate, Graziano; Viglia, Giampaolo (Tourism Management, 2016)
Dynamic pricing techniques allow using a number of variables in a tactical way compared to standard catalogue prices. This study merges in a conceptual model the relevance of the tactical and the strategic dimension of these variables, classified according to their tangible, reputational or contextual nature. To empirically validate the hypotheses, a database of 21.596 price observations was retrieved from booking.com. The study presents a hedonic price function, using the Shapley-Owen decomposition of the Rsquared to elicit the importance of each group of factors. Further, a hierarchical cluster analysis measures the presence of heterogeneity across operators. The results show that online reputation is gaining importance over the traditional star rating. Despite the tangible variables remain of paramount importance, the findings suggest the relevant role of contextual variables in short-run price variations. The players operating in the tourism and hospitality industries should integrate these findings when designing pricing strategies.
Online hotel's sales strategies with emphasis on web booking
Pilepic, Ljubica; Šimunic, Maja; Car, Tomislav (Journal of Technology Research, 2015)
The purpose of this paper is reflected in the detailed study of world achievements in the context of Information Communication Technology (ICT) development in online hotel sales matching empirical findings which consist of the entire process of designing and setting up rates and sales strategies. Today’s hospitality industry development, in the form of hotel software solutions as well as hotel websites that participate in the sales strategies of individual hotels and hotel chains, determines the business policy of creating a rate with respect to the season, occupancy. One of the biggest challenges hoteliers regularly meet is setting currently valid rates on Online Tourist Agencies (OTA's). The reason is that any rate change must be sent to all these websites at the same time because of rate parity. Case study is based on research planned to explore the frequency of use of ICT in Croatian hotels and their online sales strategy to answer the question of where the Croatian hotels are in relation to global trends in the context of online sales and marketing. The reservation process is dependent on a large number of dynamic parameters. The synchronization process of rate placement with reservation processes depends on a number of variables that need to be considered and matched in real time with the use of the existing programs. Since the OTA's are prevalent because of their financial power to invest in marketing campaigns on the Internet, hotels are forced to cooperate with them in order to be visible. In terms of the exponential growth of online sales, investment in ICT and the use of modern online sales channels are necessary not only to enable a hotel to perform well, but also to enable it to survive on the market. The paper aims to show the importance of the implementation and modernization of the latest software solutions in the hospitality industry.
Evaluating performance in the hotel industry: An empirical analysis of Piedmont
Santoro, Gabriele (Journal of Investment and Management, 2015)
The hotel industry is a key sector in the tourism industry because it is essential for the supplying of all other tourism services and it is the first service demanded by tourists who reach the destination. To assess hotel’s performance appears a hard task, because of the presence of many factors to consider, economic but also less tangible. The aim of the research is to verify the correlation between performance and its determinants in the context of the Piedmont hotel industry, through valuating a sample of 112 hotels of Piedmont. More in particular, the study in estimates whether variables as stars rating, dimension and added services provided are correlated to performance, measured by Rev Par (revenue per available room), a performance metric typical of the hotel industry. To reach these goals, the research starts with a literature review, on hotel industry in general and on performance evaluation methods more used in hotel industry. Subsequently, it will be explained the methodology and the assumptions. Finally, it will be provided results discussed on a managerial perspective, useless for management to improve quality and performance.
Hotel Revenue Management Strategies during Fall Foliage Travel Season
Morse, Stephen C.; Smith, Eva M. (Journal of Hotel & Business Management, 2015)
Tourism during the fall seasons is mostly recognized during the months when changes in leaf color offer bright colors of many trees and foliage marking the end of the growing season in some regions of U.S. Hotel pricing analysts have increasingly used revenue management (RM) techniques and pricing strategies in hotels to assist in maximizing revenues during these seasons. This study examines how fall foliage tourism demand impacts hotel pricing strategies and hotel revenue management practices in areas experiencing seasonal increases in overnight travelers. The study area is the region around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park bordering both Tennessee and North Carolina. The area includes a portion of the Appalachian Mountains and is the most visited National Park in the United States. Most hotel revenue management strategies focus on one hotel property and not hotel pricing strategies in a region or area like this study.
