This study aimed to explore factors affecting seniors' intention to relocate to a senior living facility. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of push and pull motivational factors and perceived barriers on seniors' intention to relocate to a senior living facility (SLF). In addition, the mediating role of perceived barriers on the relationships between push motivational factors and intention to relocate and pull motivational factors and intention to relocate were explored. The data of the study was collected from 363 seniors. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted to test the study hypotheses. The results indicated that health related, social and family/friend related, housing and property related push motivational factors and facility related pull motivational factor positively influenced seniors' intention to relocate to SLFs. In addition, the study results revealed that family related barriers, economic barriers, socio-psychological barriers, and knowledge and information barriers negatively affected seniors' intention to relocate to SLFs. In terms of the mediation effects, the study results indicated that (1) family related barriers mediated the positive relationship between health related push motivational factor and intention to relocate; (2) economic barriers mediated the positive relationship between facility related pull motivational factor and intention to relocate; (3) socio-psychological barriers mediated the positive relationship between health related push motivational factor and intention to relocate; and (4) socio-psychological barriers mediated the positive relationship between facility related pull motivational factor and intention to relocate. The findings of this study provide valuable theoretical contributions in the context senior living literature and important practical implications for SLF operators, health care facilitators and government agencies.

The current state of literature surrounding the business-to-business (BTB) exchange in the meetings, incentives, conventions, and events (MICE) industry is limited. Likewise, the manner in which meeting planners forge their intentions to repurchase was unknown until the present study was conducted. The following research focused on the role of the hotel convention service manager (CSM) in the BTB exchange with the meeting planner to understand the role they play in the meeting planner's decision to repurchase. Since hotel CSMs have not been assessed in previous literature, one of the major contributions of this study was that it established a set of functional competencies on which to evaluate hotel CSM performance in on-the-job tasks. The current study also introduced an emotional competence evaluation by means of asking meeting planners to evaluate hotel CSMs on well-being, emotionality, self control and sociability, in the face of client interaction. It was found that both forms of competency performance significantly contribute to the planner's perceptions of relationship quality. The current state of the literature was also ambiguous surrounding relationship quality in the BTB exchange. It was well established that relationship quality was most commonly composed of at least two dimensions: trust and commitment. However, because this study investigated the BTB exchange in an individual-individual context, likability was added as a new dimension of relationship quality. The second order factor structure of relationship quality was confirmed, and post-hoc tests revealed that a meeting planner's perceptions of emotional and functional competence in the exchange, appears to hinge on the quality of that relationship, when the meeting planner is evaluating their intentions to repurchase with the property and the hotel CSM. In fact, repeat purchase intentions with the hotel CSM were found to supersede intentions with the property, thereby establishing hotel CSMs as directors of repeat business for their respective employer (property). To accomplish this study's objectives, a mixed-mode methodology was employed. Qualitative analysis was conducted after collecting data via semi-structured interviews and focus groups to establish the functional competencies of hotel CSMs and create a generic scale for assessing those competencies. Quantitative analysis was preceded by a survey composed of five sections: functional competence, emotional competence, relationship quality, repeat purchase intention, and demographics. Data was collected from meeting planners, which resulted in a usable sample of 324 responses. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on functional competence to understand its underlying latent structure. A robust reliability analysis and a priori testing was employed prior to conducing confirmatory factor analyses, which were followed by structural equation modeling to test the proposed theoretical model. The results showed the following. Functional and emotional competence were positively related to relationship quality, respectively. The second order factor structure of relationship quality was established, composed of the following first order factors: trust, commitment, and likability. Finally, perceived relationship quality is positively related to repeat purchase intention with the property and with the hotel CSM. The study offered a number of theoretical and practical implications, and limitations and directions for future research were also discussed in the final chapter.

