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This study adopts a research-oriented mystery guest method to investigate customer experiences with economy hotels in China.Based on the analysis of lived experiences with 56 economy hotels in 13 mainland Chinese cities, six pertinent issues-location, online booking, pricing, check-in/out services and staff attitude, room design and facilities, and supporting service features and facilities-are examined to assess their contributions to the customer experience of economy hotels in China. The study illustrates the current status of these issues based on the authors' lived experiences and reflections. The experiential perspective adopted in this study provides valuable information on an emerging and rapidly growing sector of China's hotel industry.

Inviting industry professionals as speakers in university classrooms for the benefit of future managers is essential to an applied field of higher learning. This study examines the role of "Professor-for-a-Day" in nurturing communities of learning and practice in hospitality and tourism programs at universities. Data were collected (auto-) ethnographically over five years (2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017) in Hong Kong, through in-depth interviews with guest speakers from the industry, subject lecturers who invite industry executives to their classes, and students who are exposed to these industry professionals.Simultaneously, participant observations of, and documentary sources about, industry executives' guest lectures, are also used in the analysis and report. The research results reinforce and reiterate the role of industry professionals as guest speakers in building communities of learning and practice in an applied field of study. Implications of this discussion for applied higher education are then deliberated, so are the study's constraints acknowledged, and directions for future research explored.