From traditional to new hotel revenue management metrics: An exploratory study on the potential of NRevPAR and RevPAC

Purpose – This research aims to uncover the weaknesses of traditional hotel revenue management metrics (RM) and evaluate the potential application of two new metrics, specifically net revenue per available room and revenue per available customer. Design/Methodology/Approach – Initially, a focus group roundtable discussion was conducted with 15 participants who held managerial positions in various hotel chains. The objective was to identify critical hotel revenue metrics to be included in the subsequent online questionnaire. An online questionnaire was then distributed to HSMAI members in Asia, the Americas and Europe, as well as through personal contacts. In addition to quantitative analyzes, the data were also content analyzed to reveal the weaknesses of the existing RM performance assessment tools based on the technology-organization-environment framework. Findings – Considering the positive results, the application of the new metrics would be well accepted by RM. However, the weaknesses of the traditional RM metrics in terms of data quality and robustness, completeness of measurements, comparability with industry, and organizational support should be considered when designing the new RM metrics. Originality of the research – This study is the first to offer insights into the potential of designing new RM measures. It also provides guidance on what to consider when developing new RM metrics

Development of service quality dimensions in Malaysia - The case of A multicultural society.

Service quality (SERVQUAL) is now recognized as an integral component of a firm’s customer satisfaction program. Therefore, it is important to understand how consumers perceive the quality of services rend ered, as well as how these perceptions are translated into customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions. Since delivering high SERVQUAL is the cornerstone of any marketing strategy, the marketer must have the means to measure it. Despite the dearth of SERVQUAL studies in the non-Western market in the literature, the SERVQUAL dimensions have failed to receive much attention outside the Western market. This study attempts to examine the SERVQUAL dimensions of those who are concerned with the hospitality and tourism industry in Malaysia

Effectiveness of recovery actions on deviant customer behavior — the moderating role of gender.

This paper aims to examine how gender interacts with various recovery actions on perceived employee effort, complaint handling satisfaction, and behavioral intention in the case of deviant customer behavior in an East-Asian context. Study 1, a qualitative study, reveals that consumers expect companies to take appropriate remedial actions when a service consumption experience is affected by deviant customer behaviors (e.g., smoking in non designated area). Study 2 employed a 2 (gender) × 6(recovery actions) between subject design in a restaurant setting. Results show that confronting the deviant customer received the highest customer ratings in terms of perceived employee effort, complaint handling satisfaction, and behavioral intention. However, gender moderated the relative effectiveness of recovery actions. Relocating the focal customer was equally good as compensation for women while men were less appreciative of relocation than compensation. In sum, service providers are advised to initiate some form of recovery action in response to deviant customer behaviors

Effect of cultural difference on preference for popular Malaysian cuisines

Monosodium glutamate, a sodium salt of glutamic acid with the unique unami taste, is a popular flavor enhancer of food. It has been demonstrated that unami has a distinct taste which is not composed of the four basic “classic” tastes. Today, the four basic types of taste and unami are the most universal sensory characteristics of food, regardless of culture. As an attempt to better understand the cultural influence on consumer food preference, this study was undertaken to examine food preferences among the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia. This research also explored the optimal level of MSG concentration in four popular local cuisines. Results showed that consumers from different cultural backgrounds or ethnic groups differ in their food preference ratings. Specifically, Chinese consumers appeared to exhibit some underlying factors that lead to difference in food preference. The relationship between MSG concentration and food preference is a curvilinear function. The results of this study suggest several important implications for academicians and industry practitioners

Effect of food experience on overall satisfaction: comparison between first-time and repeat visitors to Malaysia

The attractiveness of food as tourism product has partly derived from the gastronomic aspect. The ingredients, the preparations, the end products, and the eating circumstances are cultural, educational, and entertaining. However, there is little research empirically demonstrates if there is a difference between first-time and repeat visitors in terms of food experience at destination, or how the various food experience attributes influence visitors’ overall satisfaction while visiting a destination. Hence, this study was undertaken to address the gap. Data were collected via on-site survey questionnaire administrated to a random sample of visitors at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and various touristic areas around Kuala Lumpur. The results indicated significant differences between first-time and repeat visitors in terms of their food experience. In addition, multiple regression analysis revealed that traditional food preparation was an important factor to tourists’ overall satisfaction for both first-time and repeat visitors. In sum, the study is the first to examine the effect of food experience attributes on first time and repeat visitors separately

