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The purpose of this study is to analyze online hotel reviews produced by customers to identify and compare factors known as satisfiers and dissatisfiers based on Herzberg’s two-factor theory. This approach was applied to compare full-service and limited-service hotels, which can show different levels of customer expectation.

A content analysis of 919 satisfaction- and dissatisfaction-indicating reviews of 100 hotels in both full-service and limited-service hotel segments in New York City on Trip Advisor was conducted.

Results show that satisfiers and dissatisfiers in full-service hotels were distinct, with the exception of two common service-related factors, namely, “staff and their attitude” and “service”. On the other hand, “staff and their attitude” and four room facilities-related factors, “room cleanliness/dirtiness”, “bed”, “bathroom” and “room size”, were revealed as common satisfiers and dissatisfiers in limited-service hotels. To fulfill customer satisfaction and resolve dissatisfaction in both full-service and limited-service hotels, satisfiers and dissatisfiers should be highlighted according to the hotel class; the most critical factor is “staff and their attitude”.

Analysis of online hotel reviews provides understanding of customers’ satisfiers and dissatisfiers, and the results are very useful to hotel management. Therefore, hotel operators should monitor electronic word-of-mouth, recognizing and acting upon previous and current customers’ satisfactory and unsatisfactory reactions.

As technologies such as social media develop, customers are increasingly sharing their satisfactory and unsatisfactory experiences on consumer-generated online review sites. These have become a major source of information not only for customers deciding on a hotel stay but also for hotel managers trying to understand their customers and competitors.

This study aims to differentiate the brand personality of four basic hotel categories (e.g. limited-service, selected-service, full-service and luxury hotels) to draw an overall landscape of the lodging industry on symbolic attributes.

An online survey was conducted to assess the brand personality of eight popular hotel brands competing in the US market (two brands for each price category) by using Aaker’s (1997) brand personality scale. The categorical difference in brand personality was compared at both of the dimensional and individual trait level.

This study draws a picture of brand personality for four prevailing hotel categories in the US market. It suggests exciting luxury hotels, sincere select-service hotels and rugged limited-service hotels, but no distinctive personality for full-service hotels. This study positions the pros and cons of each hotel category. For instance, it shows at the dimensional level, full-service hotels advance select-service hotels in excitement but fall behind in sincerity. At the individual trait level, full-service hotels strike customers as contemporary, up-to-date and good-looking, but disappoint customers on the features like honest and wholesome.

This study informs hotel brand companies and hotel investors with the pros and cons of each hotel category to assist them to improve their marketing or investment strategies.

Although brand personality has been often used to assess hotel brand’s difference, it has been rarely used to capture the categorical difference. This study adds new insights to hotel banding practice by comparing different categories on symbolic attributes.

The purpose of this study is twofold: to investigate the relationship between restaurant firms’ internationalization and systematic risk, and to further examine the relationship between internationalization and systematic risk based on the type of restaurant firm (i.e. limited-service vs full-service restaurants).

This study analyzes data from US-based publicly traded restaurant firms by estimating systematic risk based on the Carhart four-factor model and by performing a two-way random-effects model.

Findings support not only the risk-reduction effect of internationalization on systematic risk but also the moderating effect of the role of restaurant type on the relationship between internationalization and systematic risk. More specifically, the risk-reduction effect of internationalization on systematic risk is greater for limited-service than full-service restaurants.

The findings of this study can provide restaurant executives with more confidence in pursuing internationalization as part of their risk management strategy, acknowledging that more international operations could mitigate restaurant firms’ systematic risk. More specifically, limited-service restaurants can more significantly enjoy the risk-reduction benefits by increasing their international operations than full-service restaurants based on the findings of this study. Furthermore, risk-averse investors could consider purchasing shares of limited-service multinational restaurants’ stocks to enjoy more risk-reduction benefits.

By focusing on the restaurant industry with consideration for the restaurant type, this study provides more tailored recommendations for implementing internationalization strategies with regard to risk management.

This paper aims to analyse challenges, trends and innovations in the hotel industry in Canada, focusing on large corporate hotels as well as small limited service hotels.

