Even though many organizations invest in IT, the value that IT is expected to contribute is still not clearly understood. Researchers agree that IT has become a crucial element to business operations and business existence. However, while there is continued investment in new information technologies and systems, organizations are not certain whether significant value is derived from IT investments. The failure to realize good return on IT investments is ascribed to a lack of understanding of IT by organizations and also the failure by organizations to align IT strategies with business strategies. The lack of alignment leads to the failure to match the right IT to the correct task, which leads to the poor application of systems and poor allocation of human resources to tasks. Therefore, organizations such as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in particular Boutique Hotels, are noted for their failure to derive better IT value. Their unique characteristics are understood to be influential in the way IT is used and managed by affecting the delivery of value from technology. In order to enable Boutique Hotels to derive more value from IT, the IT governance frameworks, Val IT and CobiT (ITGI, 2007), were examined as these integrate good practices to ensure that an organization‘s IT supports the business objectives. In addition, the Task Technology Fit (TTF) (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995) and Gap Analysis (Heeks, 2001) theories were highlighted as these prescribe the platform ideal for more value to be derived from IT. The current status of Boutique Hotels in Buffalo City was assessed through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The collected data was analyzed and resulted in the development of a model that can be used by Boutique Hotels in order to derive more value from IT and to maximize the use of IT.

In today's globalized world traveling has become an integral part of many people's lives. Whether traveling for pleasure, entertainment, or business, you always have to find a place to stay during your travels. There are many options - sleeping on a park bench, on a sofa at some stranger's house, in a tent, in a small hotel room or in a luxury apartment in one of the world's famous hotel chains. One such chain is Hyatt. Yet, Hyatt is one of the last worldwide hotel chains not represented in the Czech Republic. Why is this so? Is there still a potential for a new luxury hotel chain to enter this market? And if so, which entering strategy shall the chain choose? The aim of the thesis is to answer these questions.

This Thesis Project began as an exploration of the architectural, philosophical and psychological nature of dwelling. From this exploration I have made an argument about the nature of dwelling based on several premises. First, that dwelling is determined by the boundaries between public and private space. Second, these boundaries of dwelling may only be adjusted or determined by a political operation- the mediation between private desire and public consensus. Third, the successful mediation of these boundaries depends on two basic conditions: equality and communication, principally speech. To test this thesis I looked for a dwelling typology where everyone was equal and where there was a minimum condition of private space. These conditions create the largest potential for dwelling in the terms of my argument. I chose the Travellers' Hotel, a changing typology that brings together people from around the world who share all the space of the building including the kitchen, and the two most private spaces of a dwelling; the bedroom and the bathroom. I chose a site in downtown Vancouver, the corner of Davie and Granville Streets, that is the intersection of major transportation and pedestrian axes of the city and major demographic, economic, and physical changes in the fabric of the city. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

Sustainability communication have in the wake of a wider discussion about climate change been a subject of great exponential growth. This study, The sustainable hotel - A critical discourse analysis of Scandic Sweden´s sustainability communication, aims to present how one of the largest companies in the hotel industry in Scandinavia presents sustainability communication within their system of media. This study relies on a theoretical framework based on Mcluhan´s theory of medium, Bauman´s idea on the society of consumption and the theory of sustainability. With the method of critical discourse analysis combined with rhetorical analysis, we studied Scandic hotels sustainability communication in the context of Fairclough´s three dimensions: textual, discursive practice and social dimension. Furthermore, we analysed how each channel within Scandic Sweden´s media system were used for sustainability communication in the light of Mcluhan´s broad definition of medium. This study makes a number of interesting findings of how sustainability communication mediates from a industry-leading company in regards of sustainability. Scandic hotels make use of vague and broad statements on social media platforms while they communicate about sustainability extensively on their website and in policy documents. This indicates that Scandic construct and presents their sustainability communication differently depending on which medium they make use of.

