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By analysing the dynamics of neoliberalism through a Polanyian lens, this article illustrates the complexities and consequences of neoliberalism in the Turkish context. It examines the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey as a manifestation of 'embedded neoliberalism'. The article delves into the AKP's ascent to power, its consolidation of authority, and, most notably, its subsequent shift towards authoritarianism and interventionism. It traces the evolution of the AKP's governance, highlighting its trajectory from a period of 'soft embeddedness' to 'authoritarian embeddedness'. During the 'soft embeddedness' phase (2002–2013), the AKP implemented neoliberal policies alongside improved access to credit and social programmes. However, as global economic conditions deteriorated and the contradictions of neoliberalism intensified by 2013, the phase of 'authoritarian embeddedness' ensued. This phase not only entailed overtly authoritarian politics but also witnessed an escalation of state interventionism in the economy further contributing to the crisis of the economy and state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational citizenship behavior pertains to the voluntary actions undertaken by individuals inside an organization to enhance its overall efficacy, especially in the absence of express acknowledgment from the formal incentive system. This study aims to investigate the role of work engagement and affective commitment in mediating the effect of perceived organizational support on organizational citizenship behavior. This quantitative design uses survey methodologies by sending questionnaires to frontline staff in budget hotels in Medan, Indonesia. The sample includes 225 frontline employees with at least a year of experience working in budget hotels in Medan, Indonesia. Data were collected through a Likert scale questionnaire and analyzed using SEM-PLS processed with SmartPLS 4.0 software. The findings suggest a significant relationship between perceived organizational support, work engagement, affective commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior (p < 0.05). In addition, the influence of perceived organizational support on work engagement and affective commitment is noteworthy (p < 0.05). Organizational citizenship behavior is affected by perceived organizational support through work engagement (p < 0.05) and affective commitment (p < 0.05). The results have significant ramifications for organizations. Organizations should establish frameworks that foster employee engagement and dedication. In addition, organizations should actively promote and incentivize employees to dedicate their time, exertion, and innovative thoughts for the betterment of their colleagues and the organization.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of service quality, price, and handling of complaints on consumer satisfaction in Ibis Budget Hotel. The method used in this research is quantitative descriptive with the population in this study being consumers in Ibis budget hotels. There are four variables studied in this research Service Quality (X1), Price (X2), and Handling of Complaints as independent variables, and Consumer Satisfaction (Y) as the related variables. The sample used in the study in 100 respondents. The data in this study used primary data by distributing questionnaires with multiple linear regression methods that processed the use of SPSS 17.0 software. the results of research based on multiple linear regression analysis showed that the Service Quality (X1), Price (X2), and Handling of Complaints had positive and significant impacts on consumer Satisfaction (Y). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial competition considerations are important in hotel location selection. This study proposes and demonstrates a method of colocation network analysis to quantify the potential encroaching effect of spatial inter- and intra-competition between units of business brands that seek expansion. The environmental context of the study is a network of the top five budget hotel brands in the Beijing hotel market. The results reveal that brands implement different strategies in their hotel placement, which are subject to different levels of the encroaching effect. However, the method is applicable in a variety of hospitality settings, specifically in those that involve the development strategies of chain brands. The simulation capability of the method can assist hospitality brands in assessing the outcomes of a proposed development and, thus, aid hoteliers in the spatial allocation of new units with the least adverse effects on their existing business networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial competition considerations are important in hotel location selection. This study proposes and demonstrates a method of colocation network analysis to quantify the potential encroaching effect of spatial inter- and intra-competition between units of business brands that seek expansion. The environmental context of the study is a network of the top five budget hotel brands in the Beijing hotel market. The results reveal that brands implement different strategies in their hotel placement, which are subject to different levels of the encroaching effect. However, the method is applicable in a variety of hospitality settings, specifically in those that involve the development strategies of chain brands. The simulation capability of the method can assist hospitality brands in assessing the outcomes of a proposed development and, thus, aid hoteliers in the spatial allocation of new units with the least adverse effects on their existing business networks.

