Family decision making in convention participation

The results of this study show that family members influenced the decisions linked to convention travel to Las Vegas. As a secondary result of this study, family decision making in convention participation appeared to be slightly husband-dominant even though spouses perceived spousal equality in decision making roles. Among the studied variables, the two major motives for family convention travel were convention participation itself and spouses\u27 desire to accompany the participant on the trip. The respondents reported they best perceived their spouses\u27 preferences and desire to accompany them on the trip. Gender and household income appeared to be the strongest factors impacting the relative contribution of family members in convention travel decision maKing Families were generally satisfied with their convention travel to Las Vegas. The strongest contribution to this satisfaction was made by the convention attended itself rather than the other factors with Las Vegas\u27 tourist attractions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

High tech vs. high touch in resort operations: How do customers adopt self-service technology?

Lodging and resort companies are motivated to adopt SST primarily to enhance customer service, achieve operational efficiency by cutting costs, differentiate from competitors by early adoption, and generate additional revenue. In the center of managerial concerns about SST-based customer service is the unproven widespread belief that SST will satisfy customers by shortening service lines, promoting customers’ independence, enhancing order accuracies, and allowing control over the service process. In balance, however, we must consider, from the customer’s perspective, potential threats of blindly adopting SST such as the customer’s indifference, skepticism, and discomfort, especially in favor of human-based customer service. The goal of our research project was to develop a conceptual and measurement model to address the critical concerns and issues of resort operators in adopting and deploying SST in their operation

Unobserved heterogeneity in hospitality and tourism research

Despite the growing complexity of structural equation model (SEM) applications in tourism, it is surprising that most applications have estimated these models without accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. In this article, we aim to discuss the concept of unobserved heterogeneity in more detail, highlighting its serious threats to the validity and reliability of SEMs. We describe a Bayesian finite mixture modeling framework for estimating SEMs while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. We provide a comprehensive description of this model, and provide guidance on its estimation using the WinBUGS software. We illustrate the importance of unobserved heterogeneity and the finite mixture modeling framework using a didactic application on brand equity where heterogeneity is likely to play an important role because of the differences in how consumers perceive the different dimensions of brand equity. We compare between various models and illustrate the differences between the standard and heterogeneous SEM and discuss the implications for research and practice

The time has come:Toward Bayesian SEM estimation in tourism research

While the Bayesian SEM approach is now receiving a strong attention in the literature, tourism studies still heavily rely on the covariance-based approach for SEM estimation. In a recent special issue dedicated to the topic, Zyphur and Oswald (2013) used the term “Bayesian revolution” to describe the rapid growth of the Bayesian approach across multiple social science disciplines. The method introduces several advantages that make SEM estimation more flexible and powerful. We aim in this paper to introduce tourism researchers to the power of the Bayesian approach and discuss its unique advantages over the covariance-based approach. We provide first some foundations of Bayesian estimation and inference. We then present an illustration of the method using a tourism application. The paper also conducts a Monte Carlo simulation to illustrate the performance of the Bayesian approach in small samples and discuss several complicated SEM contexts where the Bayesian approach provides unique advantages

Experience Economy Strategies: Adding Value to Small Rural Businesses

Many Extension programs designed to enhance rural economic development have focused on development of value-added goods, particularly agricultural goods. The Experience Economy perspective suggests that economic development should also include value-added consumer experiences offered by an array of small rural businesses, such as retail, hospitality, tourism, and restaurant establishments. This article introduces Experience Economy strategies and elements of business offerings that create experiential value and provides a tool to help small business operators assess and enhance their experiential offerings that generate value for consumers

An Educational Program to Enhance Experiential Aspects of Small Rural Business Websites

Building upon specialized academic expertise, an interdisciplinary group of educators from three programs have developed an externally funded program for educating rural small businesses, on ways to enhance aspects of their website designs

Past Experience And Self-Image In Fine Dining Intentions

The purpose of this study is to explore fine dining restaurants\u27 performance factors and their differential effects on behavioral intentions of novice (i.e., first time) versus experienced (i.e., repeated) customers. In addition, a moderating role of self-image, which was held by the customer, for restaurant performance is investigated to increase restaurant marketers\u27 understanding of how fine dining customers decide to repatronize a restaurant. Results confirm that enhanced performance in service and product quality and physical environments increases the customer\u27s perceptions of overall restaurant performance and customer behavioral intentions. However, the customer\u27s perceptions of restaurant performance appear to have different implications for either his/her intention to repatronize or to recommend, respectively. Understanding the customer\u27s self-image perceptions and past dining experiences is shown to be useful also in developing positioning strategies for fine dining restaurants. © Copyright (c) by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved