João Pardinha, Jorge Mota and Rui Augusto Costa
The boom of new players in the accommodation sector has led to an increase in the level of competitiveness and has highlighted the importance of using key performance indicators…
Abstract
Purpose
The boom of new players in the accommodation sector has led to an increase in the level of competitiveness and has highlighted the importance of using key performance indicators (KPIs) in organisational decision-making processes as efficient tools for thriving in the growingly competitive environment. This study aims to assess the use of KPIs by owner-managers of small and medium-sized short-term rental accommodation (STRA) units.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this aim, this research encompasses two different primary data collection methods conducted in 2021. Firstly, from April to May, a set of exploratory interviews with experts within the STRA domain was planned. Secondly, an intensive data collection, from June to September, included an online questionnaire with close-ended questions to a sample of all the companies that manage STRA units in Portugal.
Findings
These managers tend to use more widely financial and operational KPIs that depict relationships with guests and reflect the activity of the STRA units, the external environment and the innovation level. Moreover, younger managers and those with higher levels of education tend to use a “monitoring review of digital platforms” KPI, while less experienced managers use financial and operational KPIs and senior and higher experienced managers place greater value on KPIs associated with customer relationships.
Originality/value
STRA units hold a very relevant position in the hospitality industry, and it is urgent to generate more information to better understand this growing subsector. This research contributes to the literature providing evidence on the importance of KPI to STRA units, for owner-managers and for urban tourism, considering their growth, proliferation and importance for the planning of cities by destination management organisations.
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Fernanda Leite-Pereira, Filipa Brandao and Rui Costa
Diverse factors may influence travelers when choosing a hotel. Even though breakfast is often commented on in hotel and booking sites, its relative role in hotel selection is…
Abstract
Purpose
Diverse factors may influence travelers when choosing a hotel. Even though breakfast is often commented on in hotel and booking sites, its relative role in hotel selection is rarely studied. This paper aims to determine which attributes clients consider essential regarding the option towards a hotel and their hierarchy namely of breakfast.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review was performed in Scopus, ISI-Web of Science and Google Scholar, including relevant original manuscripts published in all languages between 1998 and 2018.
Findings
Out of 337 initial references, 25 manuscripts were included. Features related to facilities and services were considered in most manuscripts with 21 and 20 citations, respectively, as being the more relevant factors in hotel selection. Room and accommodation were ranked first as the most important characteristic regarding the option for a hotel, whereas breakfast was only referred to in two articles, published in 2015 and 2017, rated in the tenth and fourth positions, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
Breakfast seems to be addressed in recent published manuscripts, what may reflect a trend toward its evaluation in travelling experiences. More studies should address the relevance of breakfast and food to (diverse type of) costumers, and managers should also consider these factors when advertising their hotels.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic approach to this question, emphasizing the apparent contradiction of breakfast being often cited in booking sites and not adequately studied in tourism research.
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Cláudia Correia, Rui Augusto Costa, Jorge Mota and Zélia Breda
The specific typology of local accommodation in Portugal has undergone a huge expansion accompanied by a proliferation in the number of firms and it is crucial that the firms…
Abstract
Purpose
The specific typology of local accommodation in Portugal has undergone a huge expansion accompanied by a proliferation in the number of firms and it is crucial that the firms associated with this boom can ensure their survival and remain in the market. The purpose of this paper is to specify an insolvency forecasting model and identify which financial indicators best contribute to forecasting insolvency in local accommodation firms.
Design/methodology/approach
At the methodological level, the financial data of firms in this sector were initially collected via the SABI database; then the probit model was estimated to perform the analysis of financial variables, with the aim of observing their behaviour and understanding which are crucial in predicting business insolvency.
Findings
Given the scarcity of studies in this specific typology of accommodation, the results of this paper are relevant and increase the knowledge for the sector. They also enable the identification of financial ratios that deserve greater attention from those responsible for firms in this sector, namely, profitability and liquidity ratios. In short, profitability ratios vary inversely with the probability of insolvency, so that firms with higher levels of net profitability, asset rotation or accumulated profitability have a lower probability of insolvency, with the opposite being true in terms of liquidity, where firms with higher current assets are more likely to become insolvent.
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper is focused on the urgent need for tourism accommodation stakeholders to prevent or anticipate insolvency and identify which financial indicators best contribute to forecasting insolvency. This research is fundamental, as many cities are considered major tourist destinations and where a high number of tourism businesses are concentrated.
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Jorge Mota, António Moreira, Rui Costa, Silvana Serrão, Vera Pais-Magalhães and Carlos Costa
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the main firm-level performance indicators and group them in dimensions that support…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify the main firm-level performance indicators and group them in dimensions that support decision-making in the wine industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve this goal, an SLR approach was conducted in the Scopus database from 2009 to 2019. From a set of 607 articles, only 25 studies related to firm-level performance indicators were considered and, following an inductive thematic analysis and an interpretative synthesis, separated into different specific foci that include social, economic and environmental dimensions.