Smart initiatives are gaining popularity from the development of smart homes and smart communities to the emergence of smart cities all around the world. Smart technologies like AI-powered digital assistants are becoming more widespread within the tourism industry, giving rise to the concept of smart destinations. Despite the growing awareness, the theoretical and practical knowledge of smart destinations remains fragmented and mostly speculative. The primary objectives of this research study are: 1) to develop a comprehensive framework of smart destinations through multiple case studies of the emerging smart destinations and interviews with the industry stakeholders, and 2) to construct and apply a smartness index based on the framework that could serve as a practical tool to assess the smartness level of various tourism destinations. The study adopts a Destination Marketing/Management Organization (DMO) perspective as these organizations are uniquely positioned to fulfill the key roles in coordination, facilitation, and governance of smart tourism. That is, the technological sophistication of these organizations and their destination management systems (DMSs) is assumed to reflect smart initiatives implemented destination-wide. The study employed the three-stage methodology: assessment of the DMOs' websites, interviews with the key industry stakeholders, and survey completed by the DMOs' representatives. The results of the survey were used to construct the index with Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Lastly, the index was applied to assess DMOs' performance in key areas that determined smartness of tourism destinations. As a result, the study developed a more comprehensive conceptualization of smart destinations than was currently available in the research literature. Furthermore, the study offered a practical tool that could assess destinations smartness and identify the critical areas for improvement. This research, therefore, offers a necessary foundation for the advancement of tourism research and the framework for destinations that aspire to become smart.

Online reviews play a strategic role in the decision-making of individuals and accordingly, the sales and reputation management of businesses. Despite the significant role of reviews, the subject of motivations for posting reviews has been relatively less investigated. This is specifically important since when the online review is negative, it can immediately and negatively affect a company financially by deteriorating its image. Therefore, further investigation regarding negative online reviewing motivation with the accompany of theory building and empirical study is needed. To address this gap, this study adopted the two motivational theories of self-determination and expectancy to investigate the relationship of motivation quality and motivation force with the intention to write negative reviews. In order to empirically test the proposed model, a pilot study was first conducted to ensure the quality of the questionnaire. After the necessary refinement of the pilot questionnaire, the final questionnaire was developed, and a two-step PLS-SEM along with a CMB analysis was conducted on the collected data. The study responded to recent calls on developing a more comprehensive understanding of negative review writing motivations. The study offered a new perspective with regards to the quality of motivations for engaging in such actions by empirically indicating that individuals' behavioral intention to write a negative review is a result of intrinsic motivation and a variety of extrinsic motivations. Furthermore, this study allowed for the examination of the dynamic, inter-related impact of motivations on one another in addition to taking into consideration the aspects of each motivation that an individual considers to carry out an action. While providing important theoretical contributions in the context of negative review writing motivations, the findings of the study also offer valuable practical implications for practitioners of the hospitality industry.

The recent situation with the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant changes in the business event industry and forced event planners to organize virtual events. However, virtual events are lacking social interactions with the physical environment and people, and are characterized by lower levels of engagement, while the majority of event planners design virtual events by using the same practices and tools they applied during the previous face-to-face meetings. There is also a gap in the previous literature related to the influence of virtual events on attendees' outcomes. This study aims at investigating the relationships between event types and attendees' behavioral intentions, as well as analyzing the influence of event price and attendees' risk perceptions on attendees' outcomes. The online experimental design was applied to explore the proposed relationships by assigning study participants to one of the hypothetical event website scenarios. The two-step approach was used to analyze the influence of different types of events and event prices on attitudes toward an event, attendees' risk perceptions, and visiting intentions. The measurement model fit and validity of the constructs were assessed by using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, while the study hypotheses were tested with the help of the Structural Equation Modelling. The results demonstrated that event type has significant effects on attendees' risk perceptions, while risk perceptions significantly affected attendees' visit intentions. The study also revealed significant moderating effects of attendees' age on the relationship between event type and visit intentions. The study provides important theoretical, managerial, and methodological implications by introducing new factors affecting attendees' perceptions and behavioral intentions, describing the relationship between risk perceptions and attendees' behavioral intentions, and providing practical recommendations for event planners.

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Architecture and hospitality go hand in hand. This thesis is a study of an architecture of hospitality that is informed by both site, culture, and climate conditions as well as cultural changes in the hospitality industry under the new conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. / Master of Architecture / The term "hospitality" usually is considering a place to sleep, eat, or enjoy oneself (Disney), but architects look at the term differently. We want to make something that is inviting and pleasing for the users. This thesis looks at what makes something hospitable.

This study investigated the relationship of the mind and body. This study used Walker's bi-directional stress model to show that stress can affect the body by acting as an acquired constitutional factor. Previous research has been done on how stress can affect psychosomatic illnesses and many other health conditions. For this reason, this study will determine if there are high levels of stress associated with work and school found in students studying the hospitality industry, which can act as an increase the constitutional vulnerability having a psychosomatic illness. A survey consisting of demographics and a stress analysis was used for participants to self-evaluate if work and school increases their stress levels. The results of 116 surveys from a sample of Rosen College of Hospitality Management students were analyzed. The results showed that there are high levels of stress associated with work and school found in students studying the hospitality industry. The validity of this survey was examined allowing the survey to be generalized to those juniors and seniors who are studying hospitality at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. Recommendations were made for further studies to be done on ways to decrease stress of students. Although this research shows how work and school affect the stress levels of students, further research should also be done examining how stress influences the health of the students.

