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Examination of the image projected through photographs used in marketing materials can enable managers to identify opportunities for creating differentiated positioning in the marketplace. However, the impact of image projected through photographs has not received much attention in academic literature. This paper aims to establish a methodology using dynamic indices that allow a systematic comparative evaluation of the image projected through photographs used in marketing materials of lodging properties located in competing destinations. It also provides an empirical examination of the type of image projected through photographs of lodging properties in those destinations.

Analysis was conducted using a content analysis methodology. A total of 17,187 photographs of 5,820 lodging properties located in 15 different tourism destinations over a period of eight years were examined.

Results revealed that the proposed methodology based on dynamic comparative indices is appropriate for determining the projected image of lodging properties. The dynamic indices, which categorise photographs in three main categories: subject (people), activities (actions carried out) and contextualisation (location), allowed a systematic evaluation of the image projected of lodging properties in competing destinations. Results of the empirical analysis indicated important differences in the image projected through photographs among lodging properties located in 15 destinations.

This study provides the industry and destination marketing organisations (DMOs) with a useful and simple tool for comparatively evaluating the image projected by tourism accommodations. The methodology proposed enables managers to identify the current image and the changes in the image of their lodging properties, their destinations and those of their main competitors over the years, thus providing opportunities for development of more effective differentiation and positioning strategies in their respective target markets.

The proposed tool provides a methodology that can be used to categorise and evaluate the image represented on the photographs used in marketing materials to ensure the projection of the intended image. Furthermore, the proposed methodological tool enables managers to monitor the image projected through photographs used in competitors’ marketing materials and identify changes in their image projected over time.

This paper aims to examine the phenomenon of disruptive service behavior: an act by a customer that negatively affects the service experience of other customers and to identify typology of disruptive behaviors of customers that can negatively alter the service experiences of by-standing customers.

Anecdotes of customers’ service experiences that were negatively affected by the behavior of other customers were gathered from several customer review and discussion websites using a netnographic study approach. Data were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis approach with an iterative and inductive methodologies.

The analysis produced a typology featuring seven categories of disruptive behaviors of customers: “Inattentive Parents with Naughty Kids”, “Oral Abusers”, “Outlandish Requesters”, “Hysterical shouters”, “Poor Hygiene Manners”, “Service Rule Breakers” and “Ignorant Customers”.

Using the typology developed in this study, managers and operators of hospitality businesses can identify specific customer service behaviors and develop strategies and actions to minimize the impact of those behaviors on the service experience of other customers.

Even though a great deal of attention has been given to how employees can damage customers’ service experiences, much less work has been conducted on disruptive behaviors of customers as an influential factor of service quality and satisfaction. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by developing a typology of disruptive customer behaviors.

This study aims to examine the current state of the research activities of scholars in the hospitality and tourism field by analyzing the first 20 years of the new millennium.

Longitudinal analyses using 14,229 journal articles as data source were realized by adopting BibExcel, Gephi and VOSviewer network analysis software packages.

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the hospitality and tourism research based on authorship and social network analysis, with patterns of prolific authors compared over four distinct periods.

The hospitality and tourism academic society is clearly illustrated by tracing academic publication activities across 20 years in the new millennium. In addition, this study provides a guide for scholars to search for multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities. Government agencies and non-governmental organisations can also benefit from this study by identifying appropriate review panel members when making decisions about hospitality- and tourism-related proposals.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to use bibliometric analysis in assessing research published in leading hospitality and tourism journals across the four breakout periods in the new millennium.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the most critical antecedents of destination loyalty formation (DLF) and to develop a series of propositions for the relationships among the antecedents of loyalty formation and their direct and indirect impacts on loyalty formation.

This conceptual paper provides a comprehensive review of the previous studies that examined destination loyalty and posits a framework of tourist DLF titled Destination Loyalty Formation.

In the proposed conceptual model, the sequential relationships among the antecedents of tourist destination loyalty postulate that previous experiences are the most influential driver that could manipulate tourist destination loyalty. Place attachment and involvement constitute the second most influential factors of DLF. In addition to the above two variables, destination image is proposed to have direct and indirect effects on perception of service quality and satisfaction. Meanwhile, service quality and tourist satisfaction are proposed to have the largest magnitude of direct impacts on destination loyalty.

