Cornell Hospitality Quarterly current issue

Building on a Solid Foundation

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Hotel M&A: An International Perspective to Creating Value

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Executive summaries of this issue's featured articles

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Cloudy, with a Chance of Sun: As STR Moves into Its Monthly Forecast Program, the Outlook for the Industry Remains Essentially Bland until Later Next Year

Lomanno, M. V. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

The Recession Is Over (Maybe)!: Now What?

Woodworth, R. M. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Employment Modes, High-Performance Work Practices, and Organizational Performance in the Hospitality Industry

Cheng-Hua, T., Shyh-Jer, C., Shih-Chien, F. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

High-performance working practices in the hospitality industry have different applications for internal (full-time) employees and external (part-time, casual) workers and different outcomes for organizational performance. High-performance work practices include empowering the employee with higher task autonomy, reducing job titles and layers of management, implementing various extensive training programs and high employee selectivity, encouraging information-sharing programs, using performance-based pay, and implementing gain-sharing programs. Based on a study of 157 properties in Taiwan, hotels were more likely to apply control-based systems for their external employees, while commitment-based HR practices generally applied to internal employees. Of all the practices tested, the findings indicated that job satisfaction for casual employees in the hospitality industry might well be increased when employers offer flexible rewards such as bonuses paid according to performance. In keeping with other research, the study also found that hospitality organizations tend to have lower staff turnover if the organization employs more internal employees. The study also found a significant positive relationship between internal employment modes and productivity.

The Utility of Integrity Testing for Controlling Workers' Compensation Costs

Sturman, M. C., Sherwyn, D. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Integrity tests can be a hiring tool to help employers determine which of their prospective employees will be more likely to engage in unproductive, dangerous, or otherwise risky actions on the job. Candidates are surprisingly candid when answering test questions about their workplace theft or drug use, but the tests also have control questions intended to indicate when an applicant provides false answers in an attempt to answer "correctly." Although tests represent an additional expense in the hiring process, a study of a large hotel chain found that the savings in screening out potentially expensive employees more than made up for the costs of conducting the tests, based on a substantial reduction in workers’ compensation claims. A conservative estimate is that the company experienced a 50 percent one-year return on investment from the test. It is important to note that the tests do not violate U.S. employment laws, as data show that the tests create no adverse impact on protected groups.

Work-Related Depression among Hotel Employees

Shani, A., Pizam, A. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

Given the putative cost of work-related depression, this article reports the results of a pilot study conducted among hotel employees in Central Florida. The study finds an initial indication of a small but noteworthy incidence of depression among workers in the hospitality industry. The article explores the antecedents and possible origins of depression, as well as critical issues related to depression in the workplace, particularly its effects on organizations and employees. The findings indicate a need for greater organizational awareness of depression.

Service Quality in the Hotel Industry: When Cultural Contexts Matter

Ching Yick Tse, E., Ho, S.-C. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

An analysis of 168 critical incidents of service success or failure for seventeen hotels in Hong Kong found that the most common critical incident involved a hotel employee responding to a guest request. That stands in contrast to an earlier study conducted in Western hotels that identified service recovery as the most common critical incident. The analysis is based on interviews with fifty-six front-desk employees in a diverse group of Hong Kong hotels. When it came to service recovery, hotels in Hong Kong were inclined to apply compensatory responses, while earlier studies found that Western hotels favored corrective responses, even when customers preferred compensation. The comparison of Western studies with those of Hong Kong highlight cultural differences with regard to service. One particular difference was employees’ assessment of the source of customer dissatisfaction. Whereas respondents in Western studies seemed to cite external causes, the delivery system, or the customers themselves for customer dissatisfaction, the respondents in the Hong Kong study uniformly blamed themselves.

Cracking the Cultural Code of Gambling

Latour, K. A., Sarrazit, F., Hendler, R., Latour, M. S. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

International expansion by Las Vegas casino operators has so far been uneven, notably in Macao. Information on different cultures’ understandings of gambling, which is scant, could be instrumental in supporting international expansion. Instead of using the common-macro level cultural comparison survey-based method, this research uses early childhood memory elicitation to focus on how individuals in three countries were initially exposed to gambling in their own families as children. This method is used to uncover the cultural code of gambling in the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and France. The analysis indicates that each culture has its own code for gambling, a code that reveals that culture’s gambling myth. These codes should help marketers understand the underlying motivations for gambling in each culture and should assist casino operators to market more effectively.

Strategic-Pricing Policy Based on Analysis of Service Attributes

Yang, C.-C., Cheng, L.-Y., Sung, D., Withiam, G. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:19 PST

This study proposes a strategic pricing model for service industries that can offer customers enhanced value through lower prices while maintaining appropriate features. Based on a correlation of the categories in the refined Kano model and frequency of use of service items, the integrated model proposes that service items and attributes should be individually assessed with a view to making appropriate decisions on whether items should be deleted from service packages, offered for a separate charge, or outsourced. The model also provides guidance on prioritizing decisions regarding service items or attributes. The application of the proposed model is demonstrated in a case study of a 5-star hotel in Taiwan. The study concludes that strategic decisions on the composition of service modules can lead to appropriate pricing policies that enhance customer value and assist companies to control costs.

Use of E-Mail Signature Files in the Hotel Industry

Magnini, V. P., Honeycutt, E. D. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

Hotel companies could include marketing messages with their e-mail signature files (.sig files), but this study found that fewer than half of 392 hotels did so. Many e-mail signature files simply contained the title and contact information of the responding party, often with a privacy statement. Since the prospective customer has contacted the hotel for information, it seems appropriate to include a .sig file that includes marketing elements, such as hotel attributes, promotions and special offers, and awards or honors received. The addition of a .sig file costs nothing and provides a way for the hotel to build its brand identity while cutting through advertising clutter on the inter-net and in other media.

Time- and Capacity-Based Measurement of Restaurant Revenue

Thompson, G. M., Sohn, H. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

In this article, the authors examine how a common metric of revenue performance—RevPASH, or revenue per available seat-hour—is calculated. In a simple example, a real restaurant, and an extensive simulation study, the authors find inaccuracies in the existing approaches to calculating RevPASH. However, the extent of the inaccuracy is much greater when RevPASH is calculated based on check-open times rather than on the time interval from check open to check close. Since accurate RevPASH values are important in guiding managers’ revenue-enhancing decisions, the article’s findings have importance for practice. Furthermore, as RevPASH has been a commonly used metric for academic research, the article’s findings are important for those performing research on restaurant revenue management.

A Simulation Study of Production Task Scheduling for a University Cafeteria

Kuo, C.-F., Nelson, D. C. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

This study evaluates and compares how four different task scheduling procedures affect performance measures (i.e., labor use and makespan) of a university cafeteria kitchen. A simulation model and analysis of variance (ANOVA) are used to determine whether main effects (i.e., operation days/menus and dispatching rules) result in better performance measures. Results indicate that all main effects and the interaction effect between days/menus and dispatching rules are significant on labor use. Although operation days/menus affect makespan, dispatching rules do not. Longest holding time, longest processing time (LHLP), the cafeteria’s current dispatching rule, usually results in the worst or highest labor use. On the other hand, employing the shortest processing time (SPT) dispatching rule would result in the best or lowest labor use, but at the risk of exceeding holding times. Consequently, to balance both labor use and food holding time guidelines, the study recommends a rule of longest holding time, shortest processing time to schedule food preparation at this university cafeteria.

The Physical Safety and Security Features of U.S. Hotels

Enz, C. A. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

The physical attributes or features that signal safety and security are a critical part of the overall "servicescape" of a hotel and help to define the service experience. An investigation of the safety and security features of 5,487 U.S. hotels revealed significant differences in the distribution of these key amenities in various hotel price segments. Differences in these physical attributes were also found among hotels of various sizes, ages, and locations (e.g., urban, airport, small town). Analyzing hotel scores across several different categories revealed an average safety index score of 70 and a security index score of 64 out of a possible score of 100. Overall luxury and upscale hotels, newer hotels, larger hotels, and those located in urban and airport locations recorded the highest scores for safety and security. Using partial correlation analysis, safety and security scores were positively correlated with the published rate of the hotels, even when controlling for hotel size, age, location, and price segment, suggesting that offering more comprehensive physical safety and security features is associated with the advertising of a higher rate.

A Framework for Knowledge-Based Crisis Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

Racherla, P., Hu, C. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

Crisis management, disaster recovery, and organizational continuity are critical areas of competence for managers of individual businesses and entire destinations. For large-scale problems, crisis management may be a critical factor that determines the sustainability and success of a destination. In this article, the authors develop a framework that incorporates knowledge management principles to enhance the effectiveness of crisis management and planning for the hospitality and tourism industry. In addition, the authors develop a crisis typology based on the perceptions and knowledge needs of Philadelphia-area lodging operators. Subsequently, the authors apply the framework to envision the design concept of a knowledge-enabled crisis management system that can better support the crisis management and preparedness of a regional hospitality and tourism industry.

Human Resource Management: A Troubling Issue for the Global Hotel Industry

Enz, C. A. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST

Although economic issues cast a long shadow, a survey of 243 hotel managers and executives has identified human resources as the most persistent problem they face. Different aspects of the HR issue are more salient in various parts of the globe. For instance, managers in North American and Middle Eastern hotels were most concerned with attracting talented workers, but those in Europe cited retention as their top issue. In South America, training and morale surfaced as top issues. Hoteliers in Africa were more likely to cite labor shortages as a key concern. The findings of this study reinforce those of an earlier survey, which also found human resources to be a top concern of hotel managers.

Index to Cornell Hospitality Quarterly: Volume 50 Number 1 (February 2009) pp. 1-132 Number 2 (May 2009) pp. 133-272 Number 3 (August 2009) pp. 273-388 Number 4 (November 2009) pp. 389-588

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:23:20 PST