Findings
There is a limited number of papers identifying indicators regarding the firm-level performance of wine firms, and even fewer studies including indicators on an integrated approach to measure the different dimensions of firm performance. This paper documents that economic and environmental indicators cover 78.2% of all SLR indicators analyzed. As this group of indicators is limited to a set of sub-dimensions, this paper found that several groups of indicators are misrepresented, such as product portfolio or certifications related to marketing activities and indicators covering purchasing and supply chain activities, which play a crucial role in the competitiveness of the wine industry.
Practical implications
For practitioners, it discloses the most pertinent indicators they need to improve to craft their business strategies. This framework is of added value for policymakers to customize their support programs for specific producers to develop their competitive strategies. It could be deployed in teaching programs as a tool to address the importance of aligning different types of indicators to achieve firm-level performance in the wine industry.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature identifying a framework of analysis that includes indicators of four dimensions, namely, economic, social, territorial and environmental. This framework aims to relate performance measures to corporate strategy as a management control tool. The framework intends to improve the fit between firms’ activities and their competitive context and to be flexibly adapted to various products/firms in the wine industry.
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Rui Augusto Costa, Adriana Fumi Chim-Miki and Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong
This study aims to examine the effects of natural, cultural and urban resources on the city's tourism competitiveness from the residents' perspective and identifies the factors…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effects of natural, cultural and urban resources on the city's tourism competitiveness from the residents' perspective and identifies the factors that city managers should prioritize.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used multiple methods. The partial least squares structural equation modeling tested our theoretical assumption and the importance–performance map analysis provided an extra interpretation of the results to make them tangible to city managers. Data collection was done with residents of Viseu, Portugal.
Findings
The findings indicated that tourism competitiveness from the residents' perspective depends on the leisure activities they can enjoy as much as tourists, as the limits between tourism activities and everyday life are tenuous. The quality of leisure is part of residents' well-being; however, the results suggested that tourism development fails to engage residents in the destination's leisure offer. The cultural heritage is not attractive to them because it is part of their day-by-day living area or they need to enjoy the cultural offer. To accommodate residents' demands, destination managers need to improve the offer of outdoor activities and urban leisure opportunities.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations were the sample size and the data collection after a pandemic context, that is, in a period of economic crisis that reduced leisure consumption. The implications point out variables to managers prioritize to improve place management and rethink tourism competitiveness based on a citizen-centered view. It is also a way to understand residents as staycationers.
Practical implications
Our research contributed to urban and city research literature with meaningful findings that can help city managers improve the positive impacts of tourism on residents and enhance the integration of tourism and urban daily life.
Social implications
The authors suggested strategies for integrating residents into cultural activities.
Originality/value
Theoretically, this study is set up in the frontier of rethinking and promoting society-centric tourism development. The research contributed to urban and city research literature with meaningful findings that can help city managers improve the positive impacts of tourism on residents and enhance the integration of tourism and urban daily life. In this direction, the authors suggest strategies for integrating residents into cultural activities.
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Márcio Ribeiro Martins and Rui Augusto Costa
Backpackers can be found all over the world, especially in urban areas where the main enclaves are established. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the operationalisation of…
Abstract
Purpose
Backpackers can be found all over the world, especially in urban areas where the main enclaves are established. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the operationalisation of the term “backpacker” and present a proposal to conceptualise backpackers and backpackers’ segments based on the operational criteria available in literature to avoid incongruities among researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a literature review, this study provides a critical review of the backpacker conceptualisation and operationalisation using a methodology divided into three phases, a quantitative analysis based on the Scopus database and a bibliometric analysis coupled with a manual analysis of documents (content analysis).
Findings
Substantial heterogeneity and complexity regarding the conceptualisation of backpacker tourism and its diversified subsegments were evident. For this reason, this paper argues that backpacker tourism can and should continue to be analysed from different perspectives, suitably framed in the theoretical instrument constructed to identify and distinguish the different subsegments through its operationalisation features.
Originality/value
This study provides a practical contribution to all researchers interested in the topic of backpackers proposing the operationalisation of the term backpacker and it subsegments to avoid disparate results and deviations. This contribution will enable the correct and objective assessment of the operationalisation of this concept for researchers, managers and destination management organisations, identifying exactly what phenomenon is to be studied.