This paper aims to investigate the current performance of budget hotel hotels in Macao via online reviews from hotel visitors. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to analyze 44,703 budget hotel reviews, which collected from a popular online travel agency platform. The findings show that the budget hotels in Macao are clustered in Macao island, where many historical and cultural attractions are located. Macao budget hotels have the advantages in price and location, which mainly attract tourists in "Family trip," "Friends outing" and "Business trip" travel modes. The hotels are generally performing well, but with problems in marketing strategies, service quality and hotel hygiene. This paper provides advice and recommendations for the development of budget hotels with reference to the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hotel industry plays a vital role in tourism development by providing visitor accommodation facilities. This paper focuses on the effects of service quality on the budget hotel industry in Malaysia. Despite the increasing number of tourists opting for budget hotels in recent years, issues related to service quality have affected tourist satisfaction and loyalty, posing significant challenges for the budget hotel sector to maintain its business. The study analyzed the effects of service quality on tourist loyalty towards budget hotels and identified the most influential factor in service quality that affects tourist loyalty. A quantitative approach was employed in this study, and the findings indicate that the responsiveness quality dimension has the most significant effect on tourist loyalty. In contrast, assurance and reliability have no significant effects. Budget hotels must improve their service quality, specifically responsiveness, to enhance tourist loyalty and maintain their business in the highly competitive hotel industry.

This study examines the effects of turnover intention by the workplace climate in budget hotels. Data collected from 462 staff of budget hotels in India were measured using multivariate analysis. Findings indicate different results from those of luxury hotels and establish that except "job challenge, variety & feedback" all other budget hotel climates: "esprit of the profession, organization & workgroup", "cohesion, clarity & objectivity of system", and "leaders" facilitation & support' have a negative influence on turnover intention. Findings furthermore reveal that the turnover intention is higher in male and entry-level employees with few years of experience, and it gets reduced with higher job positions. This study provides implications by highlighting the features of the budget hotels' workplace climate that will control turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used a multiple qualitative approach to analyze the differences among the internal logical frameworks of digital transformation in high-star and budget hotels. It integrated sensory marketing and innovation diffusion theories to refine and explore the paradigm of hotel digital transformation benefits. The study consists of two sub-studies. Study 1 found that senior managers determine the penetration of digital transformation, hotel brands lay down its participation, and technology compatibility determines its coverage. Study 2 confirmed the path of digital transformation under the consumer sensory experience gap from three consumption gaps and avoidance. This study proposed a theoretical framework paradigm for digital transformation diffusion, which provides a practical basis for unfolding the internal decision-making and sensory experience interaction and other hotel levels under the micro perspective. • Refine the paradigm of hotel digital transformation benefits. • Conduct multiple qualitative studies to analyze differences in hotels' digital transformation frameworks. • This study proposes a theoretical framework for digital transformation diffusion. • Provides a practical basis for decision-making and sensory experience interactions at all levels within the hotel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customer loyalty has gained great consideration in recent years. It is crucial for hotel's success and survival in this competitive market. This research intends to determine the factors contributing to customer loyalty in budget hotel sector in Egypt. This research was investigated by adopting a quantitative research approach. A structured survey was set up involving 33 items to measure customer loyalty and investigated constructs. The outcomes of this study highlighted low level of customer loyalty in budget hotels in Egypt. Four determinants were identified to have major positive impact on customer loyalty respectively: corporate image, price perception, physical environment and switching costs whereas CSR did not have significant effect on customer loyalty. The research implies that budget hotels' managers should invest in improving the factors that were identified as influential/supportive to attract and retain customers. They should deal with customer loyalty as a strategic target and maintain a long-term relationship with customers to enhance their repurchasing intentions. This research contributes to boost customer loyalty in the context of budget hotel sector. It provides a range of tools and recommendations that will motivate customers' re-buying behavior and make them more emotionally-tied to small hospitality organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the service industry, one of the main challenges is to provide customer satisfaction. Though the number of budget hotel in Bangladesh is increasing, but customer satisfaction of these hotels are still ignored. The aim of the study is to identify the determinants that satisfy the customers in these hotels. The research targeted a total of 350 selected respondents from different budget hotels in Bangladesh. The descriptive analyses were conducted by using Amos SPSS 24. Findings reveal that price is the ultimate preference for budget hotels along with products and service quality for satisfying customers. Customers are unconcerned with the services provided by the hotel staff and the location of the hotel as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding customer feedback helps in strategic decision making of an organization which ultimately determines the success or failure of a business or a hotel. Online reviews are increasingly becoming popular among online users and service providers. The hotel industry in many countries extensively utilises the online reviews to evaluate customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The goal of the study was to identify various issues that prompted the customers to register a negative online rating/ feedback on various services offered by the budget segment hotels. The study was conducted for time span of three months in which the online negative reviews or complaints of budget hotels pertaining to various operational departments were examined using content analysis. The findings of the study will be a valuable input for budget hotels to focus on most specific complaints of their departments so that the customer experiences could be enhanced at the budget segment hotels in India.

