Understanding relationship quality in hospitality services : A study based on text analytics and partial least squares

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the occurrence of terms to identify the relevant topics and then to investigate the area (based on topics) of hospitality services that is highly associated with relationship quality. This research represents an opportunity to fill the gap in the current literature, and clarify the understanding of guests’ affective states by evaluating all aspects of their relationship with a hotel. Design/methodology/approach – This research focuses on natural opinions upon which machine-learning algorithms can be executed: text summarization, sentiment analysis and latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA). Our data set contains 47,172 reviews of 33 hotels located in Las Vegas, and registered with Yelp. A component- based structural equation modeling (partial least squares (PLS)) is applied, with a dual – exploratory and predictive – purpose. Findings – To maintain a truly loyal relationship and to achieve competitive success, hospitality managers must take into account both tangible and intangible features when allocating their marketing efforts to satisfaction-, trust- and commitment-based cues. On the other hand, the application of the PLS predict algorithm demonstrates the predictive performance (out-of-sample prediction) of our model that supports its ability to predict new and accurate values for individual cases when further samples are added. Originality/value – LDA and PLS produce relevant informative summaries of corpora, and confirm and address more specifically the results of the previous literature concerning relationship quality. Our results are more reliable and accurate (providing insights not indicated in guests’ ratings into how hotels can improve their services) than prior statistical results based on limited sample data and on numerical satisfaction ratings alone

CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF HOSPITALITY SERVICES IN JCI ACCREDITED HOSPITALS AT DELHI – NCR: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH ON GROWTH OF MEDICAL TOURISM

Purpose: This research focuses on understanding the consumer perception and scope of hospitality services provided to patients and their attendants, getting admitted for treatment at internationally accredited multispecialty hospitals. The study also gives insights into the relation among these service elements and their role in the overall satisfaction of patients coming to Delhi NCR as a medical tourist. Methodology: Literature review and interviews with hospital staff, involved as service providers, to find the hospitality services and facilities provided to patients coming to Delhi NCR as a medical tourist. The study adopted survey through questionnaire method to collect primary data, which is analysed through SPSS to study the perceptions of patients/attendants and its relationship with overall patient satisfaction. Main Findings: This research finds that the majority of the JCI accredited hospitals in Delhi-NCR, show fairly good focus on patient care and hospitality centric service style was in place. Hospitality aspects are considered as an opportunity to enhance service excellence and the same is supported by management to bring better patient satisfaction. However, the research found some neglected desires of patients and few areas of poor service delivery. Applications: Hospitals benefiting with medical tourism where attention to nonclinical services is magnified due to a higher expectation of the guest, will benefit from this research. This research would be valuable to healthcare organizations in doing their best to achieve greater patient’s satisfaction, which will improve our image as a destination for Medical Value Travel.  Novelty/Originality: This study explores hospitality services and their relative importance in patient satisfaction. This study describes higher patient satisfaction as an outcome of excellence in non-clinical services. The research outcome is based on primary data and offers a first-hand view of patients perceived hospitality service quality and its constituents

Customer Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility of Service Firms: Impact on Customer Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

Using an experimental research design, this study investigates the influence of customer perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer attitudes (loyalty, trust and commitment) and behavioral intentions (patronage intentions, switching intentions and word of mouth). Focusing in the hospitality industry, this study examines whether customer attitudes and behavioral intentions are affected only by the services provided to them by the service companies (service quality), or are also affected by the services provided by the service companies to its own employees, suppliers or to the society (CSR). The present study is based on the understanding that customers have already developed attitudes (favorable/unfavorable) towards service organizations based on past experiences of service quality. First, this study investigates, if customer perceptions of favorable/unfavorable CSR activities alters/affects the existing service quality-driven customer attitudes. Second, the study reconfirms that service quality influences customer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Third, the study investigates the critical relationship between perceptions of CSR and customer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Finally, the moderating effect of CSR on the relationship between perceptions of service quality and customer attitudes and behavioral intentions is investigated. Results provide substantial support of the influence of customer perceptions of CSR on customer attitudes and behavioral intentions

From Service to Experience: Understanding and Defining the Hospitality Business

Failure adequately to define or understand hospitality as a commercial phenomenon has created a fragmented academic environment and a schizophrenia in the industry that has the potential to limit its development as a global industry. This article suggests that, by redefining hospitality as behaviour and experience, a new perspective emerges that has exciting implications for the management of hospitality businesses. A framework to describe hospitality in the commercial domain is proposed. This framework suggests a focus on the host–guest relationship, generosity, theatre and performance, ‘lots of little surprises’, and the security of strangers – a focus that provides guests with experiences that are personal, memorable and add value to their lives

The Role of the Employee: An Exploratory Study in Service Recovery Satisfaction in the Luxury Resort Industry

