A preliminary study on the benefits of loyalty programs in Malaysian city hotels / Jazira Anuar, Norzuwana Sumarjan and Salleh Mohd Radzi

Hotels spend millions of dollars annually to grant benefits to their loyal members. However, despite having a huge portion of invest-ment on this loyalty program benefits, the effectiveness of such pro-grams in delivering benefits to members is still questionable. In-depth interviews of 14 hotel executives from either Front Office or Marketing department were primarily conducted to explore hotel’s benefit structures. The taxonomical benefits offered by six city hotel loyalty programs were compared and summarized. The transcripts and tapes derived from the interviews were analyzed, coded and summarized into categories. The findings were structurally com-pared. Findings revealed that although these six city hotels sharing the same thirteen core benefits, but each hotel is trying very hard to differentiate themselves from their competitors. It is beneficial for hoteliers in improving their current loyalty programs or designing new loyalty programs for their hotel. Uniquely, this study provides benefit taxonomy summary of the six city hotel loyalty programs in Malaysia and compares the benefits categorized into three levels: core benefits, partially common benefits and individual benefits

The Effects of Service Performance of Hotel Customers on Quality of Experience and Brand Loyalty in Iran

AbstractThe main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of service performance of hotel customers on the quality of experience and brand loyalty in Iran and also to propose a model for the hotel industry in Iran. Therefore, findings will contribute to the improvement of both hotel management and tourism industry in Iran. The present study obtained data from 302 international and local customers in four and five Star hotels in five major cities in Iran. This study will significantly contribute to the Iranian tourism market in seeking improvement towards the effectiveness of hotel customers and loyalty in Iran

Incongruent Quality Management Perceptions Between Malaysian Hotel Managers and Employees

Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria, this study compares perceptions of Malaysian hotel quality managers (HQMs) and employees on leadership and workforce practices. A mixed methods approach was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 35 HQMs and 576 employees of three-, four-, and five-star hotels. Interviews were conducted with HQMs. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. All interviews were transcribed, hand coded, and analyzed for themes. Compared to hotel employees, HQMs had higher scores for all leadership and workforce items. Comparing managers’ perceptions revealed a statistically significant difference between three- and four-star with five-star hotels on developing explicit quality policies and measurable objectives. For employees, there were statistically significant differences for most of the questionnaire items between three- and four-star with five-star hotels. HQMs identified inefficient communication systems and failure to develop explicit quality policies and objectives as main reasons for perception incongruences between employees and managers. Two of the seven MBNQA criteria were used in this study; future research utilizing the other five criteria may be beneficial. This study provides hoteliers with quality practice perception differences between HQMs and employees in different star-rated hotels. Knowing these differences should compel hoteliers to review their leadership and workforce practices, identify reasons for discrepancies, and attempt to minimize the gap. No known studies in Malaysia, investigating this issue, have been conducted using a mixed methods approach. Additionally, this study provides empirical findings on quality practices from manager and employee perspectives

Quality Management Implementation Among Commercial Printing Companies in Malaysia

Providing experienced and skilled people at all levels in the printing business are essential elements to building a business model that can help business performance towards global standards. The global printing industry issue is always related to print quality and productivity, moreover as a priority in achieving customer satisfaction. The issues of quality and productivity are relevant to be addressed to determine the survival of commercial printers. This study explored the Senior Managers and the owner of the companies in Malaysia Small and Medium Printing enterprises' perspective on quality management implementation. This research focuses on SME commercial printers in Malaysia and ten Senior Managers and the owner of the companies have been interviewed. This empirical study derived on three main categories, including the advantages and challenges of implementing quality management and the strategies adopted in sustaining it. Keywords: Management; commercial printing; challenge and strategy eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7iSI7.383

Mind Matters: Exploring Employees' Mental Health Literacy in the Hotel Industry

One in five hospitality employees suffers from work-related mental health issues. Thus, promoting mental health literacy could better manage employees’ mental health. This study aims to explore mental health literacy among hotel employees. Ten hotel employees from four- and five-star hotels in Malaysia were interviewed and thematic analysis was conducted. Findings show employees demonstrated sound mental health literacy manifested into four themes: function of mental health, mental illness contributors, implications of mental illness, and intervention techniques. Mental health literacy empowers employees to recognize signs of mental illness, promoting prompt help-seeking and preventing further deterioration of mental health

Customer’s acceptance, usage and M-satisfaction of Mobile Hotel Reservation Apps (MHRA) / Mohd Noor Ismawi Ismail...[et al.]

