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The objective of this study was to uncover the critical success factors that have significant value-added impacts on corporate acquisitions in the lodging industry. Specifically, this study attempted to systematically discover evidence about the determinants of a successful pre-acquisition management process, and the determinants of successful post-acquisition integration, as well as to identify an appropriate evaluation criteria for determining the post-acquisition performance of an acquisition deal. In addition, this study tried to identify important acquisition objectives of hotel acquirers. This study employed an integrated and holistic viewpoint that includes the most critical corporate acquisition issues simultaneously and in a multi-dimensional framework. As a research methodology, a Delphi technique, which is a non-face-to-face communication method, was employed and proved its effectiveness throughout the study. The key question guiding this research is, what are the critical factors in the overall acquisition process that contribute to successful acquisitions? The findings of this study indicate that the most important acquisition objective for acquirers in the lodging industry is to accelerate the growth of their firms. Further, the most important critical success factor for hotel acquirers before the deal is completed is the identification of the trend of the target firm's cash flow from operations, and reliable and valid information about the target is the most significant dimension in the pre-acquisition management phase. The study results suggest that the most significant key success factor in the post-acquisition integration stage for the lodging industry is to plan and establish a post-acquisition strategy as early as possible, even before the deal is done, while the development of an effective post-acquisition transition strategy immediately after the deal is closed is the most crucial dimension in the post-acquisition integration phase. One of the most significant findings of this study was that hotel executives gave relatively higher importance to pre-acquisition management strategy than to the post-acquisition integration process. In terms of post-acquisition performance evaluation criteria, measures from a value-based management (VBM) approach received the highest rank in evaluating the economic gains of corporate acquisitions in the lodging industry. The study results can help to improve hospitality industry academics' and practitioners' understanding of important M&A phenomena leading to significant changes in the industry's competitive landscape. / Ph. D.

Vertical brand extensions have been used as popular strategies in the lodging industry. Research on brand extension that is related with brand trust and brand loyalty has been useful in making brand extensions successful. However, previous research focused on aggregated relationships among brand trust, brand loyalty, and brand extension. In addition, it has been found that quality and price distance from a core brand of the brand extension has an impact on the success of the brand extension. Therefore, this dissertation proposes a theoretical model with six hypotheses investigating relationships among brand trust, brand loyalty and brand extension simultaneously. Further, the impact of distance from a core brand (brand distance) on the brand extension was examined. Data was collected using an online panel. A final sample of 396 was used for the data analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM), a Chi-square difference test, and independent t-tests were utilized to test the hypotheses. The data was randomly split in two. One half of the dataset was used to test a measurement model and the other half of the dataset was used to test a structural equation model. The findings suggested there were positive relationships between brand trust and brand loyalty, brand trust and brand extension, and brand loyalty and brand extension. Furthermore, it was found that brand distance plays a significant role not only on brand extension, but also on the relationship between brand trust and brand extension and the relationship between brand loyalty and brand extension. This study contributes to vertical brand extension literature by providing a theoretical model by which simultaneous relationships among brand trust, brand loyalty and brand extension were investigated with a moderating factor: brand distance. The findings of this dissertation have important managerial implications for lodging industry brand managers. / Ph. D.

Following Ajzen/Fishbein's 1980 Theory of Reasoned Action, influences of hospitality students' external variables (age, gender, university classification, and work experience) on computer attitudes, and relationships between computer attitudes and intentions to learn and use computers were tested. A sample of 412 hospitality students completed two measurements: Loyd/Gressard's 1984 Computer Attitude Scale, and Behavioral Intentions to Learn and Use Computers. Males and females had positive computer attitudes. Graduates had more positive computer attitudes. No interaction effect existed between gender and classification. No relationships existed between age and work experience on computer attitudes. Computer attitudes positively correlated with intentions to learn and use computers. Results supported the Theory of Reasoned Action. External variables partially influence attitudes and attitudes influence intentions.