To the average customer, quality is an requisite and important item, but they also wish to be satisfied. Customers generally always try to select and buy products and services of high quality. The concept of service quality in the hotel industry is considered to be a central stirring factor for the successful operation of a business. The study is intended to formulate an appropriate service quality questionnaire for measuring service quality in budget category hotels. A summary of various studies on service quality in hotels reveals that the measurable attributes under various dimensions were modified specifically to the context of the study. Searches for additional attributes which guests find important ensures the validity of each specific dimension of service quality. The method employed to gather the research resources was adopted from the SERVQUAL model which is generic in measuring perceived service quality. In this context, the study sought to investigate whether SERVQUAL dimensions are pertinent to the budget category hotels run by Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation. After a thorough review of major extant literature, a questionnaire with various attributes was constructed specifically to examine the service quality in the budget category hotels. The instrument consisted of five dimensions, namely tangibles, responsiveness & assurance, reliability; empathy and technology. The results of the study demonstrate that SERVQUAL is indeed a reliable and valid tool to measure service quality in the budget category hotels. In light of the results, possible managerial implications are discussed and future research subjects are recommended.

• The impact of distribution channel utilization on RevPAR is empirically revealed. • Offline distribution channels have the greatest positive impact on budget hotels' RevPAR. • Adopting all distribution channels does not necessarily result in the highest RevPAR. • Direct distribution through mobile chat app contribute substantially to budget hotels' RevPAR. • Asymmetric proportions between online and offline distribution channels reduce the RevPAR. While distribution channels substantially influence revenue management for hotels, previous studies have rarely provided empirical evidence for the impact of different use of distribution channels on hotel performance. This study investigates the current practice of distribution management in the budget hotel industry in China. Using a data set from the operation of budget hotels in multiple cities in China and two-stage least square regression analysis, the results demonstrate the impact of different distribution channels and their combinations on RevPAR. This study provides insights for distribution management in budget hotel market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the primary factors that affect the perception of domestic tourists towards the service quality of budget hotels in Egypt. The factors were divided into three main constructs: physical quality, service quality and value for money. The primary findings reveal that the budget hotel location, cleanliness, maintenance, comfort level, hotel staff service, value for money room rates and food and beverage values are among the significant factors that influence domestic tourist satisfaction within predefined constructs. Primary Elements associated with the budget hotel stay were also ranked according to guest satisfaction.