The foundation for this paper was laid during a well attended Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes (WHATT) roundtable discussion between industry leaders and hospitality educators in May 2012. The subject of hotel administration was discussed in the context of the theme for the 2012 Canadian WHATT roundtable and the strategic question: “What innovations are needed in the Canadian hotel industry and how might they be implemented to secure the industry's future?”

The paper presents findings from a recent survey on strategic issues compiled by hotel managers in the greater Toronto area (GTA). The paper lists valuable information on innovative practices in different types of hotels.

Practical tips in the body of the paper and in the conclusion section are provided.

As the team of authors includes a former president of a Canadian hotel company, a former international hotelier, and the current general manager of the largest hotel in the capital city of Canada (Ottawa), this paper will be of immense value to students, educators, and researchers, as well as industry leaders. The paper draws on expert experiences to explain how innovative initiatives can be implemented in order to achieve greater success in hotel administration.

Employee stress and job satisfaction are significant issues in the hospitality industry. Moreover, employee stress has cost implications on the stakeholders, i.e. employers and employees alike. There is inadequate empirical evidence that could shed light on job stress and burnout issues of hotel employees with reference to India. Also, the nature and level of hospitality employee stress is not fully understood. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of job satisfaction and job stress on the life of employees in the hospitality sector in Mumbai.

Data were collected from a total of 510 respondents (23 for inductive and 487 for the deductive study) from six five-star category hotels in Mumbai. It utilizes a sequential mixed-method approach to measures the study variables through phenomenography and then validates their causal relationship through partial least squares structural equation modeling using Smart PLS-SEM.

In the inductive analysis it was found that “work related” factors such as unsafe working conditions, work load, relationship on the job were the most prominent sources of stress for the respondents. In the deductive analysis the causal relationship between job satisfaction, job stress and stress impact verified through Smart PLS-SEM turned out to be significant. It could be inferred from the results that job satisfaction negatively influences job stress and job impact. Similarly, job stress positively influenced stress impact among the hotel employees.

The results of the current study should be interpreted with caution. First, the current study only includes self-reporting stress levels. Direct observation was not feasible, since it is subjected to the researchers’ bias. The sample in this study did not include employees of limited-service hotels. As limited-service hotels may have different requirements, challenges and culture for employees than full-service or five stared hotels, thus the findings of the study may not be generalized to limited service hotels.

The study has dual implications. First, similar research interventions through the mixed-method approach must study the causal relationship between job satisfaction, job stress and stress impact by effectively exploring the participants “lived experience.” Second, employers must validate customer feedback to evaluate employee job performance.

This is the first study to explore interrelationships between the three important variables, namely, employees’ job satisfaction, job stress and its impact on the life of employees in the hospitality industry using the sequential mixed-method approach. The study findings open new avenues for future research using structural equation modeling, thus representing an important contribution of the present study.

The existing research finds a positive financial impact of franchising for relatively short time windows, usually less than ten years. As a result, these studies leave one critical research question unanswered: does franchising influence restaurant firms' financial performance consistently in the long term? The purpose of this paper is to address the research question and offer relevant managerial implications.

This study uses and expands the models derived from Ohlson, from Amir and Lev and from Lev and Zarowin to address the financial impacts of franchise in the restaurant industry from a long-term and consistent perspective.

Carrying out empirical tests over all ten-year testing windows that span 1980-2010 with quarterly data, this study finds that franchising is an effective mechanism to systematically and consistently outperform non-franchise firms in the long term and provides compelling empirical evidence to answer the research question. Further, limited-service restaurants also exhibit consistent and positive impacts on firm financial performance in the long term, suggesting limited-service operations are also effective to enhance firm value and outperform competitors.

First, this study expands the set of variables employed by many financial researchers to explain stock price in the restaurant industry. Second, this study tests and shows that franchising systematically leads to financial outperformance over the long term. Third, this study tests and shows that limited service restaurants consistently and systematically outperform their peers in the long run. Finally, the results of this study can be used to help investors and fund managers select restaurant company stocks and offer compelling evidence in support of franchising and limited service operations.

This study aims to investigate the determinants of credit spreads in hotel loans securitized into commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) between 2010 and 2015.

The sample represents 1,579 US hotel fixed interest rate whole loans with an aggregate mortgage value of $26.6bn at loan origination. The relationship between credit spreads and property, loan and market characteristic is examined via multiple regression analysis. Additionally, the method of 2-stage least squares is used to control for endogeneity bias and identify the effect of the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on credit spreads.

