This study investigates the determinants of the decision to hedge in a sample of lodging firms over a 5-year period from 2000 to 2004. Using a probit model, the results show that underinvestment costs, financial distress costs, managerial risk aversion, information asymmetry, cash-flow volatility, proportion of floating-rate debt, foreign sales ratio, and firm size are significant determinants of the decision to hedge. The findings also document that lodging firms predominantly use interest rate swaps and options to manage interest rate risk. These findings are generally consistent with the theory of hedging as well as with prior research findings on the decision to hedge.

In recent years there has been considerable growth in the number of undergraduate and graduate tourism and hospitality programs at universities around the world. Consequently, the demand for qualified people to fill academic positions in the field is increasing. Despite much research on the demands and expectations of skills from the industry on tourism and hospitality graduates, little is known about who is teaching these graduates, their backgrounds, and strategies they employ to advance their careers. This article reports on the findings of an Internet survey of 342 tourism and hospitality academics from around the world on various aspects related to career development. The importance these academics place on select career strategies in general and for their personal career advancement is assessed, and differences in perception based on gender, seniority, and time of entry into academia are examined. Insights into academics'satisfaction with their career advancement and career barriers are also provided.

The authors investigated the relationship between image congruence and consumption emotions and the possible influence of this relationship on customer loyalty in the lodging industry. Overall fit of the proposed model and research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that their model, which links image congruence, consumption emotions, and customer loyalty, was generally supported, whereas the linkage between social image congruence and consumption emotions was not significant. Findings in this study integrate recent work of image congruence into the growing body of research on the role of consumption emotions in forming customer loyalty in the lodging industry.

Previous research has shown that consumers form perceptions of value when buying a bundle through the comparison of a bundle price to the sum of associated individual prices. The perceptions of value are then directly related to preference or choice. Using a prix fixe menu as a bundle exemplar, the above notion of value perception was empirically tested by investigating whether consumers were more likely to choose higher priced á la carte items to be included in their bundles when given an opportunity to choose between various prix fixe menus. The study finds that price differences among á la carte items indeed influenced consumers' choice decisions when selecting a prix fixe menu; consumers attached more importance to the higher priced appetizer and entrée items than the lower priced ones.

Price-sensitive travelers often access hotels' and intermediaries' Web sites multiple times before they travel. Due to revenue management practices, these deal-seeking consumers are likely to observe (or be quoted) room rates that change considerably over time. This study's findings indicate that the issue of price changes over time is more complex than the current discussion framework about last-minute deals and price integrity suggests. It demonstrates that the room rate change pattern consumers observe while searching for a deal affects their propensity to book. Exploring decision and pricing theory elements, the study demonstrates empirically that through the internal reference price, the price patterns affect consumers' room rate expectations and consequently affect their propensity to book. These findings underscore the noteworthy impact of the Internet-induced reduction of the provider-consumer information gap on the effectiveness of revenue management policies.

As the number of part-time employees continually increases in the United States, it is critical to know how employment status affects employees' attitudes and behaviors for organizational success as the employee plays the key role in the delivery of quality guest service and customer retention. The main goal of this study was to investigate the moderating effect of work status on the relationship between organizational and supervisor support, organizational commitment, citizen behaviors, and employee performance. Nearly 300 employees working in the restaurant industry were asked to participate in this study. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the four hypotheses proposed to investigate the objectives. The results indicate that there are stronger effects on employees' commitment and organizational commitment on citizenship behaviors among part-time employees than full-time workers. This finding implies that part-time employees should not be treated as perishable workers.

The study demonstrates how a hypothetical investor or a restaurant industry executive can assess the risk-adjusted performance of fast-food and casual-dining restaurant segments by using both traditional and contemporary risk-adjusted performance measures. This study focuses on 24 casual-dining and 18 fast-food restaurants that are publicly traded on major U.S. stock exchanges. The results revealed that casual-dining firms out-performed fast-food restaurants in all performance aspects: mean return, standard deviation, the Sharpe Ratio, the Sortino Ratio, and the Upside Potential Ratio. The article offers suggestions for potential investors about how to utilize downside risk measures in their capital investment decisions.

Specialty coffeehouses have become an increasingly important segment of the foodservice industry in Hong Kong. The exponential growth of this segment has generated keen competition. Without a good understanding of their customers, these coffeehouses may end up losing market share to competitors. The purpose of this study is to identify the market segments in Hong Kong specialty coffeehouses based on the benefits sought by customers when they visit specialty coffeehouses. A survey of 1,000 customers was conducted. The results of this study support the effectiveness of segmenting the specialty coffeehouse customers in Hong Kong using the benefits variable. Four distinct segments of customers were identified: service seekers, atmosphere seekers, quality coffee seekers, and marketing-oriented customers. Based on the differences in coffeehouse selection factors, sociodemographic variables, and coffee consumption behaviors among the four segments, managers of specialty coffeehouses in Hong Kong can customize their strategies to meet the needs of these four market segments.

This exploratory study conceptualizes psychological ownership (PO)—a state in which individuals feel as though the target of ownership is theirs—and investigates how customers form PO toward a company. Considering the PO is a new concept to hospitality research, the study develops and empirically validates a conceptual model of PO and a PO measurement scale in the context of the restaurant industry. The model incorporates fundamental human relationship variables, such as sense of belonging, identification, and perceived control, as the antecedents of PO. The model also relates PO to several practically important consequences, such as relationship intentions, word-of-mouth communications, competitive resistance, and willingness to pay. The results generally support the proposed mediating role of PO between the antecedents and consequences, consistent with the initial conceptualizations. This study discusses the potential that PO may play in enhancing loyalty and relationship marketing research in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Although experience is recognized as a major benefit the hospitality and tourism industry offers, the use of experiential marketing in this industry is not well documented. Therefore, this study aims to examine experiential marketing in regard to hospitality and tourism operations. Ten hypotheses were developed to examine relationships among experiential marketing, experiential value, and customer satisfaction. Self-reported questionnaires were distributed at four Starbucks in different districts in Taipei, Taiwan, in January 2003. Results of the linear structural relation analyses (LISREL 8.5) indicate that both the measurement and structural equation models have good overall model fit. Moreover, the overall outcome suggests that experiential marketing should induce customer satisfaction through emotional and functional values provided by feel perception, think perception, and service quality. Hospitality managers can use the outcome of this study to gain in-depth understanding of customer experiences, develop effective marketing strategies, and further stage the operational environment that can maximize customers' perceived experiential value.

This exploratory study examines consumer preferences for a masseur or masseuse, using qualitative interviews of 52 participants. The findings suggest that gender preferences and the meanings assigned to the consumption experience, a massage, are linked with elements, including (a) the main purpose of the massage, (b) customer gender, (c) massage type, (d) companion to massage, (e) stereotypes of masseur/masseuse, and (f) readiness to be exposed to and touched by a nonfamiliar person of the opposite sex. Findings indicate that preferences are linked to the gender of both the customer and the service provider. It appears that massage is governed by social norms in a male-dominated society. In addition, the perception of the experience as either a health treatment or leisure experience is linked to the legitimacy of preferences for a masseur or masseuse. Implications for hotel management and researchers are suggested, highlighting the interaction between genders in tourism service encounters.

This article presents an empirical study of tourist segmentation based on motivations. The present study, exploratory by nature, aims to provide a deeper insight into profiles of Portuguese tourists traveling to Latin American and African destinations. The research was conducted with 1,097 tourists traveling on Air Luxor to long-haul destinations, by means of factor-cluster analysis, followed by a discriminant and a homals analysis. Three market segments were found: adventure, leisure, and social tourism. The research reveals that each of these segments presents a different profile in terms of motivations and in terms of vacation patterns. However, in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, the differences are not so evident. The managerial implications of these findings are highlighted.

Provision of public participation in the process of tourism planning and implementation has been imperatively suggested. To date, however, facilitators and inhibitors of public participation have not been adequately addressed in tourism planning literature. This article proposes that in addition to varied structural and cultural factors, residents' perceptions of the intensity of clientelist relations engaged in by the local authority (e.g., municipality) may alienate active public participation in developmental issues. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypothesized links between perceived intensity of clientelism, residents' assessment of public services, and their participation intentions toward municipality-run projects. Statistically significant inverse relationships between perceived intensity of clientelism and residents' assessment of public services are identified. The results show that an increase in perceived clientelism would result in a decrease in residents'public service assessment and thus reduce their intentions to participate in tourism-related projects. Suggestions for further research are included.

This study examined the combined effect of market competition and managers'use of the information (provided by management accounting system, or MAS) on departmental performance in four- and five-star hotels and resorts in Australia. A self-administered postal survey was used to collect the data from Room Department and Food and Beverage Department managers working in large hotels and resorts. Usable questionnaires from 112 department managers working in 56 large hotels and resorts were received. Although the results reveal a significant combined (interaction) effect of market competition and managers' use of the information (provided by MAS) on nonfinancial performance, no such effect was found for the financial performance. In addition, the results indicated that controlling for different demographic variables did not alter the results for nonfinancial and financial performance.

This study examined the relationship between hotel brand equity and guests' perceived value and revisit intention. The path model (brand equity factors leading to outcome variables) was formed to test research hypotheses. Data from 264 travelers who have stayed in midscale hotels were used for the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis. All dimensions of brand equity (brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand awareness/association) positively affected perceived value. Two brand-equity dimensions (brand loyalty and brand awareness/association) were found to increase guests' revisit intention. Although perceived quality was not a direct determinant of revisit intent, the effect of perceived quality on revisit intent was mediated by perceived value. Overall, this study highlights the importance of perceived value in lodging customers' mind. Managerial implications are provided based on the results.

