One Experience and Multiple Reviews: The Case of Upscale U.S. Hotels

Purpose– The present study aimed to understand the relationships between the various kinds of feedback received by hospitality operators. Information from guests, experts, and internal sources are often received, valued, and processed in various ways. The researchers sought to further explore the usage of such feedback and implications for theory and practice. Design/methodology/approach– A survey was sent to hotel general managers of four‐ and five‐diamond properties around the USA using the listing of the American Automobile Association (AAA). A total of 140 responses were received. The researchers utilized correlations and canonical correlation analysis to help understand the relationships among the variables. Findings– The results of the study revealed moderate to strong correlations between improvement in consumer‐generated feedback and customer satisfaction; between improvement in AAA ratings and customer satisfaction and mystery shopping scores. There were also moderate to high correlations among value placed in consumer‐generated and that placed on other electronic forms of electronic feedback such as social networking, blogs, and online travel agency feedback. Canonical correlation was also performed among the variables in the various correlation matrices. Two statistically significant dimensions emerged. The most influential variables in the first dimension were value placed on TripAdvisor and value placed on meeting planner feedback. The second dimension featured three influential variables: value placed on reviews in TripAdvisor, value placed on social networking, and perceived improvement in consumer‐generated ratings. Practical implications– The present research revealed two distinct sets of general managers: those who have a strong preference towards online feedback and those who place greater value in traditional sources of feedback such as letters from customers. Additionally, the researchers discovered some similarities between improvement in scores of experts and consumers. This in turn, points out to the existence of some universal aspects of service that appeal to both stakeholder groups. The different levels of value placed on various kinds of feedback points out to the need for tourism and hospitality operators to adopt a more comprehensive strategy to collect, analyze, and take appropriate actions based on such information. Originality/value– The researchers contribute to the nascent literature on consumer‐generated feedback by exploring its relationship to other variables. Furthermore, the study of various sources of feedback (i.e. guests, experts, and operators) is often studied separately in the tourism literature. It was the aim of this study to explore all of these together in order to better understand their relationships, value, and uses

Judging food by its description: a text mining approach examining the most influential words on restaurant menus

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Do words matter? Consumers’ perceptions of words used to describe restaurant menu items

INTRODUCTION: The menu is an integral component of a restaurant’s core strategy (McCall & Lynn, 2008). Menus are used to describe dishes to help consumers understand potential ingredients, textures, and tastes (Kincaid & Corsun, 2003). Analogous to speeches by professional speakers, a menu requires carefully chosen words to make it exciting and memorable (Bowen & Morris, 1995). Menu descriptions build a mental image of the food prior to consumption, which can influence consumers’ decision-making process (Drysdale & Galipue, 2008). Subsequently, the congruency of this mental image with customer expectation drives selection behavior (Lockyer, 2006). Given that menus are critical tools for marketing a restaurant meal, word selection and patterns must be carefully crafted in order to facilitate this communication. The menu serves several functions for both the restaurateur and the customer (McCall & Lynn, 2008). Practitioners and academic researchers alike agree that the menu is an important communicative tool, though how menu items should be described is still debatable. Mills and Thomas (2008) proposed the Customer Information Expectation of Restaurant Menu (CIERM) model, suggesting that menu effectiveness is affected by nutrition information, product information and availability of food preparation. Building upon the CIERM model, this study aims to examine consumers’ preferences over menu word choice based on current industry practice. This study could contribute to enriches the literature on menu word item descriptions by first examining current practices and then testing the effect of menu word choice on consumers’ choice.Accepted manuscrip

The Use of Consumer-Generated Feedback in the Hotel Industry: Current Practices and Their Effects on Quality

Consumer-generated feedback is hard to ignore these days. Word-of-mouth has expanded beyond a customer’s immediate friends and family; with the help of technology it reaches thousands of current and prospective guests. In light of this, scholars and practitioners are exploring the subject of consumer-generated feedback. Today, most of the research regarding this subject focuses on the use of consumer-generated feedback to make purchase decisions. In contrast, the present study explores the use of such information for the purposes of improving hotel operations. This article examines the amount of value placed on consumer-generated feedback, the relative importance placed on positive and negative feedback, and its effects on perceived quality. Furthermore, this study inquires as to the specific uses given to consumer-generated feedback in the hotel industry. It is the researchers’ contention that valuing feedback has positive effects on perceived quality. The findings conclude that hotels can use consumer-generated feedback to take actions such as modifying training programs and operating procedures, as well as identifying patterns of complaint and praise

The Development of an Observational Instrument Assessing Food Safety Practices in Temporary Foodservice Establishments

Temporary foodservice establishments, such as are found at farmers’ markets, are increasing in popularity. However, regulation of these foodservice vendors tends to fall in a grey area; some vendors do not fall under formal health department supervision, and others may sell food prepared in uninspected home facilities. This study focused on the development of an instrument to assess key temporary foodservice establishment food safety practices, specifically, behaviors related to food handling, hand washing, or glove usage. In order to minimize the Hawthorne Effect, this study chose a novel technology-oriented approach. Employee behaviors were observed and coded in accordance with Indiana Health Department criteria. Preliminary results suggest that the examination of food handling behaviors in temporary foodservice establishment employees is warranted, and that the use of observational techniques combined with smart phone technology did seem to capture the sequence of employee actions, while simultaneously minimizing the Hawthorne Effect

The relationship between emotional intelligence and attitudes toward computer-based instruction of postsecondary hospitality students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between postsecondary students’ emotional-social intelligence and attitudes toward computer-based instructional materials. Research indicated that emotions and emotional intelligence directly impact motivation, while instructional design has been shown to impact student attitudes and subsequent engagement with content. Computer-based technology is widely used in teaching; however, inappropriate application of this technology is likely to result in less than acceptable results. In this study, the emotional intelligence of 128 students was assessed using Bar-On’s EQ-i:S. Subsequently, students were directed to specific computer-based instructional methods; then their attitudes toward their respective method were assessed using Keller’s Instructional Material Motivation Survey (IMMS). In general, students expressed a preference towards the interactive, non-linear, unstructured form of computer-based instruction; however, attitudes associated negatively with emotional-social intelligence for students identified as possessing low-average emotional-social intelligence. The findings and implications are discussed and recommendations for future practice and research are offered

Nutrition Label Formatting: Customer Perceptions and Behaviors

In response to increasing U.S. obesity rates, legislators have begun mandating that chain restaurants make nutrition information available. While other studies have addressed various aspects of nutrition information labeling in restaurants, there has been little research into the efficacy of the various forms of delivery of restaurant nutrition information. The results of this study indicate that menu nutrition formatting has little impact on customer behavior. This study also found that when nutrition information was influential in the decision making process, consumers chose food items averaging 30% less calories. Consumers who did not change their food selection based on nutrition information still indicated they found the information valuable and appreciated its availability