Application of zNose™ for classification of enzymatically-macerated and steamed pumpkin using principal component analysis

High resolution olfactory images, called VaporPrintsTM, derived from the frequency of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) detector, are particularly useful to human because of their ability to recognize and differentiate visual images. In this study, the VaporPrintTM of fresh pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) and different products of the pumpkin including steamed pumpkin and also pumpkin purees as affected by different enzymes (Pectinex® Ultra SP-L and Celluclast®; Novozyme, Denmark) were determined using an ultra-fast GC (zNoseTM) based on a SAW sensor. The zNose™ fingerprints served as a potential tool for qualitative and discriminative distinction of aroma between the different pumpkin products. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyse the data. Based on the results, samples were categorized into three different groups. According to the score plot of PC 2 (second component) versus PC 1 (first component), aromas of enzymatically macerated pumpkin were close together. The PC 1 and PC 2 factors resulted in the model that describe the 82.9% of the total variance and seemed sufficient to define a good model

Healthy eating away-from-home: effects of dining occasion and the number of menu items

Consumers are reported to be increasingly concerned about their health. Nonetheless, consumers show different attitudes toward food at home and away from home. In particular, consumers tend to shy away from healthy food items when dining on special occasions. This study is the first to look into the number of healthy menu items provided to consumers during dining occasions. The impacts of two independent variables (dining occasion: normal vs. special; number of healthy items: limited vs. extended) on consumers’ dining menu selection was examined among female university students. The results of this study indicate that both dining occasion and the number of healthy items offered could influence consumers’ food selection independently. Although consumers are more likely to choose unhealthy items while dining’on special occasions, offering more healthy items would increase the probability of healthy eating. This study also offers some insights into the food categories and cooking methods favored by consumers. Further studies should explore other potential foods that would enhance the selection of healthy options by consumers

Modeling the physicochemical properties of orange beverage emulsion as function of main emulsion components using response surface methodology.

The effect of main beverage emulsion components namely Arabic gum (7–13% w/w), xanthan gum (0.1–0.3% w/w) and orange oil (6–10% w/w) on physicochemical properties of orange beverage emulsion was determined by using a three-factor central composite design (CCD). The reduced models with high R2 (⩾0.80) values and non significant (p > .05) lack of fit were significantly (p < .05) fitted to the experimental data, thus ensuring a satisfactory fitness of the regression models relating the response to independent variables. The quadratic effect of xanthan gum had a significant (p < .05) term in all reduced models. The independent variables had the most significant (p < .05) effect on turbidity loss rate and viscosity ratio. The overall optimum region resulted in the desirable orange beverage emulsion was predicted at a combined level of 13% (w/w) Arabic gum, 0.3% (w/w) xanthan gum and 10% (w/w) orange oil

Profiling service failure and customer online complaint motives in the case of single failure and double deviation.

This study compares the profile of service failure in single-failure and double-deviation situations differentiates the complaint motives in both. It content-analyzed online customer complaints in two popular Malaysian foodservice chains. The first part discusses the four main service failure categories: (a) product related, (b) people related, (c) process related, and (d) physical-evidence related. The second section compares the six different types of complaint motives in single-failure and double-deviation situations. The results revealed that one case of double deviation occurred in every six cases of service failure. In addition, service failure profile and the complaint motive profile in single failures and double deviations were found to be similar. Given the findings, several important recommendations for academicians and industry practitioners were made

Customers' reaction to servicescape failure and associated recovery strategy: an exploratory study in the food service industry

The term ‘servicescape’ refers to the physical environment in a service encounter which elicits internal reactions from customers leading to the display of approach or avoidance behaviours. This study examines the effects of servicescape failures on customers’ responses to the associated recovery strategies in the food service industry. Using the critical incident technique (CIT), data on 226 servicescape failures and 287 recovery strategies were collected from 174 informants who had experienced servicescape dissatisfaction and encountered recovery strategies over various types of the food service industry. The content analysis disclosed that cleanliness issues were the most reported problem in the food service industry, followed by design issues, social issues, and functionality issues. Customers exhibited negative reactions to failures, displaying emotional, physiological, and cognitive responses. It is appears that servicescape failures can significantly diminish perceptions of service performance and evoke feelings of dissatisfaction. The results suggest that customers’ recovery effort evaluations are not much influenced by the type of servicescape failures; overall, a combination of prompt action-oriented responses and sincere empathetic-oriented responses is perceived as the most important determinant of recovery effectiveness