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This study aims to investigate the recent changes in the strategies of international hotel chains in the Russian market, as well as their role in the sustainable development of small and medium towns as prospective local tourism destinations.

General observation of the local environment, statistical analysis and a qualitative approach were used to reveal current developments in international hotel chains’ strategy in Russia, and new opportunities for a number of small towns to be embedded in the development of the Russian tourism market. The current scenarios were examined using the available secondary data, including federal statistics and relevant empirical studies, as well as case studies and personal interviews with industry experts that allowed access to respondents’ opinions and market knowledge.

In recent years, investment in the Russian regions has become more attractive for international hotel chains. Findings of the study add to the literature on emerging markets by presenting an overview of the main challenges facing international hotel chains in the Russian market and by stressing the facilitating effect of foreign hotel chains’ upon tourism infrastructure development in small and medium towns in Russian regions. The statistics presented, as well as key opinions of hoteliers and local authorities, contribute to an understanding of the strategies used by international hotel operators in emerging economies with reference to new evidence from Russia.

The main output of this study is that it yields a better understanding of the strategic movement of international hotel chains into the Russian regions and new opportunities to develop tourism infrastructure in small and medium cities situated in Russian regions as prospective tourism destinations.

This paper aims to analyze the antecedents of two variables concerning the presence of quality certifications in hotel chains: the (ex ante) decision to become a member of the quality system and the (ex post) trend to increase or decrease the number of certified properties. Six hypotheses are posed and tested.

The empirical investigation is carried out on the Spanish Q for Quality in Tourism using a database including 295 hotel chains and 2,727 hotels.

The results evidence the presence of differences in the behavior of hotel chains relative to certification depending on their size, market segment, customer origin and the geographical concentration of their establishments.

This research deepens in how the hotel chain characteristics affect the effectiveness of a quality certification. The consideration of two stages in investment decisions allows the authors to identify differences in the ex ante and ex post decision processes. As a result, one factor (geographical concentration) has been detected as being underrated by managers in the first stage.

Este artículo analiza los antecedentes de dos variables relacionadas con las certificaciones de calidad en cadenas hoteleras: La (ex-ante) decisión de formar parte de un sistema de calidad, y la (ex-post) tendencia a incrementar o reducir el número de establecimientos certificados. Seis hipótesis han sido propuestas y contrastadas.

La investigación empírica ha sido desarrollada en el marco de la marca Q de calidad para el turismo en España usando una base de datos que incluye 295 cadenas hoteleras y 2,727 hoteles.

Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la presencia de diferencias en el comportamiento de las cadenas hoteleras en materia de certificación dependiendo de su tamaño, segmento de mercado atendido, origen de la clientela y del grado de concentración geográfica de sus establecimientos.

El artículo profundiza en cómo las carfacterísticas de la cadena hotelera afectan a la eficacia de la certificación de calidad. Tener en consideración la existencia de dos etapas en las decisones de inversión nos permite identificar diferencias entre los procesos de decisión ex-ante y ex-post. Como resultado, hemos observado que un factor (la concentración geográfica) está siendo infravalorado por parte de os directivos en sus decisiones en la primera etapa.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand the future of hotel chains by exploring the evolving expectations of guests, potential innovations, emerging opportunities, and likely future scenarios.

A literature review consisting of current events, industry reports, and recent trends is utilized to summarize and categorize the challenges and opportunities facing hotel chains.

The future of hotel chains will be driven by the convergence of an increasingly competitive landscape, along with a diverse evolving customer base seeking out unique and individualized experiences. In order to survive in the future hotel chains will have to: listen to and learn from guests incorporating big data insights, go beyond segments to provide personalized services, continuously develop the brand through signature experiences, utilize collaboration and open innovation to maintain an edge in technology and service, and through total revenue management generate ancillary revenues and maximize guest spend.