Esta pesquisa dedica-se a compreender a natureza da atividade conhecida, na indústria hoteleira, por auditoria noturna. É importante por esta atividade ainda não ter sido estudada adequadamente do ponto de vista conceitual e das práticas do mercado, embora seja tratada pela literatura didática e desenvolvida em hotéis. Com o objetivo de verificar o state of the art da auditoria noturna, foi adotada a estratégia de criar o conceito instrumental de hotel ‘complexo’, definido como dotado de porte e/ou categoria de prestação de serviços suficientes para justificar a existência de estruturas organizacionais intrincadas. A premissa subjacente é que o alto investimento absoluto ou relativo (por unidade habitacional) exige processos com maior eficiência e eficácia. A cidade de São Paulo foi escolhida para a pesquisa de campo graças ao seu significativo parque hoteleiro. A fim de estabelecer bases teóricas que pudessem subsidiar a investigação de campo, a auditoria noturna foi situada no contexto organizacional de um empreendimento hoteleiro; foram analisados a evolução e o conceito de auditoria interna; e caracterizados os sistemas de informação utilizados pela indústria hoteleira para a atividade, dada a relevância de sua configuração para condicionar processos operacionais e financeiros. Selecionados 41 hotéis complexos de São Paulo, 38 colaboraram com a fase exploratória da pesquisa, dedicada a caracterizar o perfil pessoal e organizacional de 82 funcionários responsáveis pela auditoria noturna. Dentre eles, 10 hotéis, que contavam formalmente com o cargo de auditor noturno, foram objeto de uma pesquisa descritiva, a fim de elencar suas tarefas e de obter suas percepções do software hoteleiro utilizado. Todos os hotéis complexos selecionados têm atividades de auditoria noturna, com o foco principal voltado ao exame diário de todas as contas correntes de recepção. Os responsáveis pela auditoria noturna desenvolvem tarefas operacionais, estão freqüentemente subordinados ao departamento auditado e desconsideram o ambiente de controle. Como resultado, este trabalho propõe que a auditoria noturna hoteleira não se enquadra no moderno entendimento do conceito de auditoria interna; é uma atividade de inspeção que supre a deficiência ou cumpre o papel de controles internos. A avaliação positiva realizada pelos auditores noturnos dos hotéis complexos da cidade de São Paulo a respeito dos sistemas de informação utilizados não invalida a constatação de que os principais softwares hoteleiros são falhos, oriundos da automatização de tarefas tradicionais, limitando a própria atividade de auditoria noturna. / This study is dedicated to the examination of an activity known in the hotel industry as the night audit. The importance of this research is reflected in the fact that the night audit is an activity that has been little studied from the conceptual and practical points of view, although it has been amply described in educational and industry literature. Given that the primary objective is to define the state of the art of the night audit, this paper initially establishes the contextual concept of the hotel property, as defined as hospitality operations that offer a size or category of service warranting the existence of complex organizational structure. The underlying assumption is that properties with expensive investments necessitate extensive processes to ensure greater efficiency or effectiveness. The city of São Paulo was chosen for field research as its hotel park is the largest in South America. With the objective to establish a theoretical base to support the field investigation, the night audit was placed in the organizational context of the hotel property; basic concepts, as well as, the evolution of the internal audit were analyzed; and the information systems used by the hospitality industry were described, given their relevance in conditioning operational and financial processes. Of the forty-one major hotel properties in São Paulo, thirty-eight collaborated in the exploratory phase of the project. In this phase, based on interviews with 82 night audit employees, the profile of the night auditor was established, as well as, his position and relationships within the organizational structure. Of all the subject properties, ten hotels have formally established the position of night auditor in their organizational structure. These employees were the subject of the second phase of the study in which the functions of the night auditor were quantified and described. They were also interviewed in depth as to their opinion on hospitality software. The results of the study demonstrate that all the subject properties have night auditing activities, but with a primary focus on the daily examination of all open accounts in the front office. The employees responsible for the night audit also execute operational activities and are frequently subordinated within the department that they audit, effectively eliminating any element of actual control. As a result, this study proposes that the night audit as practiced by the hospitality industry does not correspond to the modern concept of the internal audit; it is an activity of inspection and account verification, isolated to the front office, and in effect, compensates for process deficiencies or, at best, mimics internal controls. Even though the evaluations by the night auditors were for the most part positive, there are many aspects in which hospitality software is deficient, limiting its use in the auditing capacity.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:21:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lacy Silva Jr.pdf: 7270358 bytes, checksum: aa4f63fb20eb2417baef6ab9186cb213 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-06 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The interception of themes as lodging industry and the urban historical heritage, expose multiple issues as the role of the State in the process of valuation, identification, preservation and use of this heritage. The perception of ideological motivations that arrange the choices and decisions about what should be preserved put us before subtle links among the construction of memories, flow of capital and the tourism. The look on the project of the state company Paradores de Turismo da Espanha enables us to know an experience based on joint activities of integrated management aiming at the sustainable and responsible development of the cultural tourism and revitalization of the heritage. Past and present form a timeline full of meanings and challenges, which importance is subject to the needs of the present. / O cruzamento de temas como a indústria da hospitalidade e o patrimônio histórico urbano expõe questões múltiplas como o papel do Estado no processo de valorização, identificação, conservação e uso desse patrimônio. A percepção de motivações ideológicas que orquestram as escolhas e decisões acerca do que deve ser preservado coloca-nos diante de vínculos sutis entre a construção de memórias, fluxo de capital e o turismo. O olhar lançado sobre o projeto da empresa estatal Paradores de Turismo da Espanha possibilita-nos conhecer uma experiência baseada em ações conjuntas de gestão integrada que buscam o desenvolvimento sustentável e responsável do turismo cultural e a revitalização do patrimônio. Passado e presente formam uma linha do tempo repleta de significações, cuja importância está sujeita às necessidades e desafios do presente.