The multiple regression models explain 80 per cent of the variation in credit spreads and show a significant association of credit spreads with hotel and loan characteristics and market conditions. The findings indicate the debt coverage ratio to be the most important predictor of credit spreads followed by the loan maturity term, implied capitalization rate, LTV and yield curve. The results show the debt yield premium to be a stronger predictor of credit spreads than the debt yield ratio. The spread between the debt yield ratio and mortgage interest rate could be used in future research as an instrumental variable to identify the effect of the LTV on credit spreads.

This study is limited to the CMBS market and the period after the financial crisis. Additional limitations include sample selection bias, exclusion of multi-property loans and variable interest rate loans.

Interest rate increases in an expanding economy would likely increase the cost of borrowing for hotel owners leading to higher debt service payments and lower profitability. If an increase in interest rates is offset by a decline in credit spreads, hotel owners will still benefit from the ensuing stability in borrowing interest rates. The evidence also suggests that CMBS lenders favor select service and extended stay hotels. Owners and operators of these efficient and profitable hotels will likely obtain loans with lower credit spreads given their lower risk of default.

The current study provides evidence on the effects of loan and property characteristics in the pricing of loan risk and serves to inform CMBS market participants about the factors that drive credit spreads in hotel mortgage loans.

Tipping within the foodservice industry has traditionally been reserved for full-service restaurants. However, there is a growing trend of tip requests at limited-service restaurants, where tipping occurs prior to consuming the product. This research aims to examine the effect of a point-of-sale tip request at limited-service restaurants on return intentions via customer irritation. It also aims to analyze the moderating effects of check amount and perceived deservingness.

Four online scenario-based experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. Participants were recruited from MTurk for all experiments (N_Study 1 = 152; N_Study 2 = 296; N_Study 3 = 206; N_Study 4 = 134).

Studies 1 and 2 suggested a negative impact of presenting a tip request on return intentions, with customer irritation as the underlying mechanism. Study 3 found the indirect effect was significant only when the check amount was low. Study 4 found that perceived deservingness of a tip also moderated this effect; the indirect effect was significant only when customers felt the employee did not deserve a tip. The effect was attenuated when customers felt the employee deserved a tip.

This paper contributes to the underexplored area of tipping behavior in the limited-service context. The findings contrast extant research on voluntary tipping at full-service restaurants, thus advancing theory by suggesting the consequences of tip requests are contextual and providing practical insights to limited-service establishments contemplating whether to begin requesting tips.

Centres on measuring lodging operator compliance with regard to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The intent was to measure current level of physical compliance with the ADA; future plans in meeting or exceeding ADA requirements; and barriers which impeded complete compliance. The participants in this study were selected from a list of hotels and motels contained in the 1994 version of the Hotel and Travel Index. The lodging operations were represented by full service, limited service and economy properties which varied from 25 to 615 guest rooms per property, restaurant, and meeting facilities. The findings of this study suggested that total compliance has not been achieved in certain areas, vagueness of the legislation is not necessarily a barrier in compliance, and financial constraints are a barrier in non‐compliance. Implies that lodging operators must properly position their products and services, otherwise the disabled travellers’ needs will not be totally met, and that lodging operators need to continue their civic respon‐ sibility for meeting the needs of the disabled travellers’ needs.

State and local governments are considering large increases to the minimum wage. As restaurants employ many individuals paid at or below minimum wage, these changes may affect their businesses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anticipated effects of minimum wage growth on employment and pricing in US food and beverage operations.

The study utilizes an experimental design where restaurant owners and managers are presented with scenarios of differing levels of potential minimum wage increases and are asked to anticipate changes to employment and pricing.

Restaurant owners and managers involved in the study indicate the level of the minimum wage increase will significantly affect changes in pricing and employment levels. Results also show that restaurant demographics such as type of restaurant and average check do not significantly affect the relative change operators anticipate implementing. Specific ways participants plan to make adjustments are also presented.

The anticipated impact of minimum wage increases at the restaurant level is examined, which differs from previous studies that determine the impact at the industry level. This study evaluates large minimum wage increases of up to 100 per cent, which have previously not been studied.