Actualmente el sector hotelero genera grandes cantidades de residuos sólidos, que son sometidos a tratamientos de gestión. Sin embargo, algunos hoteles no desarrollan un correcto tratamiento de estos residuos, lo que contribuye directamente a la degradación y contaminación del medio ambiente. En la actualidad, existe información y conocimiento disperso acerca de la adecuada gestión de los residuos sólidos generados por los hoteles, la cual no ha sido sistematizada ni analizada en un único documento. La metodología empleada para la presente investigación fue la revisión de literatura con enfoque integrador utilizando fuentes tales como, libros, tesis, artículos de revistas científicas tanto nacionales como internacionales acerca de la gestión adecuada de los residuos sólidos en los hoteles. La presente investigación tiene como principal aporte poner a disposición un único documento, en base a la revisión y sistematización de documentos académicos diversos, los adecuados procesos de gestión de residuos sólidos generados por la hotelería que permitan reducir los efectos medioambientales generados por la hotelería. Este permitirá el acceso de los interesados tales como, empresarios, inversionistas, científicos, expertos, personas relacionadas al rubro, estudiantes y egresados de las carreras de hotelería y turismo. Además de ello, se brindará información precisa sobre los efectos negativos que se generan a partir de la inadecuada gestión de residuos sólidos por los hoteles, lo que permitirá identificar estrategias eficientes para su gestión que logren minimizar los efectos en el medio ambiente. / Currently the hotel industry generates large amounts of solid waste, which are subjected to management treatments. However, some hotels do not develop a correct treatment of this waste, which contributes directly to the degradation and contamination of the environment. At present, there is scattered information and knowledge about the proper management of solid waste generated by hotels, which has not been systematized or analyzed in a single document. The methodology used for this research was the literature review with an integrative approach using sources such as books, theses, articles from both national and international scientific journals about the proper management of solid waste in hotels. The main contribution of this research is to make available a single document, based on the review and systematization of various academic documents, the appropriate solid waste management processes generated by the hotel industry that allow reducing the environmental effects generated by the hotel industry. This will allow access to interested parties such as entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, experts, people related to the field, students and graduates of hospitality and tourism careers. In addition, precise information will be provided on the negative effects that are generated from the inadequate management of solid waste by hotels, which will allow the identification of efficient strategies for its management that minimize the effects on the environment. / Trabajo de investigación

This dissertation consists of three essays in the field of health economics. The first essay provides the first causal evidence that bargaining power in a relationship shapes pregnancy outcomes and health disparities in the US. A key driver of bargaining power is the availability of potential non incarcerated male partners in the local dating market, which I define at the race by cohort by county level. Because these sex ratios are endogenous, I use a novel instrument that leverages the randomness in sex at birth and the persistence of local demographics to isolate exogenous variation in the relative availability of men. Greater female bargaining power causes better outcomes: fewer out-of-wedlock births, less chlamydia and hypertension among mothers, and fewer infants with APGAR score below the normal level. The marriage market makes a significant contribution to racial disparities in pregnancy health. Specifically, Black women face relatively poor prospects when looking for a partner compared to White women: while there are 102 White men per 100 White women, only 89 Black men are available per 100 Black women. According to my estimates, Black women’s disadvantage accounts for 5-10% of the large racial gap in maternal and neonatal health. The racial difference in male availability is mostly policy-driven, as incarceration accounts for 45% of the gap. A counterfactual policy equalizing county-level incarceration rates for non-violent offenses between Black and White people would prevent 200-700 adverse pregnancy outcomes per year among Black mothers through the bargaining power channel alone. The second essay investigates how reopening hotels and ski facilities in Poland impacted tourism spending, mobility, and COVID-19 outcomes. We used administrative data from a government program that subsidizes travel to show that the policy increased the consumption of tourism services in ski resorts. By leveraging geolocation data from Facebook, we showed that ski resorts experienced a significant influx of tourists, increasing the number of local users by up to 50%. Furthermore, we confirmed an increase in the probability of meetings between pairs of users from distanced locations and users from tourist and non-tourist areas. As the policy impacted travel and gatherings, we then analyzed its effect on the diffusion of COVID-19. We found that counties with ski facilities experienced more infections after the reopening. Moreover, counties strongly connected to the ski resorts during the reopening had more subsequent cases than weakly connected counties. The third essay studies the diffusion of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) through social and economic networks. Using almost two decades of weekly, county-level infection and mortality data from Poland, it studies within and across-counties ILI transmission. Firstly, it evaluates the causal effect of school closures on viral transmission. The results show that closing schools for two weeks decreases the number of within county cases by 30-40%. The decline in infections extends to elderly and pre-school children. In addition, flu-related hospitalizations drop by 7.5%, and mortality related to respiratory diseases among the elderly drops by 3%. Secondly, the paper demonstrates the significant contribution of economic links to diffusion across counties. The disease follows the paths of workers commuting between home and workplace. Together with the structure of the labor mobility networks, these results highlight the central role of regional capitals in sustaining and spreading the virus.