This paper provides a comprehensive set of recommendations to hotel chains highlighting opportunities related to: financing, revenue generation, personalization, and co-creation.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically assess the impact of integrated lean and green practices on the sustainable (environmental, economic and social) performance of a hotel supply chain.

Literature review and previous exploratory studies were used to develop a hypothesized model that characterizes the integrated lean and green (LeGreen) impact on supply chain sustainability. A case study of a large sample of the UAE hotels is used to collect and analyze empirical data, validate the measurement model and test study hypotheses using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The results showed that three major lean techniques (Kaizen, quality and productive maintenance) and three green techniques (health and safety, waste disposal and green certifications) have substantial impact on the sustainable performance of hotel supply chains. Further results revealed that LeGreen impacts are complementary. Lean techniques have the highest impact on the economic performance of the hotel supply chain and the least impact on the environmental performance. Green practices, on the other hand, have opposite impacts.

Although the study findings may vary in different contexts, study methodology and measurement model can be adapted to assess the LeGreen impact on the sustainable performance of hotel supply chains, as well as other service industries such as banking and health care.

The proposed assessment model is expected to be of great value toward the effective implementation of LeGreen practices across hotel supply chains in the UAE and globally. The study findings also provide guidelines for practitioners within the hospitality sector to undertake the proposed model and to adapt it for assessing and enhancing sustainable performance in other sectors of the service industry.

There is a growing emphasis by practitioners and academics on measuring the impact of LeGreen on the sustainable performance of service supply chains. However, the assessment of LeGreen impacts within the context of a hotel supply chain remains unexplored with a scarcity of comprehensive assessment frameworks. This study aims to fulfill this gap in literature and provide directions for researchers to expand the proposed model and to further analyze the integrated lean-green impact on the sustainability of supply chains of hotels and the service industry.

This study aims to examine the role of experiential familiarity in determining the competitiveness of hotel chains. It does so by comparing the attribute-performance perceptions of guests who had and had not previously stayed at a property belonging to a specific hotel chain. It also examines how far such perceptions shape word-of-mouth and future purchase intentions.

Data were collected from 1,016 Finnish leisure tourists in 2021 using an online questionnaire, providing a representative sample of Finnish domestic leisure tourists.

The results indicate that the competitiveness of different hotel chains depends on a small number of key attributes. Differentiation between hotel chains can be seen from the results. Previous guests rate hotel chain attributes more highly than non-previous guests. Behavioral intentions do not differ between previous and non-previous guests, but how many times a person has stayed in the hotel chain significantly influences behavioral intentions. The results provide strategic levers that hotel chains can use to enhance their competitiveness.

Hotels should invest in attributes that have the biggest positive impact on customer behavior. These will be different for different hotel chains. By understanding these differences, it is possible to communicate relevant attributes to customers through marketing and develop hotel features that will drive revisit intention and word-of-mouth marketing.

This study found that while certain hotel attributes had a significant shaping effect on guests’ performance ratings, there were no decisive differences between those with or without experiential familiarity with the hotel chain.

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether US-only hotels and US-based international hotel chains similarly promote sustainability marketing.

A qualitative exploratory research study reviewing the web site marketing of the US-only hotels and US-based international hotel chains.

The research indicates that there are differences in the sustainability marketing of US-only and US-based international hotel chains.

This is a unique research study. The hotel industry has a diverse body of stateholders due to its large market and impact on sustainability.

This paper is based on findings from a two‐year MPhil research project that aimed to examine the development of hotel chains in China since 1978 and to recommend policy and operational guidelines for their further expansion. The study confirmed the unique nature of the hotel industry in China, existing as it does in a country moving from a centrally planned economic system that is strongly influenced by communist dogma towards a Western‐style market economy. This paper identifies and discusses four main categories of barriers to chain development, namely: economic and political systems; hotel ownership; hotel management capability and resources; and competition between local and foreign firms. Massive growth in China’s hotel industry is forecast, and this presents a great attraction for hotel companies. However, the need to understand and appreciate these barriers is recommended to any company, local or foreign, contemplating doing business in this unusual but potentially very large market place.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for identification, categorization and prioritization of lean techniques adopted in a hotel supply chain.