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Lawrence Hoc Nang Fong, Erin Yirun Wang, Benigno Glenn R. Ricaforte and Rui Augusto Costa
This meta-analysis aims to examine and compare the pleasant ambient scent effects on consumers’ affective, cognitive and behavioural responses in the retail and hospitality…
Abstract
Purpose
This meta-analysis aims to examine and compare the pleasant ambient scent effects on consumers’ affective, cognitive and behavioural responses in the retail and hospitality sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
55 articles, including 102 effect sizes, are collected from electronic databases and search engines. The effect of pleasant ambient scents on consumer responses is examined using meta-regression analysis.
Findings
The results show a positive effect of pleasant ambient scent on all responses in both sectors, while the effects on cognitive and behavioural responses are stronger in hospitality than retailing. Moreover, the scent effects in hospitality research vary with method aspects, including sampling frame, research design, setting and location.
Research limitations/implications
The findings provide theoretical insights on the sensory tangibilization of experience and methodological insights on designing scent research.
Originality/value
The stronger effect of pleasant ambient scents on cognitive and behavioural responses in a hospitality environment signals that contextual differences should not be neglected. Moreover, hospitality researchers need to stay vigilant to the methodological influence on the findings about scent effects. These findings enrich the sensory marketing literature, in which contextual comparison is scarce.
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Cecília Lobo, Rui Augusto Costa and Adriana Fumi Chim-Miki
This paper aims to analyse the effects of events image from host communities’ perspective on the city’s overall image and the intention to recommend the events and the city as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse the effects of events image from host communities’ perspective on the city’s overall image and the intention to recommend the events and the city as a tourism destination.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used a bivariate data analysis based on Spearman’s correlation and regression analysis to determine useful variables to predict the intention to recommend the city as a tourism destination. Data collection was face-to-face and online with a non-probabilistic sample of Viseu city residents, the second largest city in the central region of Portugal.
Findings
The findings had implications for researchers, governments and stakeholders. From the resident’s point of view, there is a high correlation between the overall city image and the intention to recommend it as a tourism destination. Event image and the intention to recommend the event participation affect the overall city image. Results point out the resident as natural promoters of events and their city if the local events have an appeal that generates their participation. Conclusions indicated that cities need to re-thinking tourism from the citizen’s perspective as staycation is a grown option.
Originality/value
Event image by host-city residents’ perceptions is an underdevelopment theme in the literature, although residents’ participation is essential to the success of most events. Local events can promote tourist citizenship and reinforce the positioning of tourism destinations, associating them with an image of desirable places to visit and live.
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Alan Guizi, Zélia Breda and Rui Costa
The purpose of this paper is to understand the main perceived impacts of overtourism in Portugal and the reactions of tourism stakeholders in the main Portuguese cities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the main perceived impacts of overtourism in Portugal and the reactions of tourism stakeholders in the main Portuguese cities, especially the host.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a qualitative approach, based on the analysis of news published in Portuguese newspapers between March 2018 and March 2019, applying Bardin’s (2011) content analysis and matching with the theory as proposed by Laville and Dionne (1999).
Findings
The study reveals that the main perceived impacts are the evictions and transformation of old residence into short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnb) and small hotels, besides other impacts such as garbage in the streets, gentrification, loss of security and others.
Research limitations/implications
The study considered the period of one year, being a limitation of analysis for contexts within that period, as well as the possible partiality of how the context of overtourism is dealt by newspapers.
Practical implications
This study seeks to understand the context of overtourism and its perception by the hosts and aims to present a basis of tourism planning for public and private sector stakeholders, in order to provide a better visit experience to the tourist, without losing the hosts’ quality of life.
Originality/value
Studies using newspapers as sources of data are rare. The newspapers are considered local witnesses; therefore, they bear important information for several purposes, not just for tourism but for other realities or contexts.
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Rui Augusto da Costa and Adriana Fumi Chim-Miki
This concluding chapter examines the footprint of coopetition within the tourism domain, drawing upon existing literature to present a comprehensive overview of its evolution to…
Abstract
This concluding chapter examines the footprint of coopetition within the tourism domain, drawing upon existing literature to present a comprehensive overview of its evolution to date. To achieve this, the authors conducted a literature review of 94 articles published on coopetition in tourism and hospitality, sourced from esteemed databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Each article was meticulously categorised based on its thematic focus, geographical scope and the sample of respondents employed to elucidate the dynamics of coopetition. The findings underscore the concerted efforts of researchers to delineate the contours of coopetition within the tourism and hospitality sectors. Through diverse lenses and methodologies, these studies collectively contribute to the burgeoning discourse surrounding coopetition, illuminating its multifaceted implications and applications in different contexts. This chapter presents a systematic analysis that serves as a testament to the growing momentum behind the coopetition paradigm in tourism. It shows how researchers on coopetition are paving the road towards the coopetition paradigm in tourism and hospitality.