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The current study aims to examine the joint impact of consumers' need for status (NFS), celebrity's star power and consumer-celebrity image match on consumers' attitudes toward the celebrity endorsement.

A factorial design was employed to test the research model. Consumer-celebrity image match was manipulated, and consumers' NFS and celebrity's star power was captured using existing measurement scales. A total of 365 responses were collected via Qualtrics. Hayes's (2013) PROCESS procedure was used to analyze the data and test hypotheses.

Results indicate that consumers with high (vs low) NFS have more favorable attitudes toward the endorsed brand. More importantly, consumers high in NFS, in an endorsement where celebrity-consumer image matches, have more favorable attitudes toward the brand endorsed by a celebrity with more (vs less) star power. In contrast, in an endorsement where celebrity-consumer image mismatches, they react the same regardless of the endorser's star power.

This study offers suggestions to hospitality marketing professionals in strategically using celebrity endorsers in their marketing campaigns and strategies that allows firms to further formulate positive and enduring brand images while encouraging favorable consumer behaviors.

While most hospitality studies have focused on the traits of celebrity endorsers, little attention has been paid to the impact of consumers' characteristics on celebrity endorsement. This study advances the growing literature on hospitality celebrity endorsement by providing empirical evidence to delineate the relationship among celebrities, endorsed brands and consumers.

This chapter covers four main concepts: service quality, quality assurance for measurement, quality assurance for management, and service failure and recovery. The first section mainly discusses the fundamentals of service quality. The service quality gap model is also highlighted to identify the gaps between customer expectations and the actual perceptions of service at different stages of service delivery. In the second section, different measurement methods for quality assurance are demonstrated. Examples of qualitative and quantitative methods are included. In the third section, the important management objectives of quality assurance, improvement, and control are covered. By using a combination of the quality assurance methods from the second section, hospitality operators can accomplish internal accountability, external accountability, performance improvement, and innovation. In the fourth and final section, causes and consequences of service failures are covered together with the service recovery paradox to express the implications of poor quality.

Forecasting is a vital part of hospitality operations because it allows businesses to make imperative decisions, such as pricing, promotions, distribution, scheduling, and arranging facilities, based on the predicted demand and supply. This chapter covers three main concepts related to forecasting: it provides an understanding of hospitality demand and supply, it introduces several forecasting methods for practical application, and it explains yield management as a function of forecasting. In the first section, characteristics of hospitality demand and supply are described and several techniques for managing demand and supply are addressed. In the second section, several forecasting methods for practical application are explored. In the third section, yield management is covered. Additionally, examples of yield management applications from airlines, hotels, and restaurants are presented.

This chapter covers four main concepts: (a) providing an understanding of service; (b) organizing hospitality decisions and processes; (c) defining strategic service visions; and (d) dissecting operations strategies for hospitality services. In the first section, the definition of service, the five service dimensions, and the service package are covered. In the second section, hospitality decisions and processes are framed by service concepts and the service-profit chain. A service concept is the starting point for developing hospitality operations strategies, while the service-profit chain explains the link from customer satisfaction and customer loyalty to a service firm’s growth and profitability. In the third section, the strategic service vision is explored. Successful service firms all have a strategic service vision, which includes a set of ideas and actions organized in a systematic way to maximize a firm’s performance. In the fourth and final section, the operations strategy for hospitality services is covered. Successful service operations occur when management defines and adheres to a competitive operations strategy.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of communication channels on communication style and information quality as perceived by loyalty program members.

An online survey was utilized to collect data, and multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the study hypothesis.

Study results indicated that the choice of a communication channel has a significant impact on the perceived communication style and information quality.

The use of an online survey restricted the ability to generalize findings beyond those that use the internet. Replicating this study in other areas where customers seek information outside of loyalty programs would provide valuable insight into the impact of communication channels on communication style and perceived quality of communication.

Communication style and information quality have been shown to impact customer loyalty. The results of this study indicate that the type of communication channel used impacts style and information quality, and thereby loyalty.

Executives should use these research findings as a guide to how they should structure and maintain relationships with their loyalty members.

This manuscript provides executives with a taxonomy of the tools and channels available for communicating information to loyalty program members.

Hospitality services are among the most robust experiences enjoyed by consumers. To deliver them successfully, careful attention to detail is first needed for the design and development of those experiences. This chapter begins by exploring the array of elements that holistically construct an experience, from process to people to physical environments. Then, the customer experience management framework is used to outline a recommended technique for approaching experience design. Finally, a brief survey of visualization techniques shows how experiences can be modeled for assessment and improvement.

This chapter covers three main concepts: it provides an overview of supply chain management (SCM), introduces the concepts of procurement and what is entailed within this function, and explains how inventory is managed. In the first section, SCM is considered broadly but also in the context of hospitality. The key roles and objectives of SCM as well as the significance of supply chain risk and disruption are considered. In the second section, the concept of sourcing is discussed. Sourcing is a critical function in any organization: without this, an organization would cease to operate. The importance of supplier selection is explored, with methods to make the most appropriate selection and for subsequently managing suppliers. Finally, the third section focuses on how inventory management can be optimized. Concepts such as economic order quantity (EOQ) and ABC analysis are explored, along with alternatives to traditional inventory management methods.

Service experiences and waiting lines are often – unfortunately – seen to go hand in hand. This chapter explains why this is the case. Beginning with an exploration of capacity and operating constraints, discussion then delves into both the mathematical origins and psychological implications of waiting lines. The final section offers hope to managers and guests alike, with a survey of different operations strategies and tactics that can eliminate or abate the need to wait.

Operations management involves utilizing given resources as efficiently as possible to deliver services to customers and meet business goals. Developing efficient business operations requires a hospitality organization to design efficient service environments, as part of its mission. This chapter articulates the key design and planning strategies for the development of a successful hospitality organization. The first section covers the process of location selection, as the most important factor leading to the success of a hospitality organization. The second section discusses strategies for estimating the number of users (service employees and customers) during peak and idle times to justify a costly financial investment. The third section concerns the readers with the topic of layout planning, with the goal of service optimization for a targeted number of customers. The fourth section deliberates workflow conditions, and finally, the last section addresses the ambience and design of the physical hospitality environment, which is crucial for customer evaluation of a hospitality organization as it creates a first impression.