Los sistemas de gestión ambiental son prácticas que vienen siendo utilizadas por un gran número de hoteles de lujo como estrategia para la satisfacción de clientes y la conservación medio ambiental. Los hoteles en la actualidad están apostando a ser más sostenibles mediante tecnología y la innovación con el propósito principal de cuidar del medio ambiente y obtener grandes beneficios económicos para el sector. El sector hotelero tiene una gran responsabilidad en el consumo de recursos naturales y existe un reconocimiento de las personas en la necesidad de sostenibilidad dentro del mundo, como es el crecimiento de los sistemas de gestión ambiental en la industria hotelera. Por lo que, los hoteles de lujo mediante los sistemas de gestión ambiental contribuyen no solo a generar beneficios ambientales, sino también económicos y sociales. Las prácticas ambientales son importantes y las más complejas de ellas es el Sistema de Gestión Ambiental, por lo que el objetivo de esta investigación es identificar los beneficios económicos que genera un sistema de gestión ambiental instituido en los hoteles de lujo y analizar la percepción que se tiene por parte del turista, así como las ventajas que genera en el sector hotelero en la búsqueda del equilibrio entre el crecimiento económico y la protección de los recursos naturales. Se utilizará como metodología la revisión integradora para encontrar explicaciones teóricas provenientes de los trabajos de investigación existentes en el ámbito de gestión ambiental sostenible en hoteles de lujo. / management systems are practices that have been used by a large number of luxury hotels as a strategy for customer satisfaction and environmental conservation. Hotels are currently betting on being more sustainable through technology and innovation with the main purpose of caring for the environment and obtaining great economic benefits for the sector. The hotel sector has a great responsibility in the consumption of natural resources and there is a recognition of people in the need for sustainability within the world, as is the growth of environmental management systems in the hotel industry. Therefore, luxury hotels through environmental management systems contribute not only to generate environmental benefits, but also economic and social ones. Environmental practices are important and the most complex of them is the Environmental Management System, so the objective of this research is to identify the economic benefits generated by an environmental management system instituted in luxury hotels and analyze the perception that is It has on the part of the tourist, as well as the advantages it generates in the hotel sector in the search for a balance between economic growth and the protection of natural resources. The integrative review will be used as a methodology to find theoretical explanations from existing research works in the field of sustainable environmental management in luxury hotels. / Trabajo de investigación

[pt] O turismo como uma atividade econômica e um fenômeno social, que tem um enorme potencial como ferramenta para proteção do meio ambiente, assim como, para erradicação da pobreza. Tem-se hoje uma atividade turística promissora, com um turista mais cauteloso em suas escolhas, usufruindo de um turismo mais saudável e responsável. Neste contexto, pensando o meio de hospedagem como um equipamento turístico, que tem de estar alinhado a esse novo turismo responsável, os empreendimentos hoteleiros devem estar dispostos a adotar práticas, que objetivem a melhoria do seu desempenho diante das questões ambientais sociais e econômicas. Nesta perspectiva, a Produção mais Limpa (P+L), vem como uma ferramenta que aplicada a empresas dos mais variados segmentos, através de uma estratégia econômica e socioambiental, mostrando-se como uma alternativa viável e interessante para os gestores, que vislumbram a melhoria dos seus processos produtivos. Assim, este trabalho tem por objetivo o estudo de viabilidade de implantação da Produção mais Limpa em um pequeno meio de hospedagem localizado na praia de Vilatur em Saquarema- RJ, visando trazer benefícios importantes ao empreendimento no que se refere aos aspectos ambientais, econômicos e sociais, assim como, utilizar esse estudo como um piloto para que a proposta possa ser multiplicada para adesão em outros meios de hospedagem do município. / [en] Tourism as an economic