2 research outputs found
Critical success factors in UK four and five star hotels
This research aims to assess the strategic tool of Critical Success Factors (CSFs)
within the UK four and five star hotel industry by developing a strategic
framework incorporating CSFs within the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach.
Success in the hotel industry at all market levels and locations is determined by
the ability to clearly formulate and implement a coherent strategy. Considering the
importance of the hotel industry for the UK economy, it is essential to enhance
overall strategic understanding within the hotel sector in order to increase
efficiencies, performance and overall success. A major factor in identifying and
understanding what needs to be done comes in identifying CSFs. This concept
combines the strategic aims of the company and condenses them into a number of
manageable factors that are absolutely critical to success. In addition, the BSC
approach as a strategic tool that utilises CSFs to measure the performance and
success of businesses is utilised. For the three stages of primary data collection, a
mix of quantitative techniques, questionnaires and Delphi rounds, were used. The
first stage included 33 questionnaires with hotel managers to update the existing
list of CSFs; followed by three Delphi rounds with hotel industry experts to
reduce the number of CSFs. These final factors were then ranked in importance by
61 general managers and owners of UK four and five star hotels. Confirmatory
factor analysis identified a total of 19 CSFs for the UK four and five star hotel
industry. Overall, there are four to five factors within each of the four BSC
categories. Out of these, yield maximization, hygiene and cleanliness, staff
friendliness and customer loyalty were identified to be the most important CSFs
of each BSC category. A key finding is that even within a relatively homogenous
set of hotels there are distinct differences in CSFs importance based on hotel
characteristics such as size, location, star rating and ownership structure.
Therefore, a significant result of this study is the creation of a framework for
business strategy incorporating CSFs and the BSC for UK four and five star hotels
for a coherent strategy formulation and implementation. Overall, the research also
provides academia and the UK four and five star hotel industry with a tool for the
prioritisation of strategy creation and implementation