Previous studies examined most of the antecedents of destination loyalty separately. There is yet an effort to simultaneously consider antecedents of destination loyalty to examine how each antecedent relates to DLF. This conceptual paper attempts to address this issue by proposing a conceptual model that simultaneously considers antecedents of destination loyalty and examines how each antecedent relates to DLF.

The aim of this chapter is twofold: (i) to explore the issue of experience within the context of the hotel industry and (ii) to analyze the contribution of collaboration between businesses in providing valuable experiences in hotel settings.

Extensive literature reviews have been done on dimensions and outcomes of tourist experiences and on collaboration/business venture’s contribution in providing memorable experiences in the hotel industry. A case study is then used to illustrate how hotel operations are collaborating to provide tourism experience opportunities.

(i) Collaboration between hotel operations makes a significant contribution in providing special guest experiences; (ii) Investment in business ventures is a good investment because it constitutes a potential source of competitive advantage; (iii) A collaborative platform wisely designed creates a series of business benefits.

This study is explorative in nature. Based on a single case study of a business network, the suggestions are indicative rather than conclusive. Thus, more empirical studies and analyses are needed to fully validate the chapter’s suggestions.

The collaborative approach is a requirement for hotel businesses in providing valuable tourism experiences and in overcoming the issues and challenges arising within the context of experiential tourism. This collaboration offers a way of enriching and deepening guests’ experiences, based on endogenous resources and meeting the tourists’ requirements.

Offers insights on tourism providers’ collaborations in offering attractive experience opportunities to their customers.

This study aims to develop a conceptual model demonstrating the antecedents and outcomes of consumers’ online tourism information confusion.

A deductive approach was utilized to propose eight variables as antecedents of online confusion and five confusion reduction strategies as outcomes of consumers’ online tourism confusion. The underlying mechanisms in which these variables might lead to consumers’ online tourism information confusion are elaborated using elaboration likelihood model (ELM) (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986) as the major theoretical underpinning.

The model indicates that consumers could experience overload, similarity and ambiguity confusion when the information acquired is too much, too similar and/or too vague. In addition, as suggested by the ELM (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986), online users who are low in learning orientation, price consciousness, cognition need and Internet experience and high in ambiguity tolerance are more likely to experience confusion because of their lower motivation/ability to process external stimuli.

One limitation of this study is the lack of empirical test of the proposed model. Another limitation is that only five individual characteristics that might make online consumers prone to confusion were included. Other variables related to individual differences that could influence confusion should be explored as well.

This paper provides valuable implications for online tourism marketers to address consumers’ confusion during information search process. Five individual characteristics proposed as important antecedents of consumers’ confusion can be utilized by online tourism marketers to develop customized online communication strategies for different segments.

This paper is one of the few studies that connect the concept of consumers’ confusion to the online tourism field as well as discuss the concept of consumers’ confusion through the integration of information provider and recipients’ perspective.

This chapter identifies issues in the development and marketing of culinary tourism experiences with the goal of determining the value of collaborative forms of product development and marketing.

A literature review examines approaches to marketing of culinary experiences identifying a gap in the study of collaborative approaches such as networking, partnering, and alliances. A case study investigates these themes.

Through the analysis of an in-depth case study of an experiential culinary tourism event in a small city in Eastern Canada (a Restaurant Week) it is determined that informal collaboration in the form of partnership is essential to building and marketing collaborative culinary tourism products and experiences.

This investigation has value for academics studying culinary tourism development and for practitioners implementing collaborative forms of the development and marketing of such tourism offerings and experience.

In the context of culinary tourism, a case study illustrates the value of collaboration in developing and marketing experiential culinary products. Findings indicate informal collaborative partnerships are essential to building and marketing culinary tourism products and experiences, addressing a gap in the literature and providing value for practitioners.

Many hospitality programs have developed their own career and placement services to assist students in job searching efforts. The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that are important for the success of career and placement services offered by hospitality programs, from the industry's perspectives.

Data were collected through an online survey from hospitality recruiters and human resources managers. Descriptive statistics were applied for the data analysis.

Internship requirement was found to be the most important factor for the success of career services, followed by faculty industry experience and quality of student preparation for job/internship interviews. These were followed by reputation of the program and quality of educational curriculum and courses taught.

The important implications drawn in this paper could assist hospitality schools to allocate limited resources to help create excellent career and placement services.