activity and a social phenomenon, which has a big potencial as a tool for protecting the environment, as well as, for eradicating poverty. Today, there is a promising tourist activity, with tourists who are more cautions in their choices, enjoying healthier and responsible tourism. In this context, considering the accommodation as a tourist equipment, which must be aligned with this new responsible tourism, hotel enterprises must be willing to adopt practices that aim to improve their performance in the face of environmental, social and economic issues. In this perspective, Cleaner Production (CP) comes as a tool that can be applied to companies in the most varied segments, through an economic and socio-environmental strategy, proving to be a viable and interesting alternative for managers, who envision the improvement of its production processes. Thus, this work aims to study the feasibility of implementing Cleaner Production in a small accommodation located on Vilatur beach in Saquarema – RJ, aiming to bring important benefits to the enterprise in terms of environmental, economic and social aspects, as well as using this study as a pilot so that the proposal can be multiplied for adherence to other small hotels in the city.

Although South African consumers are reflecting increased green purchasing intentions, the factors that will lead to their intended behaviour to select green hotels have yet to be researched. Accordingly, the research proposes to explore the predictive ability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and then further modify and develop extended model structures surrounding the TPB, to identify and confirm an independent theoretical model that will effectively and comprehensively be able to predict South African consumers’ intended behaviour towards selecting green hotels. To answer the aim and objectives set, the research positioned itself within a non-experimental quantitative paradigm. An online questionnaire was distributed to South African consumers that stayed at a hotel at least once within a 12-month period. A total of 402 completed and error-free responses were used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to assess, derive and understand the demographic profile of the respondents and determine the respondent’s characteristics as South Africans who intend to stay at or visit hotels. Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that Azjen (1991)’s original TPB is a strong predictor of behavioural intention, indicating its applicability to the domain of South African consumers’ behavioural intention towards selecting green hotels. In addition, it was found that South African consumers’ intended behaviour towards selecting green hotels can statistically be best explained by expanding on the original TPB model to include emotive and non-cognitive predictor variables, namely anticipated regret (AR) and perceived moral obligation (PMO), as direct constructs to behavioural intention as well as by including environmental knowledge (EK) as a direct predictor variable to attitude (ATT). Furthermore, it found that the relationship between behavioural intention and perceived behavioural control (PBC) was the strongest and most significant, followed by subjective norm (SN), ATT, PMO and AR. Lastly, the findings revealed that PBC, ATT, SN, PMO and AR can all act as positive and highly significant intermediaries between EK and behavioural intention. The study contributed towards theory by identifying and assessing the psychographic factors that will best explain the consumer decision-making processes leading to behavioural intention in context to green hotel selection. The study further extends its contribution by adding value to environmental sustainable literature in context to an emerging economy, namely South Africa. Although South African consumers are reflecting increased green purchasing intentions, the psychological factors that will lead to the intended behaviour towards selecting green hotels have not received much attention in research. It was, therefore, important and theoretically valuable to not only investigate the predictive ability of the original TPB, but to also modify, develop and extend model variations surrounding the TPB to thoroughly explore the predictive ability for South African consumers’ intention to select green hotels. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc.

