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This study aims to compare the rating dynamics of the same hotels in two online review platforms (Booking.com and Trip Advisor), which mainly differ in requiring or not requiring proof of prior reservation before posting a review (respectively, a verified vs a non-verified platform).

A verified system, by definition, cannot host fake reviews. Should also the non-verified system be free from “ambiguous” reviews, the structure of ratings (valence, variability, dynamics) for the same items should also be similar. Any detected structural difference, on the contrary, might be linked to a possible review bias.

Travelers’ scores in the non-verified platform are higher and much more volatile than ratings in the verified platform. Additionally, the verified review system presents a faster convergence of ratings towards the long-term scores of individual hotels, whereas the non-verified system shows much more discordance in the early phases of the review window.

The paper offers insights into how to detect suspicious reviews. Non-verified platforms should add indices of scores’ dispersion to existing information available in websites and mobile apps. Moreover, they can use time windows to delete older (and more likely biased) reviews. Findings also ring a warning bell to tourists about the reliability of ratings, particularly when only a few reviews are posted online.

The across-platform comparison of single items (in terms of ratings’ dynamics and speed of convergence) is a novel contribution that calls for extending the analysis to different destinations and types of platform.

The study explores the issue of branding in tourism from the perspective of two processes related to globalization: the expansion of the world market and the use of information and communication technologies. The question addressed is how these processes affect tourism branding. This chapter shows that while the global market expansion in tourism enhances the relevance of brands, the digitalization of the experience made by the tourists and the expansion of virtual communities both represent an unprecedented challenge to the research and practice of tourism branding. The analysis reveals an empowerment of the tourists which may affect the residents, employees, and managers’ roles in branding. The chapter ends with new organizational strategies of brand enhancement which take into consideration the digitalization era.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the link between customer information sharing and new service development.

Through a survey of tourism firms, 295 questionnaires were collected in three large tourism locations in Tanzania. Thereafter, the hypotheses were tested by structural equation modeling (SEM) after undertaking both factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.

Results indicate that there is a positive association/link between customer information sharing and new service development. The link here expresses the association that exists as customers share information and the extent of use of this information for the firm benefit in facilitating new service development. Specifically, customers post service information and customer interaction behaviors positively support new service development; however, customers’ pre-service information revealed no link.

These results offer practical evidence that post service information and interaction behaviors form the groundwork for development of new services in service-related organizations.

These results evidence that customer post service information and customer interaction behaviors form the groundwork for development new services in tourism. Hence, the study strengthens the value co-creation and innovation views in the service arena by extending knowledge in the use of both the service and the customer environment for service improvement.

The growth in the ecotourism industry has increased emphasis on sustainable practices. Despite the fact that ample research has been conducted on sustainable ecotourism practices, many ecotourism destinations fail to become sustainable. The growth of the ecotourism industry and the global population has called for greener practices to be incorporated in developing ecotourism destinations. Waterwheel, located in the Limpopo province of South Africa, is faced with this green development challenge and serves as a case study (located at the end of the chapter) for this chapter.

This chapter gives a brief overview of the green principles associated with developing ecotourism destinations. Green ecotourism destination planning is explained within the context of the tourists’ experience to highlight aspects necessary for sustainable ecotourism destination development.

Even though the green market is still in its infancy, tourists are increasingly demanding green accommodation. A green, sustainable ecotourism destination can only be developed if green principles are incorporated from the input phase. The input phase (e.g., building materials and infrastructure systems for water and energy) determines the output phase (e.g., operational materials, activities, suppliers, activities, and marketing) and, subsequently, the level of sustainability. It is therefore crucial to plan for these aspects and the level to which the destination aims to adhere to these aspects, as they are costly.

Even though research on the green economy is not a new phenomenon it has only recently trickled down to ecotourism development. This explains the lack of research currently experienced in the literature of ecotourism and a gap that should be addressed urgently. Although this chapter only briefly discusses green ecotourism development, the aspects highlighted in the chapter provides other researchers with research opportunities to pursue in an effort to bridge the gap.

This exploratory research opens a new avenue of tourism destination enquiry for Dhofar Governorate, Oman. It examines the relationship between the food tourism landscape in the country’s southernmost region and the Government’s stated economic development goals. Tourism is a new industry here and in need of sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to identify how the natural and human resources of the region may be harnessed to expand food tourism pathways and achieve sustainable economic development e.g. maximising stakeholder benefits.

The literature review highlights many new developments in food tourism for this baseline study. Qualitative and quantitative (i.e. mixed) methods are used including a case study, a pilot survey of key Government stakeholders in Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, food factory tours and interviews with their executives in Dhofar, direct and participant observation at food establishments and events, visits to popular roadside and market food stalls in Salalah and tourism trend analysis.

Some recent trends in food tourism elsewhere may be adapted in Salalah and spark interest in the food culture and heritage of Dhofar. This, in turn, may bring multiple benefits to the destination’s stakeholders. The governorate’s environment yields a rich variety of agricultural and other food products that may be used to provide new forms of food tourism and increase the region’s appeal to tourists beyond the Khareef season. Further possible benefits include safeguarding local food knowledge, production, culture and heritage, developing SMEs, creating new jobs and increasing visitor stay and spend.

The study is conducted solely in English, whereas Arabic is the mother tongue in Oman. Dhofar is the country’s largest governorate occupying a vast area, not all of which is covered by the study. More data are needed to inform tourism development, policymaking and planning in Dhofar.

Improving tourism’s sustainability profile, creating successful food tourism products and services and achieving Dhofar’s economic development goals require concerted effort. All are in the best interest of the tourism stakeholders concerned.

This paper provides a foundation for future research on this topic. It highlights the importance of placing food tourism development on a sustainable footing to protect and preserve Dhofar’s unique food culture, heritage, traditions and environment, extend the main tourism season and maximise benefits to stakeholders.

Recent trends in food tourism are investigated to gauge their applicability in this dynamic region of Oman. Ideas are presented demonstrating possible food tourism pathways to sustainable economic development that benefit a wide range of stakeholders e.g. food tours, food factory tours and shops, food festivals and cookery-school holidays and/or classes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore tourism scenario planning for an anticipated shock as viewed through the lens of Irish hospitality managers preparing for Brexit. The research appropriates a climate science framework to structure the study, situating preparations, or lack thereof, against the themes of volatility, exposure and resilience.

The research uses a qualitative, pragmatic approach to determine how senior Irish hospitality managers were preparing for Britain’s exit from the European Union. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data conducted with hotel management, industry federations and tourism policymakers.

Buoyancy of the industry, from an industry perspective, little foreseeable threat to the sector, has caused management to develop complacent tendencies, a myopic viewpoint and a head-in-the-sand mindset. Their “wait and see” and “ad hoc” approaches to planning for an anticipated shock suggest an industry that believes itself to be resistant to threats.

The findings suggest that although tourism has been resilient to economic shocks in the past, historical lessons learned have not been implemented in anticipation of the next shock. More proactive engagement and better strategic preparedness is necessary to mitigate the impacts of future shocks. Industry needs to acknowledge its role in developing resilience and reducing volatility and exposure. The government additionally needs to coordinate initiatives with industry to develop robustness.

The paper demonstrates areas of practice in the hospitality industry that could be improved to reduce volatility and exposure, enhance resilience and encourage rapid adaptability post crisis.

本研究通过爱尔兰酒店管理者为英国脱欧做准备的视角, 探讨了为预期的冲击所做的旅游场景规划。本文采用了气候科学的框架来搭建研究结构, 将准备工作或准备工作的缺失定位在波动、风险和恢复力的主题上。

本研究采用了一种定性的、务实的方法, 来探索爱尔兰酒店高级管理人员是如何为英国脱欧做准备的。英国脱欧对爱尔兰旅游业可能产生重大影响。本文采用半结构化访谈收集数据, 与酒店管理、行业联盟和政策制定者进行了访谈。

该行业现在正蓬勃发展, 而且从行业的角度看, 脱欧对该行业几乎没有可预见的威胁, 这导致该行业内的行动者产生了自满倾向、短视观点和逃避现实的心态。他们采取“观望”和“专门化”的办法来为预期的冲击做准备, 表明该行业相信自己能够抵御威胁。

调查结果表明, 尽管旅游业在过去一直能抵御经济冲击, 但积累的规划经验尚未为即将到来的下一个预期冲击付诸实施。为了减轻未来冲击的影响, 更积极的参与和更好的战略准备是必要的。行业需要认识到自己在增加恢复力、减少波动性和风险方面的作用。政府需要与行业协调行动, 以激发企业的活力。

本文展示了酒店行业的一些实践领域, 这些领域可以得到改善, 以减少波动性和风险, 增强弹性, 并鼓励危机后的快速适应。

El estudio explora la planificación de escenarios turísticos ante una crisis anticipada por el Brexit, desde la perspectiva de los gerentes hoteleros irlandeses que se preparan para ella. La investigación utiliza el marco de la ciencia climática para estructurar el estudio, confrontando los preparativos, o la falta de ellos, con la volatilidad, el riesgo y la resiliencia.

La investigación utilizó un enfoque cualitativo y pragmático para determinar cómo se están preparando los altos directivos hoteleros irlandeses para la salida de Gran Bretaña de la Unión Europea, un evento con un gran impacto potencial en el turismo irlandés. Los datos fueron recogidos a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas a los gerentes hoteleros, las federaciones sectoriales y los responsables políticos.

Los resultados sugieren que, aunque el turismo ha resistido las crisis económicas en el pasado, las lecciones aprendidas en la planificación no se han aplicado para prevenir el próximo impacto previsto en el horizonte. Es necesario un compromiso más proactivo y una mejor preparación estratégica para mitigar los efectos de las crisis futuras. La industria debe reconocer su papel en el desarrollo de la resiliencia y la reducción de la volatilidad y el riesgo. El gobierno necesita coordinar iniciativas con el sector para estimular su solidez.

En el documento se ponen de manifiesto las áreas de actividad del sector hotelero que podrían mejorarse para reducir la volatilidad y el riesgo, aumentar la resiliencia y fomentar la capacidad de adaptación rápida después de una crisis.

The purpose of this study is to extend and revise the basic technology-based service (TBS) adoption model in luxury hotels in India using smart phone apps, and to analyse the impact of the guests’ innovativeness, willingness to co-create, need for interaction and involvement on their adoption intention towards co-creatively developed new services.

Data were collected through online and field surveys from luxury hotel guests, resulting into 229 valid responses. A data analysis was done by applying the confirmatory factor analysis along with structure equation modelling.

The findings of this study indicate that both guests’ innovativeness and need for interaction with service staff significantly affect their involvement. A guest’s willingness to co-create acts as a partial mediator between his/her innovativeness and intention to adopt co-creatively developed new services.

Use of smart phone apps by hotel guests to co-create new services and their intentions to adopt such services have been examined in the context of luxury hotels in India only and thereby limits generalization of results to other industry and country contexts.

The findings of this study would look to guide policy planners and hotel managers for implementing technology application in the co-creative hotel service innovation.

The need for interaction and customer involvement have been added as two supportive variables to the basic TBS model to analyse the adoption intention of luxury hotel guests. This is a new addition to existing literature, as majority of empirical studies in this field are from industries other than hospitality and with differing contexts.

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.