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Recent years have witnessed significant increases in the number of undergraduate students entering UK higher education. This increase is a result of the removal of the sector-wide cap on student numbers in England and Wales, along with a growth in overseas students attracted by the reputation of UK universities and the weakening of the value of Sterling. Adopting a corporate real estate perspective, the aim of this paper is to understand how the UK student residence market is structured and financed, and to identify the motivations that are driving the strategies adopted by the universities, private sector providers and investors in this market. In doing so, this research seeks to test the appropriateness of the Gibler and Lindholm (2012) model of corporate real estate strategy in the UK higher education sector.

Data was gathered from a survey of UK university secretaries, combined with interviews of private sector providers, bank lenders and the analysis of secondary data on investment flows into purpose built residential accommodation (PBSA).

UK university real estate strategy is mainly one of outsourcing student accommodation to reduce costs as well as employing modern purpose-built student housing as a marketing tool and brand enhancer. This strategy is also used as a risk mitigatory tool enabling universities to adjust to changing student demands. Revisions to the Gibler and Lindholm (2012) model are proposed to reflect the reality of the real estate strategy adopted by the universities. Private sector providers view the sector favourably and are set to be the main providers of new supply over the next decade, entering into strong partnerships with the universities. While there is evidence of some oversupply of bed spaces in certain cities, well-located developments are viewed as an attractive lending opportunity. Since 2013 there has been significant growth in institutional investment into UK student accommodation, albeit sentiment is currently tempered by political uncertainty.

The role of PBSA designed to meet modern student requirements is playing a critical role not only in attracting, recruiting and retaining students but also enhancing the overall higher education experience promoting student welfare and well-being.

The corporate real estate strategy adopted by the UK higher education sector is an under researched area. This paper focuses on the strategy surrounding student accommodation provision and reports on the findings of an extensive survey of the key players in this sector. The results are of value to all stakeholders including government and regulators, at a time when higher education is facing substantial challenges. The evidence of a growing partnership between universities and the private sector is viewed as a logical solution, both for the present and the foreseeable future.

Amongst the alternative property sectors, student accommodation has recently become an important institutionalised property sector for pension funds and sovereign wealth funds in the global property landscape, particularly in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance, risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification benefits of student accommodation in a UK property and mixed-asset portfolio over 2011–2017. Drivers and risk factors for the ongoing development of the student accommodation sector are also identified. The question of student accommodation being a proxy for residential property exposure by institutional investors is also assessed.

Using annual total returns, the risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification benefits of UK student accommodation over 2011–2017 is assessed. Asset allocation diagrams are used to assess the role of student accommodation in a UK property portfolio and in a UK mixed-asset portfolio for a range of property investor types.

UK student accommodation delivered superior risk-adjusted returns compared to UK property, stocks and REITs over 2011–2017, with portfolio diversification benefits. Importantly, this sees UK student accommodation as strongly contributing to the UK property and mixed-asset portfolios across the entire portfolio risk spectrum and validating the property industry perspective of student accommodation being low risk and providing diversification benefits. Student accommodation is also not seen to be a proxy for residential exposure by institutional investors.

Student accommodation is an alternative property sector that has become increasingly institutionalised in recent years. The results highlight the important role of student accommodation in a UK property portfolio and in a UK mixed-asset portfolio. The strong risk-adjusted performance of UK student accommodation compared to UK property, stocks and REITs over this timeframe sees UK student accommodation contributing to the mixed-asset portfolio across the entire portfolio risk spectrum. This is particularly important, as many investors (e.g. pension funds, sovereign wealth funds) now see student accommodation as an important property sector in their overall portfolio.

This paper is the first published empirical research analysis of the risk-adjusted performance of UK student accommodation, and the role of student accommodation in a UK property portfolio and in a UK mixed-asset portfolio. This research enables empirically validated, more informed and practical property investment decision making regarding the strategic role of student accommodation as an alternative property sector in a portfolio.