A survey tool is used for the identification of lean techniques that are relevant to a hotel supply chain. The targeted sample includes experts from 50 four- and five-star hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that confirmed experience in implementing lean practices across hotels supply chain. A Supplier-Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers (SIPOC) chart and experts’ opinion are used to allocate and categorize the identified lean techniques across the construct of the hotel supply chain. Finally, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to prioritize the criteria and sub-criteria of adopted lean techniques.

Study results have identified six main categories of lean practices and 19 specific lean techniques as relevant to a hotel supply chain. The identified categories include JIT, Kaizen, Quality, Inventory, Maintenance and Standardization. The study found that JIT and Kaizen take the top priority among the identified categories of lean practices. In line with that, on-time service to customers, effective improvement system and on-time delivery from suppliers were found to be the three most relevant lean techniques to a hotel supply chain.

The study has targeted a representative sample of hotels with experience in implementing lean practices. Study findings have several implications to researchers and practitioners for effective adoption of lean techniques within a hotel supply chain. However, the accuracy and credibility of results obtained from this research including SIPOC allocation and lean categorization are highly dependent on the accuracy and credibility of collected empirical data from surveyed hotels within the study context. Results of AHP prioritization also depend on the credibility of judgements made by the hotels’ supply chain experts.

The study provides the hospitality industry with a structured approach that can help in a prioritized adoption of most relevant lean techniques across the hotel supply chain to reduce wastes, create value, increase efficiency and improve the service level. Study findings can be used by hotel management to direct and focus the effort of lean capacity building, resources allocation and implementation plans.

Limited research is available on lean management in the context of a hotel supply chain. Also, most of the previous research is focused on lean impacts, while academics and practitioners agree that the identification and prioritization of most relevant lean techniques is crucial to the successful implementation of lean management for waste reduction and value creation. This research addresses this important issue in hotel supply chains and proposes a structured approach for effective lean adoption.

This paper aims provides an empirical analysis of the development of the internationalisation process in the Spanish hotel industry, which has experienced major changes during the past decade. The degree of internationalisation between 2000 and 2010 is used as a proxy variable with the aim of mapping the development of international strategies.

A longitudinal dataset measuring the internationalisation of Spanish hotel chains is used. Cluster analysis identifies the different behaviour of groups of firms during the analysed period.

Two different clusters are detected, which can be attributed to different internationalisation strategies over time. Small and medium (SME) hotel companies seem to follow a different path of development than more established multinational companies. Over time, the entire group tends to be more compact, whereas the distance between the clusters is shown to diverge in final years. The groups’ composition suggests that business-networking relationships can be a strategy of particular importance for SMEs pursuing international expansion.

This paper develops a better understanding of the changes of the internationalisation patterns of Spanish hotel chains. Findings could address managers in strategic decisions about how to improve competitive position. In particular, they recommend accounting for size, international experience and business network relationships when expanded abroad.

This paper introduces a new approach based on studying clusters of Spanish hotels according to their internationalisation strategies over the time. Further analysis revealed the role of business network on internationalisation patterns.

To identify rivals in the international hotel industry, current practice is to use price, segment and proximity. Using price and segment to identify rivals can be problematic due to price discounting. Additionally, a clear way to measure proximity does not exist. The aim of this study is to develop a process which managers can use to accurately identify rivals. Network analysis and affiliation matrices, in particular, are used to show managers a simple, systematic way to quantify proximity. Affiliation matrices give managers a simple, numeric value to distinguish between primary and secondary competitors. Managers should also compare chains on other competitive dimensions to distinguish their relative competitive threat. Results suggest there will be more than one competitive dimension to distinguish between rivals. At times, international experience is a relevant competitive dimension; at other times, nationality is a relevant competitive dimension. Size, however, is very rarely a relevant competitive dimension.