Text in both English and Afrikaans / Since the early 2000s, the tourism industry in South Africa has experienced phenomenal change and, concomitantly, the hospitality industry has also seen significant growth. This growth has been driven by factors such as the increased demand for hospitality in both the leisure and the business markets. The hotel industry has immensely been benefited. The Tourism Business Index’s report released quarterly by the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, indicating that the revenue received from each available room in the hotel sector increased significantly from 2009. Tourism research has revealed that, globally, the hospitality industry is among the largest employers of labour. The hospitality industry, especially the hotel sector, works hand in hand with tourism. Tourists traveling to a destination require accommodation which is generally provided by hotels. If the tourist is to have a good experience, it is vital that the tourist organisation and the hotel communicate so as to exchange information. Integrated marketing communication (IMC) has been described as a concept that many organisations adopt in order both to coordinate the operation of the organisation effectively and to increase the bottom line. In IMC, also creates synergy within an organisation and paves the way for consistent messages to be sent out to the organisation’s target audience. The aim of this study was to analyse the use of IMC by the View Boutique Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. To analyse the IMC at the hotel, in-depth interviews were conducted with both marketing staff and guests. In the aspect of planned messages, the outcome of the study revealed that the hotel uses marketing communication tools on a limited scale and, that to ensure message consistency the manager handles all external communication activities. However, the study also showed that ensuring message consistency should be the responsibility of everyone employed in the hotel. With regard to the product messages, the study showed that guests were negatively disposed towards the food, beverages, entertainment and recreation offered by the hotel. However, the service messages of the study indicated that the hotel’s service quality was good and that the staff were responsive to the needs of the guests. In respect of unplanned messages, the study showed that the hotel was receiving limited coverage from the media and that word of mouth communication was an effective tool in the hotel’s communication toolbox. On the whole, thus, it may be said that the study underscores the centrality of IMC as an instrument for creating and nurturing the relations between the hotel and its quests. It is anticipated that the outcome of this study should provide hotels such as the View Boutique Hotel with guidance in regard to utilising IMC to its full potential to make sure that there is message consistency and also to optimise communication impact. / Sedert die vroeë 2000's het die toerismebedryf in Suid-Afrika 'n merkwaardige verandering ondergaan, en daarmee saam het die gasvryheidsbedryf aansienlike groei getoon. Hierdie groei is aangevuur deur faktore soos die toenemende vraag na gasvryheid in die ontspannings- en sakemark. Die hotelbedryf het baie hierby gebaat. Volgens die besigheidsindeks vir toerisme wat kwartaalliks deur die Toerismebesigheidsraad van Suid-Afrika vrygestel word, het die inkomste uit elke beskikbare kamer in die hotelbedryf sedert 2009 aansienlik toegeneem. Navorsing oor toerisme het getoon dat die gasvryheidsbedryf wêreldwyd die meeste werk verskaf. Die gasvryheidsbedryf, en veral die hotelbedryf, gaan hand aan hand met toerisme. Toeriste wat na 'n bestemming reis het akkommodasie nodig wat oor die algemeen deur hotelle gebied word. Om te verseker dat toeriste positiewe belewenisse het, is dit kritiek dat toeriste-organisasies en hotelle kommunikeer om inligting uit te ruil. Geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie word beskryf as 'n konsep wat baie organisasies aanneem om die bedryf van die organisasie effektief te koördineer en die netto wins te verhoog. Geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie skep medewerking in 'n organisasie en baan die weg vir konsekwente boodskappe wat aan die organisasie se teikengehoor uitgedra word. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die gebruik van geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie by die View Boutique Hotel in Johannesburg, Suid-Afrika, te ondersoek. In die ondersoek van die geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie by die hotel is diepgaande onderhoude met bemarkingspersoneel en gaste gevoer. Ten opsigte van beplande kommunikasie het die studie bevind dat die hotel bemarkingskommunikasie-instrumente op beperkte skaal gebruik, en om te verseker dat die kommunikasie konsekwent is, hanteer die bestuurder alle eksterne kommunikasie-aktiwiteite. Die studie het egter ook getoon dat dit elke werknemer by die hotel se verantwoordelikheid is om konsekwente kommunikasie te verseker. Met verwysing na produkkommunikasie het die studie getoon dat die gaste negatief ingestel was oor die kos, drankies, vermaaklikheid en ontspanning wat by die hotel aangebied is. Die studie het egter bevind dat die diens by die hotel goed was en dat die personeel goed op die gaste se behoeftes gereageer het. Met betrekking tot ix onbeplande kommunikasie het die studie getoon dat die hotel beperkte dekking in die media geniet en dat mondelinge kommunikasie 'n doeltreffende instrument in die hotel se arsenaal is. Oor die algemeen kan daar gesê word dat die studie die sentraliteit van geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie onderskryf as instrument vir die skep en uitbou van verhoudings tussen die hotel en sy gaste. Die resultate van hierdie studie behoort aan hotelle soos die View Boutique Hotel riglyne te bied oor hoe geïntegreerde bemarkingskommunikasie ten volle benut kan word om konsekwente kommunikasie te verseker, en om die impak van kommunikasie te optimeer. / Communication Science / M.A.(Psychology)

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

This study is set out to assess the effectiveness of customer relationship management (CRM) in the hotel industry. Relying on the integration of several CRM scholars, the study seeks to answer questions about the relationship between CRM and performance. A mixed research method approach was adopted. The research targeted 106 hotels in Pretoria. 47 responses were received from the hotel personnel who answered the questionnaire. The findings of the survey clearly indicate that hotel performance is dependent on CRM, as shown in the variance of performance levels in line with the level of CRM practised by a specific, named hotel. The study further suggests that hotels’ management should continuously embark on various CRM practices in order to improve their performance. Responses will be captured and analysed using the SPSS computer software. The results will be subjected to quantitative data analysis. It is expected that the findings will highlight important implications for hotels and other hospitality and tourism stakeholders in Pretoria and beyond. Stakeholders wishing to improve their understanding of the effectiveness of CRM in hotels will find this study helpful. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree: Doctor of Technology: Quality, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / There is extensive focus on the practical performance of ecotourism in respect of environmentally invasive activities and the satisfaction of ecotourists in South Africa. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of quality management practices on service quality in the accommodation sector serving ecotourism destinations in KwaZulu-Natal. The study was conducted at 58 hotels within a 50 kilometre proximity to ecotourism development regions of KwaZulu-Natal province. Two separate self-administered questionnaires were designed for the hotel managers and for their guests. A quantitative approach and a census of 58 managers were conducted and the guest response of 587 was obtained using convenience sampling. The results revealed that there are mismatches in guests’ actual experience on the variables of interest for customer service quality and the importance they attach to each variable. The experience-importance findings show that most guests rated their experiences above the importance they attach to those experiences. Little attention has been paid to hotel service quality research pertaining specifically to quality-related performance. This study fills this gap by identifying congruent hotel service quality attributes and relating these to management performance by analysing the importance of these attributes for hotel-guests seeking experiences of the natural environment. The results of the study offer measures for ecotourism service quality enhancement for the ecotourists experience at the hotels and a starting point for hotel managers to optimise the service quality growth and development while protecting the resources on which they are based. Quality function deployment has emerged as a significant tool to guide hotel managers in ecotourism destinations to attain planned levels of guest service quality and formulate a well-informed and systematic framework that will advance strategies for service quality enhancement.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration