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What is the core essence of small city boutique hotels?

Sandra Maria Correira Loureiro (Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL) and Business Research Unit (BRU-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal)
Paulo Rita (NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Campolide, Lisboa, Portugal)
Eduardo Moraes Sarmento (Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisboa, Portugal)

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

ISSN: 1750-6182

Article publication date: 8 October 2019

Issue publication date: 20 February 2020

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to contribute with new insights into the nature, dimensionality and measurement of the core essence of the small city boutique hotel (SCBH), something which has been limited in the literature to date. It further explores the conceptual relationships of SCBH with other constructs, providing greater understanding of the nature of these specific conceptual associations and showing that the SCBH scale exhibits construct validity.

Design/methodology/approach

This study followed the Churchill’s paradigm to methodologically design the study and develop the scale. Based on an exploratory qualitative inquiry (one focus group and ten interviews) and quantitative assessment (two surveys), support was found for a three-dimensional scale.

Findings

Results support the proposed measures of the scale (dream, hospitality and style) in terms of construct, convergent, discriminate, nomological and predictive validity. The findings also suggest that while authenticity acts as a SCBH antecedent, pleasant arousal and preference represent SCBH consequences.

Originality/value

By developing and validating a SCBH scale for city destination, this study addresses an identified literature gap. Specifically, it conceptualizes SCBH as guests’ perception about core characteristics of SCBHs located in the city.

Keywords

Citation

Loureiro, S.M.C., Rita, P. and Sarmento, E.M. (2020), "What is the core essence of small city boutique hotels?", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 44-62. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-01-2019-0007

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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