Hotel Service Quality and Business Performance in five hotels belonging to a UK Hotel Chain
Murasiranwa, Emmanuel; Nield, Kevin; Ball, Stephen (University of Massachusetts, 2010)
The study focuses on the nature of hotel service quality and performance in a UK Hotel chain. It examines managerial conceptualizations, implementation and measurement and contextual issues that affect decision-making. Although managers acknowledge the importance of service quality and performance monitoring, their efforts are impeded by flaws in implementation and contextual constraints. The results reveal the flaws as lack of policy on quality, non-implementation of action plans and biased reward schemes. The contextual constraints are identified as competition, budgetary, staff turnover and biased rewards. The results in this study seems to suggest that service and quality are sacrificed at the altar of profits as senior managers appear to hope for quality but reward financial performance. The results also identify a significant gap in UK literature and a consequent paucity in knowledge regarding the use of service guarantees as service quality strategy in hotels. It is concluded that hotel leaders should take responsibility for delivery on service quality and business performance
Recommending a productivity model for Singapore hotels: A critical review of productivity models adopted by researchers and hotel operators
Goh, Hwee Noi (University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2010)
The business challenges and intensely competitive environment in today’s economy make productivity a key factor for organizational survival. This paper examines what productivity means to the services industry, in particular, to the hotel industry. This is underpinned by an investigation of the fundamental differences between goods and services and the implications on productivity measurement and control in the manufacturing and services industries. The purpose of this paper is to critically review productivity measurement and control methods used by researchers and hotel operators in order to find a model suitable for the hotel industry in Singapore, taking into consideration the local cultural expectation and legal context.
Factors Influencing Business Performance in Hotels and Restaurants
Zhang, Jie; Enemark, Astrid Estrup (Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism APJIHT, 2016)
The objective of this paper is to analyze the factors that influence business performance. Business performance, measured by turnover per employee, can be influenced by internal factors in firms, external economic and demand factors, as well as geographic location and agglomeration. The hypotheses were tested using an econometric model on the basis of micro business data. The results show that business performance in hotels and restaurants is positively related to traditional explanatory variables, such as profits, level of investment of firms, productivity of hotels and restaurants in their regions, and concentration of firms. The paper focuses on two extra factors, i.e. human skills and geographic location. The study found that professional education, e.g. chef, has a positive impact on performance in restaurant businesses. Employees with higher levels of education including university students in hotel businesses also have an impact on performance. The location factor showed that hotels and restaurants situated in city centers perform better than those located elsewhere. The contribution of this paper is that by applying micro business data in hotel and restaurant branches, it allows the analysis of the detailed factors that might influence business performance. In addition, the results also allowed a comparison between hotel businesses and restaurant businesses. The implication of this research is to understand the relationship between business performance and a series of influential factors, which could eventually help tourism businesses to improve their management.
Internal Communication Function and Hotel Productivity–A Comparative Study
Yildiz, Özay (American international journal of contemporary research, 2015)
The accommodation service production process starts with personal interaction and communication. As important as guest – employee communication is; access and distribution of market and organization related information is essential in organizational coordination and maintaining competitiveness. This efficiency of internal communication function has a direct and indirect impact on organizational productivity; as fast process of relevant data results in better decision making. Internal communication also helps in adapting to corporate culture and raising employee morale, thus increasing service quality and guest satisfaction. In the present study, there is a general consensus on the impact of internal communication on hotel productivity. It is evidenced that as the hotel grows in capacity, more complex internal communications systems, including upward and diagonal communication and heavy use of communications technology, co-exist, employees take on more initiative and processing of performance data accounts for the majority of communicational actions. At the other end of the scale, a smaller hotel mainly makes use of downward and informal communication and a managerial use of initiative.

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