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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between contextual factors, strategic management accounting (SMA) and historical performance in hotels.

An empirical survey was conducted on a sample of 106 leading hotels in Greece.

The analysis of the survey data indicates that seven contingent factors affect SMA usage in hotels: The seven factors are perceived environmental uncertainty, structure, quality of information system (IS) information, organizational life cycle stage, historical performance, strategy and size. The findings also indicate that lagging performance affects SMA and that this effect is moderated by the perceived environmental uncertainty.

Some of the limitations are inherent to the survey method used, such as the use of perceptual measures and the potential of common method bias. Data were collected from the Greek hospitality industry, and consequently, the results may be generalizable only to that population.

The accounting professionals and hotel managers will also be benefited, as the study aims to identify the most relevant SMA tools adopted in the hotel industry, as well as the relationship between these tools and other external and organizational factors.

This research adds to the current knowledge in management accounting system design in hotels. This paper increases the understanding as to why hotels are more likely to implement SMA. The results provide the first empirical evidence of the relation between SMA usage, organizational factors, external factors and historical performance in hotels.

An analysis of the extent of internationalisation within the European hotel industry is presented. Porter′s industry mapping technique is applied to 62 sample companies to identify strategic groups within the industry and any possible correlation between company size and degree of internationalisation. Analysis proves that there are no clearly defined strategic groups in the European hotel industry due to the diversity of the companies involved, and that size is not a prerequisite for internationalisation.

Develops and implements a method for hotels to identify attributes that will increase customer loyalty. Other hotels can replicate the methodology used in this study. The study makes the uses of the hotel’s database to draw samples for both focus groups and a mail survey. Based on 564 completed surveys from hotel guests, the authors found the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty was non‐linear. The authors use the data to develop internal benchmarks for the hotel based on scores that were representative of loyal customers. The study makes use of the hotel’s database to draw samples for both focus groups and a mail survey.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which environmental management (EM) has been used as a facilities management (FM) tool amongst hotels in Macao, China. It also seeks to assess the relative priorities of hotel facilities managers in relation to the environment.

The empirical data was collected via structured questionnaires distributed to facilities/general managers of hotels in Macao.

The research findings reveal that although low customer demand, poor environmental knowledge and the lack of governmental regulations enforcing environmental practices are the reasons hindering hoteliers in Macao from practicing green, the major barrier is that hotel managers do not recognize the importance of environmental management to hotel effectiveness and competitiveness. Consequently, hotels are only interested in improving areas where there are direct financial gains and where there is a fiscal/legislative requirement. A fragmented approach to managing their environmental performance is also resulted.

This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the roles played by environmental management in improving a hotel's productivity and competitiveness and recommends ways to increase hoteliers' understanding of those roles.

There is a scarcity of literature linking hotel FM and environmental management within the Asian context, especially within Macao. This study sheds light on the extent to which environmental management has been used as a FM tool amongst hotels in Macao. It also contributes to our understanding of the importance of improving a hotel's environmental performance for organizational effectiveness and competitiveness. This paper provides a good background and framework for future studies.

This paper reports on a study about applying regression techniques to identify the determinants and functional forms of tourism hotel expenditure in Hong Kong. Annual time series data from 1983 to 1997 of average room rate, the number of visitor arrivals, the service price index, and hotel accommodation rates were hypothesised to affect tourism hotel expenditure. Seven exogenous variables were selected for regression model development in both linear and log‐linear forms. In view of the potential problems of multicollinearity between the independent variables, and therefore the associated instability of the regression coefficients, stepwise regression analyses were employed to improve the initial model. Final empirical results showed that the hotel expenditure in Hong Kong could be explained by four of the seven exogenous variables. A log‐linear form of the regression model appeared to slightly outperform the linear form.

Compares the role of an international hotel manager to the role of a main performer of a stage show. Summarizes the basic management concepts and emphasizes the importance of key knowledge areas in satisfying various needs of different types of people, hotel managers have to deal with. Four categories of hotel managers are identified and international hotel managers are described. Finally, the pre‐requisites for success in international hotel management are analyzed.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight in the future of hotel rating. It reviews the impact of social media, technology that provides integration of data for the consumer and the hotels, and the way that rating bodies may respond to the changing environment on how hotels are selected and reviewed.

By reviewing current trends, practices and technological possibilities, the impact of online reviews on conventional hotel rating systems is projected into the future.

The paper predicts a full integration of conventional rating systems with online guest reviews from the different guest review platforms leading to greater transparency for the consumer and better positioning opportunities for innovative hotels. It is further predicted that those conventional rating systems that do not seek integration and alignment will see a continued drop in hotel participation and will cease to exist.

Little research has been done on the relation between online guest reviews and conventional hotel rating systems. The paper presents new insights into how current and future trends influence the way in which consumers select hotels and how this influences the way that hotels are rated.

This article aims to examine how InterContinental Hotels plans to cope with the skill shortage in the hospitality industry, given the company's plans to open more than one new hotel a day for the next three to five years.

Concentrates on the picture in China, where InterContinental Hotels plans 107 new hotels.

Highlights the activities of the InterContinental Hotels Academy, in which the company teams up with academic institutions to offer tailored education and on‐the‐job training for recruits to the hospitality industry. Also describes the company's recruitment and training in the Americas and the UK, where its initiatives to recruit more disabled employees have been rewarded.

Reveals that only half of recent graduates from hotel‐related courses in China have moved on to work in hotels and there is a high turnover among new graduates. Employees from other industries rarely seek to work in the hotel business. There is a skill and training gap in China among front‐line hotel workers such as front‐desk and restaurant staff, as well as key executive positions in HR, finance and sales. The talent pool of executives with experience of working in multinational companies is small and highly sought after.

Contends that a sustainable and qualified talent pool is a crucial factor for InterContinental Hotels and for the development of the entire hospitality industry in China.

This paper aims to examine the factors that measure different satisfaction levels between the Asian and Western travellers during their stay in hotels in Malaysia. The paper also seeks to analyse the importance of the tangible and intangible factors in the hotel industry.

The research questions are utilised to measure the differences between Asian and Western perception of hotel attributes. A questionnaire with five‐point Likert scale is applied to measure customer satisfaction. Data is analysed using SPSS software by employing factor analysis, multiple regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).

Results indicate that there are significant differences between Asian and Western evaluations of hotel quality, with clear indication that satisfaction levels Malaysian hotels were higher among Western travellers than the Asian travellers. Both Asian and Western travellers perceive hospitality as an influential factor in determining the overall satisfaction level.

The limitation of the study is that the sample is taken only from travellers who are leaving Malaysia by plane. Future research can be carried out on the travellers arriving at and depart from Malaysia using different mode of transportations.

For practitioners, it is worth noting that Asian travellers are exclusively concerned with the value for money services, while Western travellers regard security and safety, and food and beverage as important factors for them to stay in the hotels or revisit the country.

Malaysia is an emerging market for tourism industry and the information obtained from the travellers can be utilised to enhance a much more efficient marketing strategy in the hotel industry. This paper contains material relevant to education as well as to the tourism industry, and implementable solutions are sufficiently well suggested.

Explores the main issues within hotel chain branding, focusing particularly on the problems of branding heterogeneous hotel portfolios. Relates the theory of branding to hotel chains, and outlines the difficulties of bringing consistency to hotel brands. Reviews the development of branding within the US and UK and identifies some of the features associated with hard and soft brands. Examines Forte Hotels′ 1991 rebranding exercise, the implications of which are considered in a wider context.