The hotel management agreement is a common, but arguably at times misunderstood, hotel operating structure. This study has sought to explore how both owners and hotel management companies (“operators”) perceive aspects of ownership in managed hotels. In-depth interviews were held with both operator and owner executives and it was found that, even though interviewees appeared to be aware of the nature of the relationship established by a hotel management agreement, in practice operators in particular use a working definition of the model that is more akin to a lease. Misunderstandings of the hotel management agreement can cause confusion as to where risks and responsibilities lie. Based on these findings, we argue that ownership of the operating business, in addition to that of the hotel’s real estate, deserves to be more explicitly acknowledged and addressed.
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This dissertation increases our insight into the role of the service employee’s intercultural competences in the service to culturally diverse customers. Investigating the effect of the intercultural competences of service employees is of major importance because, as a consequence of globalization, the number of intercultural service encounters has increased dramatically and still does. The delivery of service to a culturally diverse customer-base requires a combination of knowledge, skills and attitude; the intercultural competences (also known as Global Mindset). In this study the hotel sector has been investigated specifically. The hotel sector is an important economic player that continues to grow inspite of economic downturn. The special characteristics of hotel services make the sector also very suitable for the research of face-to-face encounters in an international context. In this dissertation, a holistic approach has been chosen, meaning that in the four empirical studies not only the perspective of the manager, but also that of the employee and the customer was investigated. All three of the above-mentioned are actors in intercultural service according to the argumentation of the ‘service-profit chain’ (Heskett, Jones, et al., 1994). Together, the manager, employee and the customer form the so-called ‘service triangle’ (Bitner, 1990).
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Change has become continuous, and innovation is a primary approach for hospitality, i.e., hotel companies, to become or remain economically viable and sustainable. An increasing number of management researchers are paying more attention to workplace rather than technological innovation. This study investigates workplace innovation in the Dutch hotel industry, in three- and four-star hotels in the Netherlands, by comparing them to other industries. Two samples were questioned using the Workplace Innovation survey created by the Dutch Network of Social Innovation (NSI). The first was conducted in the hospitality industry, and these data were compared with data collected in a sample of other industries. Results suggest that greater strategic orientation on workplace innovation and talent development has a positive influence on four factors of organizational performance. Greater internal rates of change, the ability to self-organize, and investment in knowledge also had positive influences on three of the factors—growth in revenue, sustainability, and absenteeism. Results also suggest that the hospitality industry has lower workplace innovation than other industries. However, no recent research has assessed to what degree the hospitality industry fosters workplace innovation, especially in the Netherlands. Next to that, only few studies have examined management in the Dutch hotel industry, how workplace innovation is used there, and whether it improves practices.
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The focus of this project is on improving the resilience of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to take advantage of digitalization tools and data analytics in particular. Hospitality SMEs play an important role in their local community but are vulnerable to shifts in demand. Due to a lack of resources (time, finance, and sometimes knowledge), they do not have sufficient access to data analytics tools that are typically available to larger organizations. The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a prototype infrastructure or ecosystem showcasing how Dutch hospitality SMEs can develop their data analytic capability in such a way that they increase their resilience to shifts in demand. The one year exploration period will be used to assess the feasibility of such an infrastructure and will address technological aspects (e.g. kind of technological platform), process aspects (e.g. prerequisites for collaboration such as confidentiality and safety of data), knowledge aspects (e.g. what knowledge of data analytics do SMEs need and through what medium), and organizational aspects (what kind of cooperation form is necessary and how should it be financed).Societal issueIn the Netherlands, hospitality SMEs such as hotels play an important role in local communities, providing employment opportunities, supporting financially or otherwise local social activities and sports teams (Panteia, 2023). Nevertheless, due to their high fixed cost / low variable business model, hospitality SMEs are vulnerable to shifts in consumer demand (Kokkinou, Mitas, et al., 2023; Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, 2023). This risk could be partially mitigated by using data analytics, to gain visibility over demand, and make data-driven decisions regarding allocation of marketing resources, pricing, procurement, etc…. However, this requires investments in technology, processes, and training that are oftentimes (financially) inaccessible to these small SMEs.Benefit for societyThe proposed study touches upon several key enabling technologies First, key enabling technology participation and co-creation lies at the center of this proposal. The premise is that regional hospitality SMEs can achieve more by combining their knowledge and resources. The proposed project therefore aims to give diverse stakeholders the means and opportunity to collaborate, learn from each other, and work together on a prototype collaboration. The proposed study thereby also contributes to developing knowledge with and for entrepreneurs and to digitalization of the tourism and hospitality sector.Collaborative partnersHZ University of Applied Sciences, Hotel Hulst, Hotel/Restaurant de Belgische Loodsensociëteit, Hotel Zilt, DM Hotels, Hotel Charley's, Juyo Analytics, Impuls Zeeland.
Product Service Systemen (PSS) hebben vaak als doel de milieu-impact van producten de verkleinen, maar leiden niet automatisch tot duurzame oplossingen voor de productie van diensten en producten. Er kunnen zelfs effecten optreden die tot een grotere milieu-impact leiden en de dienst minder duurzaam maken.
Product Service Systemen (PSS) hebben vaak als doel de milieu-impact van producten de verkleinen, maar leiden niet automatisch tot duurzame oplossingen voor de productie van diensten en producten. Er kunnen zelfs effecten optreden die tot een grotere milieu-impact leiden en de dienst minder duurzaam maken. Doel Aanbieders van PSS hebben meestal het eigendom over de producten en zijn gebaat bij producten die lang mee gaan en eenvoudig te vervangen zijn. Dit moedigt producenten aan tot circulaire en duurzamere productie. Dit promotieonderzoek is erop gericht te onderzoeken hoe de diensten duurzamer geproduceerd kunnen worden, waardoor de milieu-impact binnen product-dienst systemen wordt verkleind. Looptijd 01 januari 2020 - 01 januari 2024 Resultaten Een van de resultaten is een reeks van vier kaartensets (of 'routes') die kunnen dienen als hulpmiddel tijdens het ontwerpproces. Ze geven een gemeenschappelijk vocabulaire tussen ontwerpers en andere stakeholders, kunnen helpen bij het maken van ontwerpkeuzes en het valideren van ontwerpconcepten en -oplossingen. Bovenstaande kaarten zijn te downloaden via de links: Control Route (groen), Intimate Knowledge Route (geel), Strategische Keuzes (rood), Self Investment Route (blauw). Lunchlezing 'Hoe kunnen we duurzamer gebruik van producten-als-dienst ontwerpen?' vond plaats op woensdag 16 december 2020, 12:30 - 13:30 uur. Aanpak Het onderzoek naar de gebruikerskant van Product Service Systemen is een praktijkgericht en ontwerpend onderzoek naar de milieu-impact van het gebruik van Product Service Systemen (PSS). Een eerste case study vond plaats bij en in samenwerking met The Student Hotel. In deze veldstudie wordt onderzocht hoe het fiets-deelsysteem (daaronder wordt verstaan: de fiets zelf, de fietsenstalling en de uitleen-app) anders ontworpen kan worden, zodat gebruikers zorgvuldiger met de fietsen omgaan. Gewenste gevolgen zijn minder milieu-impact uit gebruik, lagere kosten en een positievere gebruikerservaring.
