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Despite their popularity among tourists, information about low-cost accommodation is limited. The study aims to focus on hostels as tourist accommodation. The purpose of this paper is to document the perceptions of hostel front-desk employees about customers and examine employees’ perceptions from a cultural perspective. As culture moderates behavior in general, in light of the cultural difference postulate which proposes that guests and hosts who are from similar or proximate cultures are more likely to experience positive service encounter and that encounter between guests and hosts from distant cultures may be more challenging to service providers, the study compares the perceptions of hostel Western front-desk employees with those of Eastern front-desk employees of their customers. Customers are categorized into four groups – Western customers, Eastern, Middle Eastern/Arab and African. Exploratory interviews paved the development of perception items, which were later on used in a questionnaire to serve the study’s purpose. The paper has managerial and theoretical implications and offers suggestions for further research to advance understanding about this neglected tourism environment.

Preliminary/exploratory short interviews with hostel employees in London paved the development of perception items, which were later on used in a questionnaire. There are about 190 hostels in the London area. The questionnaire was self-administered and successfully completed by 113 front-desk employees working in London hostels. t-test statistics was used to examine whether the two groups of employees hold different perceptions about their culturally different group of customers.

Results indicate that, generally, differences in perception exist among hostel employees about their customer groups. For example, Western customers are perceived as nicer and more tip-givers than Eastern customers, but they also complain more and are more demanding than their counterparts. Asian customers are perceived to be friendlier, least troublesome and least demanding than the other customer groups. African customers are the least positively perceived. As for Middle Eastern (Arab) customers, they are perceived rather somewhat positively and yet the least favorite. Furthermore, no statistical differences were observed between Western employees and Eastern employees’ perceptions about their customer groups, except that the latter perceives Asian customers to be more troublesome and more complaining.

Although researchers have compared Western people’s behaviors and attitudes with those of Eastern people, differences may also exist within cultural groups, especially between East Europeans and West Europeans, between Middle Eastern and North Africans or between Americans and Canadians, despite cultural proximity. Therefore, it is always reasonable to interpret cultural differences studies cautiously.

Hostel management is advised not to take cultural proximity/distance between employees and customers for granted and, thus, should not assume that Eastern employees are more likely to provide better service to Eastern customers than Western employees or that Western employees are more likely to do so to Western customers because they are culturally similar or proximate. In an increasingly globalized world and mobile and culturally diverse workforce in the hospitality sector, it becomes necessary to raise employees’ awareness about cultural differences and their probable effects on perceptions. This is especially true for hostels because of their social characteristic.

Despite the importance of hostels to the tourism and hospitality industry, not much is known about their customers or their employees. In addition to contributing to employee perception in general, which is also a neglected area of study, this paper used cultural distance/proximity to assess differences in perception between Eastern employees and Western employees about four culturally different groups of hostel customers. In light of the impacts of globalization on consumer behavior, this paper joins other research to challenge the cultural distance postulate in the service encounter context.

Hostels’ competitiveness relies heavily on unique and genuine service and, thus, counts on employees actively creating a social, welcoming environment and, at the same time, caring about – and being loyal to – their hostel. This paper aims to investigate whether retaining employees who care about their hostel and refrain from destructive behaviours implies that these workers need to have a better quality of working life, as well as whether work engagement mediates this relationship.

A survey was conducted with 98 employees from 40 hostels in Lisbon. An analysis of the survey data was performed to test the research hypotheses. The model was estimated by means of partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The results reveal that quality of working life has a strong negative impact on employees’ exit behaviours and a positive effect on their loyalty. In addition, work engagement was found to mediate fully the relationship between quality of working life and both employee voice and neglect, as well as partially mediating exit intentions.

This study extended prior research in two ways. First, most theoretical and empirical studies in the hospitality and tourism industry have focused on hotels, so this research targeted a new context (i.e. hostels). Second, this study offers a clear indication of the relationship between employees’ quality of working life, work engagement and behaviours, thus offering valuable insights for management and hostel staff.

This paper aims to define relevant forms of co-creation activities and customer engagement in value co-creation geared toward increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty in the Russian hotel industry.