This article assesses the degree of adoption of the circular economy model in the tourist accommodation sector. Additionally, the study aims to understand whether the type of accommodation, size and year of construction or remodelling have an impact on the adoption of circular economy practices.

The study is based on a survey administered to directors and owners of tourist accommodation facilities in Portugal. The questionnaire was developed based on an extensive literature review of circular economy practices in the accommodation sector.

Accommodation companies currently operate in a linear economy model and are still in the early stages of transitioning to a more circular economic model. Among the most commonly implemented practices are those that represent expenditure savings for accommodation companies. The findings also suggest a growing awareness and commitment to sustainability and circular economy practices in the tourist accommodation sector, particularly in more recently constructed or renovated accommodation.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the accommodation characteristics that impact the adoption of sustainability and circular economy practices in the tourist accommodation sector. It contributes to the literature by providing primary quantitative data supporting the adoption of such practices.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) dimensions on firm performance in the tourism sector. The goal is twofold: on the one hand, the paper aims to test whether EO dimensions are still significant determinants of performance after controlling for possible confounding factors; on the other hand, it aims to address the question of which EO dimension exerts the strongest effect on performance.

A survey was carried out in the Sardinian accommodation sector in 2012 and 224 questionnaires were collected. The multidimensional EO constructs were adopted.

The results show that innovativeness, proactiveness and autonomy were significantly associated with tourism firm performance, whereas risk-taking and competitiveness were not.

The results are limited to the Sardinian accommodation context. Self-reported data were used to measure firm performance. Further research works could replicate the analyses using objective firm performance not only in similar touristic destinations but also in other countries and incorporating other industries.

The study suggests educational and managerial implications. Entrepreneurs in the tourism sector should be encouraged to adopt an innovative, autonomous and proactive approach in managing their firms.

The study advances entrepreneurial knowledge in the tourism sector and in particular in the accommodation industry. The multidimensional EO approach has never been adopted among touristic firms. Furthermore, considering that EO research has been overlooked in the country of Italy, this study’s contribution is also providing evidence from an area that has received minimal attention to date.

Tourism accommodation is an affair for the real estate business. As a concept, tourism accommodation can only be defined and understood in terms of demand. When a tourist requires overnight accommodation, this product constitutes tourism accommodation. Looked at in this way a home for the aged, even when located in a tourism region, does not constitute tourism real estate. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has classified different types of accommodation. This classification shows clearly what a great variety there is in types of tourism accommodation. The WTO list makes a particular distinction between collective types of accommodation and private accommodation. In the first category we find commercially operated hotels and para‐hotels. The second category concerns second homes which are either exclusively used by the owners or are at times made available to family and friends, at no charge.

Previous studies on tourism input-output (IO) primarily focus on a single year’s snapshot or utilize outdated IO coefficients. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the multi-period development of regional tourism capacities and its influence on the magnitude of the industry’s regional economic contribution. The paper highlights the importance of applying up-to-date IO coefficients to avoid estimation bias typically found in previous studies on tourism’s economic contribution.

For the period 2008-2014, national IO tables are regionalized to estimate direct and indirect economic effects for output, employment, income and other value-added deffects. A comparison of Leontief inverse matrices is conducted to quantify estimation bias when using outdated models for analyzing tourism’s economic contribution.

On the one hand, economic linkages strengthened, especially for labour-intensive sectors. On the other hand, sectoral recessions in 2012 and 2014 led to an economy-wide decline of indirect effects, although tourists’ consumption was still increasing. Finally, estimation bias observed after applying an outdated IO model is quantified by approximately US$4.1m output, 986 jobs full-time equivalents, US$24.8m income and US$14.8m other value-added effects.

Prevailing assumptions on IO modelling and regionalization techniques aim for more precise survey-based approaches and computable general equilibrium models to incorporate net changes in economic output. Results should be cross-validated by means of qualitative interviews with industry representatives.

Additional costs for generating IO tables on an annual base clearly pay off when considering the improved accuracy of estimates on tourism’s economic contribution.