This conceptual paper aims to explore the relationship between customer acceptance and the usage of Mobile Hotel Reservation Apps (MHRA) on Mobile satisfaction (M-satisfaction). The MHRA booking is the latest booking channel offered by the hoteliers in favor of mobility and service failures exposed by the traditional method of room booking. Nonetheless, the actual usage and the success of this app have not been explored yet. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) was adopted as the underpinning theory of this study. The UTAUT2 framework was modified by incorporating Msatisfaction as the dependent variable. Seven propositions were suggested based on the literature review

Quality Practices Implementation in Malaysian Hotels: The Management Perspective

The purpose of this study is to explore Malaysian hotel general managers or quality executives’ experiences in implementing Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. Specifically, this study tries to understand the benefits of applying TQM practices, the challenges or barriers faced during the implementation process, and to identify strategies or success factors in implementing TQM. Individual interviews will be conducted with general managers or quality executives who are currently or were previously responsible for quality programs at three-, four- and five star rated hotels. Hotels must have been operating for one year with a minimum occupancy rate of 60% and located in the nation’s central region. This study will provide useful findings for the betterment of quality practices in the Malaysian hotel industry. The information on benefits, challenges or barriers, and strategies or critical success factors will provide quality management best practices for use as benchmarks by other hoteliers. Additionally, findings will help hotels’ management teams better organize, strategize and exploit their resources in ensuring the success of quality management programs

Incongruent Quality Management Perceptions Between Malaysian Hotel Managers and Employees

Using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) criteria, this study compares perceptions of Malaysian hotel quality managers (HQMs) and employees on leadership and workforce practices. A mixed methods approach was used. Questionnaires were distributed to 35 HQMs and 576 employees of three-, four-, and five-star hotels. Interviews were conducted with HQMs. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. All interviews were transcribed, hand coded, and analyzed for themes. Compared to hotel employees, HQMs had higher scores for all leadership and workforce items. Comparing managers’ perceptions revealed a statistically significant difference between three- and four-star with five-star hotels on developing explicit quality policies and measurable objectives. For employees, there were statistically significant differences for most of the questionnaire items between three- and four-star with five-star hotels. HQMs identified inefficient communication systems and failure to develop explicit quality policies and objectives as main reasons for perception incongruences between employees and managers. Two of the seven MBNQA criteria were used in this study; future research utilizing the other five criteria may be beneficial. This study provides hoteliers with quality practice perception differences between HQMs and employees in different star-rated hotels. Knowing these differences should compel hoteliers to review their leadership and workforce practices, identify reasons for discrepancies, and attempt to minimize the gap. No known studies in Malaysia, investigating this issue, have been conducted using a mixed methods approach. Additionally, this study provides empirical findings on quality practices from manager and employee perspectives.This is a manuscript of an article in TQM Journal 25 (2013): 1, doi:10.1108/17542731311299573. Posted with permission.</p

An Investigation of Brand Experience on Brand Attachment, Knowledge, and Trust in the Lodging Industry

With the increase of tourists to many destinations, the local lodging industry sector is facing intense challenges. The reassurance of name-brand accommodation helps travelers feel more at ease in a new environment and guarantee them a positive lodging experience. This study examines how travelers’ experiences with name-brand hotels influence their attachment to, knowledge of, and trust in brand names. Specifically, brand experience was identified as a holistic concept, incorporating sensory, affective, behavioral, and intellectual aspects. The results show the significant, positive relationships between brand experience and brand-related variables (brand knowledge, brand attachment, and brand trust). This study provides a foundation for future research investigating tourists’ lodging choices and suggests strategies for hotel brand managers