In the increasingly competitive hotel environment, decision-makers must consider the risks and benefits of remaining independent or affiliating with a brand or consortium. This research sought to understand the level of importance associated with a set of motivating factors considered by Portuguese four- and five-hoteliers as it relates to remaining independent or affiliating. The study results suggest that independent hoteliers rank control over decision making and shorter decision making as most important in remaining independent, and increased sales and more aggressive marketing as most important in the decision to affiliate. Affiliated hoteliers rank shorter decision making and absence of fees as most important in remaining independent, and increased sales, brand value, and more aggressive marketing as most important in the decision to affiliate. Interestingly, independence and freedom were considered less important in the decision to remain independent, by all respondents. We apply Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory to explain some of the key findings.

Safety, tranquility, and peace are a necessary condition for prosperous tourism, and security has been identified as one of the five global forces that will drive the tourism industry in the new millennium. Numerous studies have demonstrated that tourism destinations are heavily affected by security perceptions and safety and risk management. In this chapter, the reader may learn about the theoretical models and empirical evidence behind the assertion that security should be seen as a strategic issue not only by tourism destination managers but also by hospitality managers. By the end of the chapter, it will become evident that hospitality managers should take actions in terms of providing their guests higher levels of real and perceived security, as this will be not only ethically right as it will have a positive impact on the company's profitability.

This article evaluates the impact of security in the hostel industry on the willingness to pay by customers. More specifically, given the importance of security in the decision to travel and in the choice of a given destination, we analyze the impact of security guest reviews on a consumer-generated website on hostel room prices. Furthermore, we investigate whether the impact of security guest reviews on the hostel room prices is higher for the hostels located in the countries with the lowest ranking in the Global Peace Index. Finally, we examine whether females and older guests are willing to pay a premium in terms of price for a hostel with a higher level of security. For this purpose, we estimate a hedonic price function for a sample of consumer reviews of 477 hostels in 22 worldwide capitals, with different levels of peace, from Hostelworld. The results highlight the importance of security on the determination of hostel room prices. We find that customers are willing to pay a higher premium in terms of price, in the least worldwide peaceful countries, for a hostel room with higher levels of security. In the case of women and older guests, the premium they are willing to pay is higher.

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