The purpose of the thesis is to determine the potential of lessening the high energy cost in the hospitality industry so that the industry could stay alive after a three decades of civil war in Sri Lanka. The hospitality industry is a significant contributor to the country’s economic growth. Tourism industry has much hope of recovering in the year 2010. Improved tourism would also benefit larger part of Sri Lankan population as they are directly and indirectly employed to serve the tourism industry. Sri Lanka has a high electricity production cost as it depends heavily on the imported fossil fuel. Survival of hospitality industry would depend on the manner in which the energy cost - the second highest overhead in hotels is managed. If the industry survives, Sri Lanka would receive more foreign exchange and thereby improve country’s foreign currency reserve which could contribute to high growth rate. As electricity production is mainly depending on thermal, the volatility of world crude oil prices is directly affecting the country’s electricity prices. However, low dependence on the grid would help the hospitality industry to mitigate the energy cost. As the electricity and diesel costs -the highest and the next - are considerable portions in energy cost in hospitality industry, the study aims to discuss the possible ways of mitigating such costs. Measurements done by the presenters found that the usage of electricity for air conditioning system does constitute most of the electricity consumption for a hotel whilst most of the diesel consumption is for thermal applications. If Air Conditioning (AC) can be operated without electricity and thermal applications could be operated using abundantly available alternative energy sources then the overall energy costs of hospitality industry could be reduced thereby making higher profits. This would ensure industry survives and country gets more foreign exchange.  Study and calculations done by the presenters proved that operating of generators only for electricity production is not viable, due to high fossil fuel cost, however if its high exhaust temperature which is wasted otherwise, could be utilized for operation of absorption chillier then the dependence of grid electricity for air conditioning could be minimized. Further studies also revealed that if water cooled generator is used for such purpose instead of air cooled, and then the hot water requirement of hotel also could be fulfilled, thus mitigating the dependence of fossil fuel which is used otherwise for hot water production. Study also revealed that if thermal energy could be fed with biomass- Sri Lanka being a tropical country is blessed with abundantly available biomass - then the dependency on the fossil fuel for thermal applications could be avoided. This would not only mitigate the second highest energy cost for hotels but also create less carbon foot print, more environmental friendly and produce less noxious exhaust gases thereby creating an advertisement to attract tourists who longing to support green hotels

The general public has become increasingly aware of the environmental effects humanity has on the planet. They expect companies to take responsibility and to sell green products. At the same time tourism and the hospitality sector contributes to the economic growth of society. Are climate certifications the right way to go towards a more sustainable society? This study examines how hotels in Umeå work with sustainability issues and whether they have environmental certifications or not. The findings indicate that all of the participating hotels have certifications and use them in their marketing and on their websites. However, it appears as though the hotel representatives’ perception of why they should use certifications at all are quite limited.

El presente trabajo de investigación se encuentra basado en las buenas prácticas ambientales que son aplicadas en el sector turístico, en los alojamientos a nivel internacional presentando información para el caso peruano. En este se busca identificar las certificaciones ambientales nacionales e internacionales existentes que brindan reconocimiento a aquellos alojamientos que cumplen con los criterios establecidos de acuerdo a cada uno de ellos. Así mismo, con este trabajo se pretende conocer las buenas prácticas ambientales aplicadas en los alojamientos analizando los cuatro ejes por los que se encuentra compuesto. Estos son agua, energía, compras y manejo de residuos sólidos y dentro de cada uno de ellos se identificarán las medidas que son aplicadas para minimizar el impacto negativo que traen las operaciones de los alojamientos en el medio ambiente. Por último, se quiere dar a conocer los resultados que han sido generados en los alojamientos tras la implementación de buenas prácticas ambientales. Con la finalidad de conocer su aplicación nivel internacional y nacional. Para ello, se tomará como referencia fuentes secundarias de investigaciones pasadas en las cuales se han obtenido resultados cualitativos y cuantitativos. En estas se ha comprobado los beneficios generados al aplicar prácticas que reducen los impactos negativos al entorno natural. Identificar estos beneficios generados tanto para el alojamiento como para el ambiente, permitirá que aquellos establecimientos que no aplican buenas prácticas ambientales se sientan influencias y motivados para realizar implementación de acciones que reduzcan los impactos negativos en el entorno. / This research work is based on good environmental practices that are applied in the tourism sector, in accommodation at an international level, presenting information for the Peruvian case. This seeks to identify the existing national and international environmental certifications that provides recognition to those accommodations that meet the criteria established according to each of them. Likewise, this work aims to know the good environmental practices applied in the accommodation by analyzing the four axes by which it is composed. These are water, energy, purchases and solid waste management and within each one of them the measures that are applied are identified to minimize the negative impact that the operations of the accommodation have on the environment. Finally, we want to release the results that have been generated in the accommodations after the implementation of good environmental practices. In order to know its application at the international and national level. For this, secondary sources of past researches in which qualitative and quantitative results have been obtained will be taken as a reference. In these, the benefits generated by applying practices that reduce the negative impacts on the natural environment have been verified. By identifying these benefits generated both for the accommodation and for the environment, will allow those establishments that do not apply good environmental practices to feel influenced and motivated to carry out the implementation of actions that reduce the negative impacts on the environment. / Trabajo de investigación