Financial researchers, including those concentrating on the lodging industry, use various financial risk measures for their studies. Examples of those risk measures are beta, earnings variability, bankruptcy probability, debt-to-equity ratio and book-to-market ratio. The purpose of this study is, first, to descriptively investigate various financial risk measures used in the lodging financial literature by performing factor analysis and identifying four distinct risk groups. Second, this study examines the predictive ability of the four risk groups for lodging firm performance. The findings of this study suggest that strategic and stock performance risk factors better represent a lodging firm's financial risk than do bankruptcy and firm performance risk factors, and also, ROA than ROE better estimates lodging firm performance in terms of their relationships with financial risk factors.

This study uses three major U.S. national parks as applications of statistically selecting appropriate methods to forecast attendance. Forecasting methods assessed include Naïve 1, Naïve 2, single moving average (SMA), single exponential smoothing (SES), Brown's, Holt's, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), derived time series cross-section regression (TSCSREG), and time series analysis with explanatory variable models. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) is used to measure the accuracy of forecasting methods. Based on the MAPE values, SMA produces the most accurate forecasting, followed closely by ARIMA, Brown's, and Naïve 1 models. Holt's and TSCSREG models produce the next most accurate forecasting, followed by SES, time series analysis with explanatory variable model, and Naïve 2. Methods used in this article are readily transferable to other hospitality and tourism data sets with annual visitation figures. Merits and limits of the proposed forecasting methods are discussed.

An exploratory study conducted among 595 U.S. quick service restaurant hourly employees and managers for the purpose of measuring their level of work alienation finds that a significant proportion of the respondents expressed feelings of work alienation. The feelings seemed to be more prevalent among hourly employees, males, those younger, those more educated, and African Americans. But most important, the study indicates that employees' alienation was unequally distributed among the restaurants within the sample, therefore possibly suggesting that work alienation is not necessarily caused by the technology employed and/or the nature of the jobs but rather by the managerial styles and practices in each restaurant.

Empowering employees to meet customers' needs or solve their problems can be one of the best ways to satisfy customers. The objectives of this study are to investigate the extent to which the level of psychological empowerment (meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact) is perceived by employees; to examine whether leadership, trust, and organizational culture function as the antecedents of empowerment; and to look into whether empowerment influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Using structural equation modeling, this study supports the conclusion that leadership has a positive, direct effect on trust and organizational culture, which are important antecedents related positively to psychological empowerment constructs. The study also suggests that self-determination in psychological empowerment has a significant effect on job satisfaction and is related to organizational commitment.

Improper presentation of information on restaurant menus can lead to customer dissatisfaction, a loss of profitability, and could influence the ultimate failure of a restaurant operation. Although restaurateurs and customers do agree that information on restaurant menus is important, debate exists on what specific information should be provided. Currently, supporters argue for the provision of nutritional information, while critics question the ability of customers to interpret nutritional information on restaurant menus correctly. This present study, therefore, analyzes responses from 276 restaurant customers to examine information expectations of restaurant menus. A model called Customer Information Expectation of Restaurant Menus (CIERM) was developed using the guidelines set forth in the Truth-in-Menu Law and tested using a confirmatory factor analysis approach. The study found that CIERM is influenced by the factors nutrition information, product information, and food preparation. The study concludes with results, discussion, and recommendations based on the findings.

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate customers' emotional responses following a service failure in a restaurant setting. Specifically, this study investigates how specific emotions (anger, disappointment or regret, worry) influence consumers' behavioral intentions. To gain a richer understanding of consumers' coping behaviors, the authors examine customers' locus of failure attributions. By using a 3x2 factorial between-subjects design, three attribution types (internal, external, and control condition) are matched with two service recovery outcomes (positive and negative). Findings suggest that customers with feelings of anger and disappointment or regret are likely to engage in various dissatisfaction responses (e.g., direct complaining, negative word-of-mouth, and switching), whereas worried customers are not. Attributing the failure to internal or external causes reduce switching and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Finally, the study results indicate that feelings of anger spill over to postrecovery satisfaction.

This study investigates the relationships between aspects of consumption behavior— emotion, equity, and attribution—and the consequences of tourists' satisfaction. It also examines their different degrees of satisfaction in line with these three determinants. The component of equity, which is affected by cultural background, is found to have a greater effect on tourist satisfaction than people had thought, even though it was kept hidden by tourists when on the tour. This study proposes that the channel of communication could be used as a moderator to facilitate tourist satisfaction response. The results might help the travel industry refine its service quality and contribute to the literature of customer satisfaction attributes in the tourism industry.