Across the world Airbnb has become one of the most popular forms of accommodation for travellers, potentially threatening conventional accommodation formats like hotels. This paper examines the impact of Airbnb on the accommodation sector in Chennai. A qualitative method was used using both secondary and primary data. The analysis of the secondary data indicated that Airbnb owes its popularity as it matches current demand among tourists for localized experiences, cheaper rates, longer stays, sustainability, resource conservation, customized services and technology enabled methods of booking and payment. Primary data was collected from 100 guests of Airbnb Chennai. Analysis of the primary data indicated that the guests of Airbnb Chennai are primarily those who used to stay in budget / low priced hotels and resorts. Airbnb does not pose a threat to the 5 star and premium priced hotels in Chennai. Airbnb Chennai offers its guests with personalized local experiences of the city and its surroundings which is much appreciated by the guests. The hosts or the owners of the Airbnb properties play an important role in creating these experiences for guests. Airbnb Chennai was found to be far more accessible using modern technology like the internet / smart phones as compared to some of the budget hotels which do not even have websites. Guests find that Airbnb Chennai offers them rates that enables them to stay in the city for longer periods. The Airbnb format is perceived to be resource friendly, environmental conscious and operating according to the sharing economy principles of recycle, reuse and reduce. As against these advantages vis-à-vis hotels, here are the disadvantages related to security, risk, trust, unprofessional attitude of some hosts and selfservice which some guests mentioned as being inconvenient to do in Chennai. These findings have various implications for the hotel sector in Chennai which have been discussed. For example, hotels must become far more personalized and offer more customized services than they have been hitherto offerings. They must be able to provide frequently visiting guests or long-staying guests with special prices and offers. They must leverage their local contacts in Chennai to create the localized experiences that modern tourists demand. They must invest in technology and in digital marketing to increase online presence and visibility. Hotels in Chennai must highlight any sustainable or 'green' principles that they have been incorporating into their operations. These and other recommendations have been discussed in further detail and it is hoped that their implementation will result in the hotel sector in Chennai being successfully able to counter the threat posed by Airbnb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to explore the accommodation experience of customers in the budget hotel sector – a less explored but rapidly expanding sector in the hospitality industry. This study investigates the effects of such experience on customer behavior.Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a quantitative approach and draws on a comprehensive data set (N = 414) by using a quota sampling approach. The context of the study is the Chinese market, where budget hotels and the number of mass tourists (inbound and outbound) have increased tremendously.Findings This study identifies a behavioral pattern that differs from trends reported in prior studies. The finding shows that the relationship between customer experience and behavioral intentions is mediated by customer satisfaction, which similarly mediates the relationship between perceived value and behavioral intentions.Research limitations/implications The results provide significant implications for hoteliers in the budget hotel industry by calling for a differentiated marketing approach for this segment of customers. Furthermore, the study provides insights into the accommodation behavior of Chinese mass tourists. These findings can serve as reference for international budget hotel practitioners, especially those involved in hotels that target the increasing number of travelers from China.Originality/value The budget hotel sector is the first accommodation choice for many Chinese mass tourists. This study is the first to conduct a systematic exploration of the behavioral patterns of customers toward budget hotels in this context. Moreover, this study adopts a holistic approach by adopting an experiential view in measuring the overall experience of customers in budget hotels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hotels in some countries or regions can not currently establish the energy benchmarking model based on statistical analysis due to the lack of building data. In this case, it is a question how to define an energy benchmarking model with fairness and comparability. To alleviate this problem, this paper, taking the budget (limited service) hotel as an example, develops an energy benchmarking model with composite indicator. At first an energy efficiency indicator is defined as EEUI (Equivalent Energy Use Intensity), which is indicated by energy consumption of unit hotel characteristics. The hotel characteristics involve both the business characteristics and energy use characteristics. The proposed energy benchmarking model is expressed by the weighted sum of major factors impacting on energy use, where EEUI is regarded as the dependent variable while the major factors are regarded as the independent variables. The coefficients of the independent variables are determined by the optimization model built in this paper. In the optimization model, the benchmark value of EUI (energy use intensity) provided by the nation or hotel industry is used as the