El Perú en los últimos años ha tenido un incremento en la oferta hotelera. Las categorías de tres, cuatro y cinco estrellas entre los años 2013 y 2018 elevaron su número de 769 a 1170 establecimientos, respectivamente. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo identificar si los factores específicos del país, los factores estructurales de la firma, y los factores estratégicos y de control impulsaron el proceso de Internacionalización de las cadenas hoteleras extranjeras en Lima Metropolitana y Cusco durante el periodo 2013 al 2019. En el primer capítulo, se planteó el marco teórico donde se detallaron los antecedentes epistemológicos. Para ello, se utilizaron recursos de investigación como: Ebsco, Jstor Kopernio, Proquest y Scopus. También, se consultaron repositorios académicos de universidades nacionales; de los cuales, 17 formaron parte de los antecedentes internacionales y 4 como antecedentes nacionales. En el tercer capítulo, se detalló la metodología de la investigación y se utilizó un enfoque cuantitativo no experimental. Se realizaron 33 encuestas a colaboradores de 20 marcas de hoteles, que pertenecen a 10 cadenas hoteleras extranjeras. Dicha información se procesó mediante el Software SPSS y se analizó mediante el modelo de correlación de Spearman. Finalmente, se presentaron las conclusiones y recomendaciones de la investigación donde se logró validar la hipótesis general. De este modo, se visualizó que en la encuesta un 64% está totalmente de acuerdo que uno de los factores que influye en la expansión de las cadenas hoteleras extranjeras es la estabilidad económica del país. Además, se recomendó para futuros estudios realizar una investigación cualitativa para tener otra perspectiva del sector. / Peru in recent years has had an increase in hotel supply. The three, four and five star categories between 2013 and 2018 increased their number from 769 to 1170 establishments, respectively. The objective of this research is to identify if the specific factors of the country, the structural factors of the firm, and the strategic and control factors drove the process of Internationalization of foreign hotel chains in Metropolitan Lima and Cusco during the period 2013 to 2019. In the first chapter, the theoretical framework was presented where the epistemological antecedents were detailed. For this, were used research resources such us: Ebsco, Jstor Kopernio, Proquest and Scopus. Also, academic repositories of national universities were consulted; of which, 17 were part of the international background and 4 as national background. In the third chapter, the research methodology is detailed and a non-experimental quantitative approach is analyzed. Were carried 33 surveys out with collaborators of 20 hotel brands, which belong to 10 foreign hotel chains. This information was processed using the SPSS software and analyzed using the Spearman correlation model. Finally, the research conclusions and recommendations are presented where the general hypotheses are validated. Thereby, it is seen in the survey that 64% fully agree that one of the factors that influence the expansion of foreign hotel chains is the country's economic stability. In addition, qualitative research is recommended for future studies to have another perspective of the sector. / Tesis

The management practices of the hotel industry are under scrutiny for having an adverse impact on the environment. This study addressed the problem that hoteliers in Jamaica only focus on foreign exchange earnings and job creation, rather than on sustainable development in their operations. There is a lack of research on small hoteliers' integration of sustainable practices in their operations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and understand the lived experiences of 8 small hotel managers on the effect sustainable practices have on small hotel optimization. The conceptual framework consisted of stakeholder theory and corporate social responsibility. Focusing on small hoteliers' perceptions of sustainable practices, the research questions addressed managers' efforts in preserving the local heritage, maintaining the economic and environment and identifying the challenges. The phenomenological design included 8 small hotel managers who participated in telephone, email and Skype unstructured interviews. The data analysis involved transcribing and coding unstructured interviews which resulted in the emergence of 14 themes and 101 subcategories. Results revealed that successful sustainable practices include providing education on the history, culture, and heritage and respecting the environment. The analysis from the transcripts showed that high cost was one of the primary factors for the lack of sustainable practices in small hotels. The findings also showed that there was a need for government assistance in providing funding and education on the benefits of sustainable practices and development. This study could contribute to new and existing hoteliers, government policymakers and business leaders in sustainable strategic planning and development.

The migration of the Basques to the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the century was due to a number of factors including economic, cultural and political. The Basques constitute a distinct ethnic group from northern Spain and southern France, whose origins have not yet been determined by historical, linguistic, or archaeological studies. From ancient times, the Basques have fought to maintain their cultural identity and political freedom against invaders, developing in this struggle a strong sense of racial group solidarity. The lack of opportunity for advancement and the obligation to serve in the military were added reasons for the journey to America, as an alternative to political and cultural oppression.