No abstract

The connection between tourism and nature justifies the environmental concerns from tourism agents, namely global hotel chains. This paper explores the differences between smaller hotel chains and their larger global counterparts regarding environmentally sustainable practices. The research approach is qualitative, based on the analysis of 40 company websites and in-depth interviews with 18 entrepreneurs and executives. Results suggest that environmental issues are, for most companies, not a response to societal challenges (‘doing the right thing’), but a response to owners’ concerns (‘doing things right’). Hotel chains develop environmental sustainability practices, mainly for cost-reduction purposes, accommodating the owners’ demands for efficiency. Notwithstanding, there are differences according to the chain’s size. Smaller companies are less prone to adopt environmental practices and to invest in communicating them than global chains. Concerning sustainability in the hotel industry, most studies focus on specific topics and discussions. A more holistic approach to sustainability to establish a deeper understanding of sustainable business decisions in the hotel sector is scarce in the literature. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the strategic reasons behind the sustainable practices of hotel companies, namely smaller ones. Managerial implications of the results are also derived in this paper.

No abstract

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.

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.

ResumoO presente estudo tem como finalidade a exploração da utilidade de uma plataforma formativa/appmobile assente em gamification para a indústria hoteleira em Portugal, com conteúdos que respondam às necessidades de formação mais comuns neste contexto. Através da gamification, as empresas podem motivar os trabalhadores a participar em processos de aprendizagem e, assim, melhorar a produtividade. Com recurso a uma metodologia de natureza qualitativa, foram auscultados cinco diferentes stakeholders, do lado da oferta formativa e três do lado da procura. Neste caso foram recolhidos dados em três cadeias hoteleiras que operam em Portugal, abrangendo um total de vinte e três trabalhadores, em cinco focus group. Os resultados do estudo permitiram identificar as principais necessidades formativas existentes nas diferentes unidades, os principais obstáculos sentidos pelos gestores e trabalhadores na execução do plano formativo e identificar a gamification aplicada à formação como uma estratégia motivacional e de fomento da adesão à formação. AbstractThis study aims to explore the usefulness of a training platform/mobile app based on gamification for the hotel industry in Portugal, with contents that respond to the most common training needs in this context. Through gamification, companies can motivate workers to participate in learning activities and thus improve productivity. Using a qualitative approach, five different stakeholders were surveyed, companies that offer these type of training solutions and three hotel companies. In this case, data were collected in three hotel chains operating in Portugal, from twenty-three employees in five focus groups. The results of the study allowed the identification of the main training needs in the different hotel units and the main obstacles felt by managers and workers in the implementation of the training plan and also identified gamification in training as a motivational strategy that promotes adherence to training.

Experiential services are growing within the service economy. In these companies, the focus is on the experience of the customer, rather than just the functional benefits delivered. These types of services are often designed from the perspective of the customer's journey rather than as a single transaction; the services are seen as a journey that spans a longer period and consists of multiple components and multiple touch points. Therefore, these types of services have specific characteristics with implications in strategic decisions and innovation management. It is relevant to question how the usual innovation concepts, typologies and models apply to these industries, and because most of these industries usually operate worldwide, innovation management must consider this. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze innovation in experiential services with a focus in internationalized companies, as this poses challenges such as the dichotomy between standardization and local adaptation of services.

Tourism shows a significant transformation. Therefore, knowing the perception of residents regarding its impacts can conduce to more adequate public policies, strategies, decisions and actions, more adapted to residents’ expectations, involving these stakeholders and deepening their engagement in tourism development. This study is a work in progress1. Its main objective is to identify the perceptions of residents of the Lisbon region regarding the impacts of tourism. A quantitative methodology was used to analyse respondents’ perceptions based on descriptive statistical techniques and non-parametric tests. The results of this research indicate that residents have a positive attitude concerning economic, as well as cultural, social and environmental impacts. The study also reveals differences in attitude depending on age, gender and professional activity.