This study shows that tourism IO studies should apply up-to-date IO models when estimating the industry’s economic contribution. It provides evidence that applying outdated models involve the risk of estimation biases, because annual changes of multipliers substantially influence the magnitude of effects.

As deregulation takes place in the UK, rent tribunals are confronted with the problem of setting a “market rent” for previously controlled property. A simple partial equilibrium model of a sector of the rented accommodation market is used to examine the question of setting a “market rent” in the controlled‐rent subsector. It is shown that setting the controlled rent equal to the rent prevailing in the uncontrolled part of the market is sub‐optimal, and a simple formula is suggested which will give a better estimate of the true free market rent.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine the extent to which hotel investments create jobs and, second, to compare whether investment in a particular hotel segment generates more or less jobs in the overall economy and in the tourism, leisure and hospitality industries.

The panel autoregressive distributed lag regression model was used to examine the effect of total hotel investments and hotel investments in economy-scale, midscale, luxury-scale and independent hotels on total employment and employment in the tourism, leisure and hospitality industries in the USA.

Hotel investments increase employment in both the overall economy and the tourism, leisure and hospitality industries. Midscale hotels make the highest contribution to employment in the overall economy. Economy-scale hotels make the highest contribution to employment in the overall tourism, leisure and hospitality industries.

The results support the postulations of growth pole theory. As hotel investment increases, not only does the hotel industry see gains in employment but also does related economic sectors see an increase. Midscale hotels have the greatest positive impact on local labor markets, which is consistent with the assertions of middle-out economics.

Community leaders should encourage the type of investment that benefits the broader area as much as possible by incentivizing the type of growth that is related to employment growth.

This study investigates the relations between hotel investment and employment from a theoretical and empirical perspective by providing objective claims inferred from statistical inferences.

By adopting network analytic techniques, this paper aims to examine interlocking directorates among firms operating in the hospitality services sector in seven major Italian tourism destinations.

The authors collected information for all the hotel corporations whose headquarters are located in the seven top Italian destinations: Florence, Milan, Naples, Rimini, Rome, Turin and Venice. Data come from the Analisi Informatizzata delle Aziende Italiane database by Bureau Van Dijk and were used to build a network where the nodes are board members (people) and corporations (hotels) and the links represent the membership of individuals in the boards. From this, with a one-mode projection, the authors obtain two networks: people and corporations. The overall networks’ structures are analysed by assessing their connectivity characteristics.

The findings indicate a relatively low number of interlocks that signals a high degree of fragmentation, showing that the interconnections (both within and between destinations) are scarce. This suggests that in absence of formalized cooperation arrangements, corporations might collaborate informally.

This work extends previous research on complexity in business settings, focusing specifically on service companies whose output depends on multiple interactions and helps clarifying coopetition practices of hospitality service firms. Policymaking perspectives are discussed as well as managerial viewpoints.

Not many studies of the interlocking directorates in the hospitality domain exist. This paper uses network analysis for a better understanding of the cooperative practices and the formal social structures of the Italian hospitality industry and derives a series of implications important for both researchers and practitioners while also looking at potential future studies.

This study aims to testify the effects of green marketing on peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation consumers’ repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) towards P2P accommodation platforms through the mediation of trust and consumer identification.

A questionnaire survey was applied to collect data from a sample of 488 consumers in China who had used P2P accommodation platforms in the past six months. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

The study found that consumers’ perception of green marketing orientation of P2P accommodation platforms significantly increased consumer trust in the platform and consumer identification with the platform, which in turn each positively influenced repurchase intention and positive WOM to the platform. Furthermore, consumer trust had a positive effect on consumer identification and both trust and identification mediated the relationship between green marketing and repurchase intention and that between green marketing and positive WOM.

The findings of this study provide P2P accommodation platform operators with important insights to apply green marketing and focus on consumer trust and identification in sustaining their business and coping with the intense market competition.

This study contributes to better understanding of the impact of green business practices on consumers in sharing economy and offers practical implications on sustainable P2P accommodation practices.