Satisfaction plays a key role in the service industry and especially in the hospitality industry (Edvardsson, Johnson, Gustafsson & Strandvik, 2000). This study seeks to explore satisfaction and organizational commitment in relation to service recovery performance among luxury resort employees. This study is a replication of a previous study conducted by Yavas, Karatepe, Avci & Tekinkus (2003) and was carried out on a pilot study basis. The pilot study was conducted to determine if there is enough support for studying the model proposed by Yavas, Karatepe, Avci & Tekinkus (2003) in the original study. The results support further development of the study within the luxury resort setting

Skills, organisational performance and economic activity in the hospitality industry : a literature review

This monograph aims to understand the pressures which push organisations to adopt particular routes to competitive advantage. The monograph aims to discover if the best practice high skill, high wage and high quality route is used in the hospitality industry. It seeks to determine the influence of companies' product market strategies and their in-company and external structural factors on skills levels, work organisation, job design and people management systems. The monograph looked at the notion of best practice approaches and then moved on to consider the best way to carry forward the future research agenda of reviewing the nature of human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality sector. Conclusions were drawn from a range of interviews and from existing work which has sought to address the issue of HRM in the hospitality sector

Respuestas de los consumidores a los hoteles certificados medioambientalmente: el efecto moderador de la conciencia medioambiental sobre la formación de intenciones comportamentales

Este estudio desarrolla un modelo que explora la relación entre las prácticas verdes, la imagen verde, la conciencia medioambiental y las intenciones comportamentales de los clientes en un contexto hotelero certificado. Para testar empíricamente el modelo propuesto se realizaron 502 encuestas personales a clientes hoteleros en España. Los resultados muestran como las percepciones de los clientes sobre las prácticas verdes tienen un efecto directo y positivo en la imagen verde de las compañías hoteleras. Al mismo tiempo, esta imagen influye directa y positivamente sobre las intenciones de comportamiento de los clientes hacia los hoteles certificados medioambientalmente. También se demuestra que cuanto mayor sea la conciencia medioambiental de los consumidores, mayor será su intención de hospedarse, realizar comentarios positivos y pagar una prima por alojarse en hoteles certificados. Por último, la conciencia medioambiental ejerce un efecto moderador sobre la relación causal entre la imagen verde y las intenciones comportamentales.This study develops a model that investigates the relationship among green practices, green image, environmental consciousness and the behavioral intentions of customers in a certified hotel context. The study examines the direct and the moderating role of environmental consciousness in the formation of behavioral intentions based on green initiatives. To test the proposed model empirically, 502 personal surveys of hotel customers were conducted in Spain. The findings show that customer perceptions of green practices have a positive direct effect on a hotel´s green image. At the same time, this environmental image has positive direct effects on customer behavioral intentions towards certified hotels. The authors also found that the higher the environmental consciousness of consumers, the greater their intention to stay, to spread positive word-of-mouth and pay a premium for environmentally-certified hotels. Finally, consumer environmental consciousness also exerts a moderating effect on the causal relationship between green image and behavioral intentions

Information Technology Applications in Hospitality and Tourism: A Review of Publications from 2005 to 2007

The tourism and hospitality industries have widely adopted information technology (IT) to reduce costs, enhance operational efficiency, and most importantly to improve service quality and customer experience. This article offers a comprehensive review of articles that were published in 57 tourism and hospitality research journals from 2005 to 2007. Grouping the findings into the categories of consumers, technologies, and suppliers, the article sheds light on the evolution of IT applications in the tourism and hospitality industries. The article demonstrates that IT is increasingly becoming critical for the competitive operations of the tourism and hospitality organizations as well as for managing the distribution and marketing of organizations on a global scale

Effects of customer trust and online experiences in building hospitality brands

Customer trust embodies customer beliefs of actually receiving a promised service and manifestations of consumer’s confidences in an exchange parties reliability and integrity. The study is based on the fact as to how trusts criteria affect online purchase especially in regard to booking and buying the accommodations and also that accommodation providers assume that are very essential for consumers to make the online purchase. In total 150 consumers and 80 hotels owners/operators in India were examined. There are enormous discrepancies between consumers and accommodation providers were searched. Like formal guarantee of providers, security concern, refund of price paid delivery time and information about confirmation and they will switch from one brand to other due to promise breakage, less service quality, high price charged. However, these trust criteria were viewed inconsequential by the accommodation providers. It concluded with vast number of suggestions and recommendations for the accommodation providers need to include in their websites and build reputation and strong brands in the hospitality market

The role of effective communication and trustworthiness in determining guests’ loyalty

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This study investigates the role of trustworthiness and effective communication in the development of guests’ loyalty within the hotel sector. We propose and test a conceptual model that differentiates between two types of loyalty: attitudinal and behavioral. As hotels can control and manage how they communicate their desired characteristics to guests, we posit effective communication and a hotel’s trustworthiness as the key concepts in building loyalty. This study reports on the findings of a study based on 322 hotel guests. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that implementing effective communication methods leads to a trustworthy image, which in turn has a positive impact on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. This research provides hotel managers with strategic directions for cultivating guest loyalty