Secondary data analysis of hotels’ websites, annual reports and published interviews was conducted to investigate how hotels co-create the experience environment. Also, content analysis of tourist comments in social media was conducted to assess the relationship between customer engagement in value co-creation and customer satisfaction. The sample for this study includes hotels located in Moscow using customer experience as a source of value creation.

Based on the analysis of best practice of customer engagement in value co-creation in the hotel industry, a classification of co-creation activity forms was developed. Five forms of co-creation activities have been identified: feedback, co-production, firm-driven service innovation, customer-driven customization and co-creation. Applied data also provide insights on the development of the hotel industry in Moscow. The majority of hotels engaging customers in value co-creation in Moscow are international. Hotels more often use customization, service innovation and especially co-production than co-creation, as co-creation is a new market strategy for the Russian market. The high-price-segment hotels more often use customization, whereas hostels usually implement value co-creation with clients. It can be explained by the difference between the target audience and the resources available. This study helps to understand whether forms of customer engagement in value co-creation in the Russian hotel industry match international experience and findings of theoretical studies.

The sample group represents only hotels in Moscow, and the study utilizes only qualitative techniques. An increase in both the sample size and geographical diversity and a study using both qualitative and quantitative techniques may generate more insights relating to customer engagement in value co-creation in Russian hotels.

This is an insightful comparative study of customer engagement in value co-creation practices of hotels with different attributes, and the study identifies new opportunities to engage customers in value co-creation in the hotel industry.

To determine which factors account for customer satisfaction with a service and their loyalty to a given service provider, in the particular, context of “backpacking” in Australia, a significant element of the country's hospitality and tourism economy.

A series of hypotheses was developed from the services marketing literature and built into a 52 item questionnaire administered to 281 backpackers staying at the three youth hostels in Australia, who thus responded whilst actually experiencing the service encounter rather than in recalling it later. The European Customer Satisfaction Index (ECSI) was used to measure the strength and direction of the determinants of customer satisfaction, and the impact that the antecedents of satisfaction had on loyalty to the generic provider.

The results of confirmatory factor analysis of the questionnaire responses suggest that brand image is a predictor of satisfaction with a hostel, while perceived value indicates a degree of loyalty towards the “brand”.

The ECSI model's generic measuring criteria limit its generalisability. Further, research could usefully investigate other variables applicable to both hostels and conventional hotels to be included in a measurement model of satisfaction and loyalty for the whole hospitality industry.

Backpacker hostels are an example of experienced‐based service encounters with few clear comparative advantages. The marketing of the generic brand must therefore foster a brand image congruent with the experience actually delivered and the potential customers' expectations of it, thereby reducing decision risk.

The unusual context and particular methodology cast fresh light on an important challenge for marketing planners in the service industries.

This paper aims to unveil the factors that contribute to a positive hostel experience by electing key features and describing their nature from a customer perspective.

The study uses an exploratory, empirical approach, applying netnography to collect information about guests’ experiences from the five selected top-rated hostels in Europe and Latin America. A content analysis of 500 positive reviews was conducted exploring the critical features of service experience in hostel sector. Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro were selected for this study as they are among the destinations that have received top-rated hostel awards.

The findings reveal that a hostel experience carries a more symbolic than utilitarian meaning, especially in relation to its social dimension. Results indicate that a hostel stay is positively enhanced by ten key features, namely, staff, supplementary services (e.g. social activities), facilities, location, atmosphere, guests’ interactions, cleanliness, design and decoration, value for money and safety. Staff, supplementary services and facilities were the most mentioned hostel features, which emphasizes their potential to create a favourable environment for social interactions.

Findings are restricted to a limited sample size and geographical area. The main limitation of the study lies, though, in the lack of studies concerning the specific context of hostels within a service experience approach.

Some hostels renounce low-quality stigma to establish themselves as a “cool” type of tourist accommodation. Offering a stay based on good value for money and social atmosphere, these establishments are shaping the industry’s future by both redefining the contemporary hostel’s image and attending to modern travellers’ specific needs. Given the increasing importance of hostels to tourism, this study provides information to scholars and industry practitioners who are interested in understanding how service experience can be enhanced in the hospitality industry.