Personality development and change has become increasingly important in understanding how many natural processes occur. Researchers have studied identifiable patterns of preferences that have been proven as underlying factors in career decisions. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into how personality types and preferences are utilized in the process of making a career decision in the hospitality industry. This study investigated whether there was a dominant personality type that influenced the participants' career decision. This study analyzed 162 responses to The Keirsey Temperament Sorter which allowed for each participant to be assigned a personality type according to Jung-Myers typology. Findings showed that the majority of hospitality management students sampled at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management were typed as ESFJ. However, no correlation was made between personality type and a specific hospitality industry career segment. Recommendations were made for further study and for continued research into the relationship between personality type and various aspects of the hospitality industry.

The hospitality industry has seen rapid growth through the last three decades. The hospitality industry in New Zealand is still growing steadily. According to the Ministry of Tourism (2008, para. 3), “Visitor expenditure is forecast (from 2008 to 2014) to increase from $13.73 billion to $19.05 billion per annum, an increase of 41.4%” (Ministry of tourism, 2008b). Therefore, in response to the needs of the industry, training providers have established a number of hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism degrees (O'Mahony & Sillitoe, 2001). However, previous studies have identified that hospitality management degrees tend to lack importance in the actual world (Harkison, 2004a, 2004b; Steele; 2003). Hospitality management students seem to rate the value of their degrees higher than do employees in the industry (Collins, 2002; Raybould & Wilkins, 2005). Therefore, there are gaps between the expectations and assumptions of students and those of hospitality professionals, which have led to problems in the hospitality industry. This study has taken three steps to identify: 1) how career expectations, assumptions and requirements differ between undergraduate hospitality management students and management employees in the hospitality industry; 2) The working histories of managerial employees and their perceptions of the industry’s needs; 3) Establish the perceived value of hospitality management degrees amongst hospitality management undergraduate students and the hospitality industry. To do so, a comprehensive literature review was undertaken, and questionnaires were collected from 137 undergraduates enrolled in a Bachelor of International Hospitality Management degree at AUT University and 74 managerial employees in the hotel industry. After an analysis of the data, the researcher examined and compared the results of both groups’ data with relation to the findings of the literature review. The following key points emerged from the research: most students expected that they would work in the hospitality industry after completing their course and supposed that their first work field would be in a Food and Beverage department at a management trainee level. The results of the survey show a match between students’ long-term career expectations and the working history of employees. Students also seem to understand the environment of the hospitality industry well. These results show that students organise well, planning for their future careers, and these results were similar with those of some previous studies (Brien, 2004; Harkison, 2004b; Jenkins, 2001). The results of this study identified similarities and differences of perceptions between undergraduate students and managerial employees in the hotel industry. Similarities of students’ perceptions and managerial employees’ perceptions are; • Commitment is rated as the most important factor in determining success, while personality is rated the most important attribute for an employee in the hospitality industry. • A degree in hospitality management is not recognised as an important qualification by students or employee respondents. Working experience is more important than a bachelor degree of hospitality management for a prospective employee. • Students and managerial employees believe that the hospitality educators know the industry well, although educators and employees have different understandings of career expectations. • Both parties believe that internship might help hospitality students’ careers in the industry. Differences of perceptions between undergraduate students and managerial employees are; • Students believe that knowledge of the industry and experience are the most significant factors for a new employee in the hospitality industry but employees indicate personality. • Employees believe that using initiative skills are the most important factor for an employee’s career development, whereas students answer communication skills. • Students believe that a hospitality management bachelor degree will contribute more to the hotel business but employees believe that having three years’ experience will contribute more. • Students consider that an employee with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality will receive higher starting salaries than someone without, but employees disagree. • Students suggest that a bachelor of hospitality management degree will affect opportunities for promotion, but employees do not share that opinion. This study found that even if students and managerial employees share some common opinions, many gaps still exist between them. Therefore, the researcher suggests recommendations relating to students’ expectations and assumptions of their job entry level, the working environment in the hospitality industry, the needs of the hospitality industry, and the value of a bachelors degree of hospitality management. Furthermore, the researcher identifies some limitations of this study and areas for further research.