benchmarking target. Finally the proposed energy benchmarking model is tested on the budget hotels. The purpose of this paper is to provide a simple energy benchmarking model with fairness and comparability to support the macro planning and management of energy saving and emission reduction urgently required by the hotel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to establish a relationship between customer sentiments in online reviews and customer ratings for hotels. Customer sentiment refers to the emotions expressed by customers through the text reviews. These sentiments can be positive, negative or neutral. The study explores customer sentiments and expresses them in terms of customer sentiment polarity. Our results find consistency between customer ratings and actual customer feelings across hotels belonging to the two categories of premium and budget. Customer sentiment polarity explains significant variation in customer ratings across both the hotel categories. With regard to managerial implications, the study finds that, when compared with premium hotels, managers of budget hotels should improve their staff performance and hotel services. The present study is not exhaustive and other factors like customer review length and review title sentiment can be analyzed for their effects on customer ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines firms' product policies when they sell an add-on (e.g., Internet service) in addition to a base product (e.g., hotel rooms) under vertical differentiation (e.g., four- versus three-star hotels). I show that the role of an add-on differs; higher-quality firms prefer to sell it as optional to discriminate consumers, and lower-quality firms trade off discrimination and differentiation, trying to lure consumers from higher-quality rivals with a lower-price add-on. Equilibrium policies of lower-quality firms are more sensitive to the cost-to-value ratio of an add-on. If the ratio is sufficiently small, then they sell it to all consumers, potentially explaining why lower-end hotels are more likely than higher-end ones to offer free Internet service. Contrary to consensus in the literature, optional add-ons can intensify price competition over consumers who trade off a higher-quality base product versus a lower-quality base including an add-on. Hence, higher-quality firms are incentivized to commit to bundling, while lower-quality firms prefer to commit to not selling it. Add-ons can further reduce lower-quality firms' profits if consumers cannot observe the prices, because holding up consumers ex post encourages them to switch to higher-quality rivals, which then become better off. Therefore, lower-quality firms are incentivized to advertise add-on prices, and higher-quality firms are not. The online appendix is available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This study aims to identify key factors influencing Chinese domestic travelers’ behaviors in hotel selection from a pool of budget hotel attribute-based factors and customer personal characteristics and determine the extent to which these factors impact on domestic Chinese travelers’ hotel selection preferences.Design/methodology/approach This study uses a discrete choice experimental design and a multinomial logit model to examine the key influential factors contributing to Chinese domestic travelers’ choice behavior to budget hotels. Both hotel attribute-based and personal trait factors were tested.Findings Results indicate that location, price and business functions were factors influencing guest choice behavior. For budget hotels, being located in the traditional central business districts and having a restaurant would leverage guest preference to stay. Among consumers’ personal characteristics, income, occupation, purpose of travel, personal attitude and past experience were found to be determinants of guest choice behavior.Practical implications This study contributes to the understanding of Chinese domestic travelers’ choice behaviors toward budget hotels and offers insights for industry practitioners to better design budget hotel products and service.Originality/value This research is the first that integrates hotel attributes with travelers’ characteristics and quantitatively evaluate the determinants affecting hotel choice behavior in China. The insights are of value academically to our understanding of cognitive mechanism underlying choice behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market segmentation is a critical driver of change in the hotel industry, resulting in the appearance of differentiated forms of hotel property developments, including budget hotels. International research on budget hotels is mainly limited to North America and Europe, with some more recent studies on emerging economies. This article examines the role of budget hotels within the wider restructuring of the South African hotel industry following the country’s re-entry into the global tourism economy after its democratic transition. Historically, the South African hotel industry became dominated by one- and two-star budget accommodation as a result of the country’s liquor legislation. With the reconfiguration of the hotel industry after 1990 to target the growing international tourism market, the role of budget hotels changed. This analysis examines the diminished role of budget hotels in South Africa’s hotel economy, the shifting nature of the budget hotel and location patterns of budget hotels from 1990 to the present. It shows that post-1990 budget hotels are mainly concentrated in large cities and secondary centres of South Africa, and that in small towns the former liquor-focused budget hotel has been replaced by other forms of accommodation.