This paper is a preliminary in-depth examination of factors that positively influence a hostel stay from a customer experience perspective. Thus, it provides insights into service experience management for the tourist accommodation sector.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the best hostel practices and trends, and to evaluate and discuss how they are keeping up with the present demand created by the Millennials market.

Methodological approach is based on two complementary qualitative methods: ethnographic participant observation and netnography. Portuguese hostels are the target of this study, as they are considered some of the best in the world. First, a fieldwork was conducted in three top-rated hostels in Lisbon, aiming to immerse in hostel’s environment. Then, 300 online reviews were analysed to identify what customers value the most in those services. Data interpretation was done through a content analysis crossing supply-demand perspectives.

Results indicate that, while staying in a hostel, the Millennials want to: meet people, engage in activities and events, have local experiences, feel comfortable/at home, get good value for money and enjoy the convenience. In return, hostels play an important role in hospitality industry by pleasing the Millennials, by offering: central location, an interactive atmosphere, functional facilities, well-planned design and decoration, a set of activities and events and personal treatment.

This paper is one of the few to describe Millennials’ travel behaviour towards hostels’ services.

This research paper aims to better understand the characteristics of backpackers who stay at hostels in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, and their current service preferences.

Primary data were collected by carrying out interviews with 20 experienced backpackers from seven countries. As a result, 15 critical backpackers' requirements were identified and used as the base for the questionnaire developed for the next phase of field research. At this phase, 385 backpackers from 35 countries completed the questionnaires.

The backpackers cannot be treated as a homogeneous group, and there are differences due to demographics of gender, age and country of origin. The traditional youth tourist backpacker (15‐25 years of age) viewed backpacking as more a social and cultural experience than the transition backpacker (26‐29 years of age) or contemporary backpacker (30 years of age and older). As age increased, so did the backpacker's desire and willingness to pay for privacy. Asian and North/South Americans required more hotel type services than Australians and Europeans.

In conclusion, the paper provides hostels in GTA with future directions grouped as four key factors.

The purpose of this paper is to verify whether relationship marketing is a new paradigm that has replaced transactional marketing.

A literature and empirical study indicated that relationship marketing is neither an invention of the late twentieth century, nor prevailing in practice. This suggested that rather than a complete paradigm shift, relationship marketing and transactional marketing are complementary. Through interviewing five Scandinavian companies about their marketing priorities, their mix of transactional and relationship marketing approaches was studied.

The paper finds that no company exclusively used the relationship marketing approach. Some were merely utilizing the traditional marketing concept of 4Ps; others were blending a relationship and transactional marketing mix.

This is a limited study, which calls for further validating.

The Kotlerism of the 4Ps is still dominating. Relationship concepts are utilized to some extent. A relationship strategy can be used as a supporting approach. Thus, there is need to blend relationship and transactional marketing mixes.

The paper argues that the relationship marketing is not a paradigm shift; focus should be on relationship management, not marketing. The paper also shows the complementarities of relationship management and transactional marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to present the experience and impact of implementing the ISO 9001: 2008 Standard at the University of Nairobi, in relation to effectiveness on service delivery, operational performance, automation, implementation challenges and related emerging issues.

The paper adopted a case study design approach based on qualitative analysis of internal audit reports, internal surveys and feedback, surveillance audits conducted by the certifying body, and rankings by external bodies, over a period of seven years.

Significant achievements have been realized with regard to institutionalization of quality into the university processes, work environment, documentation and record management, customer satisfaction, infrastructure and facilities, use of ICT as a prime mover of performance improvement, and ranking of the university. Opportunities for improvement as well as critical success factors are presented.

The paper reports successes that may encourage other institutions of higher learning that are not certified to implement Quality Management Systems (QMSs) according to ISO 9001 Standard by focusing on specific factors.

This paper shows how an ISO 9001 certified QMS can improve internal institutional practices and avoid frequently experienced drawbacks.