In this study, we aim to investigate the role of agglomeration economies, which include both urbanization economies and localization economies, in determining the hotel location choices within a metropolitan setting. Using a sample of 110 star-rated hotels and 535 non-rated budget hotels established in the urbanized area of Beijing over the period 2005–2012, we estimate a mixed logit model of hotel location selection. The results suggest that both star-rated and non-rated budget hotels are enticed by externalities rising from localization economies to choose locations with a high concentration of hotel incumbents. Also, an inverted-U-shaped relationship exists between hotel incumbent concentration and location probability for both types of hotels. Furthermore, budget hotels prefer locations that offer advantages of urbanization economies. Lastly, our results suggest that both star-rated and budget hotels are more likely to choose locations around Beijing Olympic Park, especially in and before 2008. We discuss several policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many researches in the area of hospitality and tourism witnessed its huge growth potential in India. It is seen that there is a demand-supply gap in India which indicates the need for more number of hotels across the country. The paper is based on two case studies on Ginger Hotels and Taj Hotels Palaces and Resorts. The study explores their scope and feasibility, guest expectation, policy level requirements and more in Indian market. The general view of hospitality industry is represented through luxury segment and budgetary segment of hotels business in India. The other published reports and articles on luxury and budgetary segment of hotel businesses also examined to establish the extent of growth potential, traveler's safety issues and affordable accommodation. While the emergence of budget hotels has been able to give choices in terms of accommodation for customers at every price point, land cost which is viable for budget hotels, is still a challenge in the country. A wise strategy needs to be there to observe the development progress of projects and demand trends as well, before taking an investment decision. The study further observed that maintenance of the system in the hospitality industry requires more attention despite its complex processes as it affects the quality of hotel services. Since budget and economy hotels have a great potential for expansion and business in the country, finding business partners who are ready to invest can result into great capital returns. The growing awareness among travelers for well maintained budget hotels and the industry insiders indicate a positive way forward across the country. Due to India's rich demographic and rich cultural dividend, digital and electronic awareness, fulfilling exposure would raise expectations that are in line with global trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employed a value engineering approach to identify and evaluate the factors integral to the efficiency of operation and management of the budget hotel sector in China. A combination of qualitative panel judgments and quantitative statistics was applied in the analysis of a Chinese budget brand which is publicly listed in the USA. Findings reveal that out of the six categories of costs identified, the two items of standard room cost and energy & maintenance achieved the ideal value, while lease rental and human resources are overvalued, with franchise fee and refurbishment cost being undervalued. The implication for hotel investors as well as operators is that for the budget sector to fully realize its potential, a delicate balance needs to be obtained so that resources can be more evenly distributed and customer experiences enriched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant contribution of budget hotel to the tourism sector plays an important role in the economic development of many developing countries in Asia. Despite the increasing published work on the use of Internet for negative word-of-mouth communication, surprisingly little is known about how travelers use the Internet to share the negative experiences of their consumption of budget accommodation. Keeping this in mind, this present research seeks to examine e-complaints posted by guests who have stayed at one and two star hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The methodology involved a content analysis of 100 complaints scripts from popular travel review website- Trip Advisor. The scripts were manually coded to identify the type and frequency of e-complaints. Preliminary findings were presented to managers in the hospitality industry for comments, responses and validation. The final findings revealed 16 main e-complaints categories, "rooms," "staff," "in room facilities and services," and "bathroom," as the top four categories guests criticize. Discussion of these four main e-complaints categories and implications of the results are provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify the emerging challenges that are faced by branded budget hotels in India. The paper aims to do this by exploring the expectations as well as challenges faced by the customers and hospitality managers of branded budgets hotels in India. Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing a multi-method approach, data were collected through literature review, eight in-depth interviews and 422 customer reviews. Thematic analysis using the hybrid approach brings out the challenges faced by hospitality managers of branded budget hotels in India. Findings – Hospitality managers face the following challenges – dipping gross operating profits, higher global distribution systems productivity for international hotel brands, location constraints, high royalty structures for management contracts, regulatory issues, business poaching and unorganized growth, bureaucracy among vendors and contactors and lack of trained manpower. Customer expectations include poor check-in/check-out services, inefficient service management, inconsiderate personnel, poor management of feedback and instances of theft. Originality/value – This work adds to the body of knowledge using real customer data and thematic analysis. The authors have not come across any scholarly work, especially in the Indian context, which looks at two stakeholders of the branded budget hotel industry. Hence, recommendations from this work are valuable for hospitality managers as well as researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of revenue management (RM) pricing practices and managers’ perceptions towards this practice in a budget hotel chain and to provide recommendations for improving the adoption of and perception towards this practice. Design/methodology/approach – A single case study method was adopted to conduct an in-depth qualitative research in a hotel organization. In-depth data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and documentation. Findings – The research findings indicate that the implementation of revenue management system (RMS): needs to be clearly communicated and made tangible to employees; can impact the profitability of the budget hotel sector and not only mid-scale or luxury sectors; and remains a profit-oriented decision with little consideration for customer outcomes. Research limitations/implications – The findings may not apply to mid-scale or luxury properties, as the results cannot be generalized to other hotel chains in other countries that apply complex pricing structures. Future research might develop multiple case study design to increase the rigor of the research by focusing on themes or patterns uncovered in a single case study. Practical implications – The practical application of the study is twofold: the recommendation to maintain ongoing implementation activities, such as designing operational plans and training programs; the recommendation for a RM pricing strategy that maintains positive price fairness perceptions and results in positive behavioral intentions. Originality/value – This study helps advance our understanding of the characteristics that influence the success of RM implementation in the budget hotel context and provides us with useful insights to design effective dynamic strategies to enhance the implementation process both for the organization and its stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on two phases of in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs who own China’s economy hotel chains, this research explored these entrepreneurs’ strategies for acquiring intangible resources through network ties and summarized the mix of strong and weak network ties that they used to acquire those resources at different development stages of their new firms. In the early start-up stage, the interviewed entrepreneurs used a mixture of strong and weak ties; in the establishment stage, they relied on strong ties; and in the final growth stage, they did not value network ties and only used weak business ties. Moreover, the network mixes used by these entrepreneurs to acquire different types of intangible resources are not identical. Sourcing human capital was a particularly valuable use of the network ties, both strong and weak, and many of the respondents used their ties to gain essential information and skills for running their hotels. The two-stage data collection revealed the dynamics of entrepreneurs’ network mixes as firms progressed to new development stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the causal relationship between consumers’ price fairness perceptions and behavioral intentions in the context of online hotel bookings. Using a cross-sectional sample of 506 customers of a budget hotel chain in the United Kingdom, structural equation modeling (using the partial least squares approach), multigroup t-test, and permutation tests were conducted to (1) validate the structural model where price fairness is the exogenous variable and behavioral intention is the endogenous variable and (2) examine whether the causal model is invariant (equivalent) across customers from different market segments—including, first-time and repeat customers, leisure, and business travelers. Results from the analysis supported a significant, direct relationship between customers’ perceptions of price fairness and behavioral intentions. The results of the multigroup test and permutation tests further indicated that first-time leisure customers are more sensitive to dynamic pricing practices and tend to perceive these practices as unfair. Thus, the budget hotel chain may want to be very cautious with new customers who are not familiar with this pricing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, customers rely on online comments for information on hotels to make sound decisions on where to stay. The recently established budget hotel sector is developing rapidly in China, and these hotels currently comprise nearly 40% of all the hotel rooms in the country. This study explores the factors that lead to customer satisfactory or dissatisfactory accommodation experience with budget hotels in China. Data were gathered from nearly 3,000 online comments on Home Inns, the biggest budget hotel chain in China. The comments were initially categorized manually by three researchers on 200 randomly selected comments. NVivo 9 was used for the coding and the content analysis of the comments. We found that customers were mostly concerned with the guest rooms, location, and service quality of the hotels. The perceptions of the previous guests of Home Inns were further analyzed by sub-categorizing their comments. Contextual factors were found to be unique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Market segmentation is a critical driver of change in the hotel industry, resulting in the appearance of differentiated forms of hotel property developments, including budget hotels. International research on budget hotels is mainly limited to North America and Europe, with some more recent studies on emerging economies. This article examines the role of budget hotels within the wider restructuring of the South African hotel industry following the country's re-entry into the global tourism economy after its democratic transition. Historically, the South African hotel industry became dominated by one- and two-star budget accommodation as a result of the country's liquor legislation. With the reconfiguration of the hotel industry after 1990 to target the growing international tourism market, the role of budget hotels changed. This analysis examines the diminished role of budget hotels in South Africa's hotel economy, the shifting nature of the budget hotel and location patterns of budget hotels from 1990 to the present. It shows that post-1990 budget hotels are mainly concentrated in large cities and secondary centres of South Africa, and that in small towns the former liquor-focused budget hotel has been replaced by other forms of accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]