Esta pesquisa dedica-se a compreender a natureza da atividade conhecida, na indústria hoteleira, por auditoria noturna. É importante por esta atividade ainda não ter sido estudada adequadamente do ponto de vista conceitual e das práticas do mercado, embora seja tratada pela literatura didática e desenvolvida em hotéis. Com o objetivo de verificar o state of the art da auditoria noturna, foi adotada a estratégia de criar o conceito instrumental de hotel ‘complexo’, definido como dotado de porte e/ou categoria de prestação de serviços suficientes para justificar a existência de estruturas organizacionais intrincadas. A premissa subjacente é que o alto investimento absoluto ou relativo (por unidade habitacional) exige processos com maior eficiência e eficácia. A cidade de São Paulo foi escolhida para a pesquisa de campo graças ao seu significativo parque hoteleiro. A fim de estabelecer bases teóricas que pudessem subsidiar a investigação de campo, a auditoria noturna foi situada no contexto organizacional de um empreendimento hoteleiro; foram analisados a evolução e o conceito de auditoria interna; e caracterizados os sistemas de informação utilizados pela indústria hoteleira para a atividade, dada a relevância de sua configuração para condicionar processos operacionais e financeiros. Selecionados 41 hotéis complexos de São Paulo, 38 colaboraram com a fase exploratória da pesquisa, dedicada a caracterizar o perfil pessoal e organizacional de 82 funcionários responsáveis pela auditoria noturna. Dentre eles, 10 hotéis, que contavam formalmente com o cargo de auditor noturno, foram objeto de uma pesquisa descritiva, a fim de elencar suas tarefas e de obter suas percepções do software hoteleiro utilizado. Todos os hotéis complexos selecionados têm atividades de auditoria noturna, com o foco principal voltado ao exame diário de todas as contas correntes de recepção. Os responsáveis pela auditoria noturna desenvolvem tarefas operacionais, estão freqüentemente subordinados ao departamento auditado e desconsideram o ambiente de controle. Como resultado, este trabalho propõe que a auditoria noturna hoteleira não se enquadra no moderno entendimento do conceito de auditoria interna; é uma atividade de inspeção que supre a deficiência ou cumpre o papel de controles internos. A avaliação positiva realizada pelos auditores noturnos dos hotéis complexos da cidade de São Paulo a respeito dos sistemas de informação utilizados não invalida a constatação de que os principais softwares hoteleiros são falhos, oriundos da automatização de tarefas tradicionais, limitando a própria atividade de auditoria noturna. / This study is dedicated to the examination of an activity known in the hotel industry as the night audit. The importance of this research is reflected in the fact that the night audit is an activity that has been little studied from the conceptual and practical points of view, although it has been amply described in educational and industry literature. Given that the primary objective is to define the state of the art of the night audit, this paper initially establishes the contextual concept of the hotel property, as defined as hospitality operations that offer a size or category of service warranting the existence of complex organizational structure. The underlying assumption is that properties with expensive investments necessitate extensive processes to ensure greater efficiency or effectiveness. The city of São Paulo was chosen for field research as its hotel park is the largest in South America. With the objective to establish a theoretical base to support the field investigation, the night audit was placed in the organizational context of the hotel property; basic concepts, as well as, the evolution of the internal audit were analyzed; and the information systems used by the hospitality industry were described, given their relevance in conditioning operational and financial processes. Of the forty-one major hotel properties in São Paulo, thirty-eight collaborated in the exploratory phase of the project. In this phase, based on interviews with 82 night audit employees, the profile of the night auditor was established, as well as, his position and relationships within the organizational structure. Of all the subject properties, ten hotels have formally established the position of night auditor in their organizational structure. These employees were the subject of the second phase of the study in which the functions of the night auditor were quantified and described. They were also interviewed in depth as to their opinion on hospitality software. The results of the study demonstrate that all the subject properties have night auditing activities, but with a primary focus on the daily examination of all open accounts in the front office. The employees responsible for the night audit also execute operational activities and are frequently subordinated within the department that they audit, effectively eliminating any element of actual control. As a result, this study proposes that the night audit as practiced by the hospitality industry does not correspond to the modern concept of the internal audit; it is an activity of inspection and account verification, isolated to the front office, and in effect, compensates for process deficiencies or, at best, mimics internal controls. Even though the evaluations by the night auditors were for the most part positive, there are many aspects in which hospitality software is deficient, limiting its use in the auditing capacity.

The purpose of this research is to explore the challenges of leaders (lodging owners) when implementing sustainable practices in the lodging industry in Sri Lanka. The authors have used two established models (SPM3 & STM) to create the new model called SLM3, which was used to extract data and measure the perceptions of leaders with a sustainable narrative, when implementing sustainable practices within their lodging in Sri Lanka. This was done in order to bridge a gap for the authors, since there was no established model yet, that could be used for the purpose of this research. After using the model for the current research in the context of Sri Lanka, the authors conclude that the model mostly fulfilled the aim that it was created for, although some minor alterations were made to improve its simplicity and make it more understandable. The main findings are that the main challenges of lodging owners with a sustainable narrative, when implementing sustainable practices are gender equality, lack of collaboration and networks, limited influence, the hierarchical system and long-term thinking related to education. The reported challenges prevent the lodging owners in Sri Lanka from implementing sustainable practices to the extent to which they would like to.

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Master of Science / Department of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management & Dietetics / Ki-Joon Back / The objectives of this research were to address the impacts of positive and negative emotions on customers’ satisfaction and customers’ repeat visit intentions, and to investigate the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on the relationship between emotion and customers’ repeat visit intentions. A theoretical model of the formation of repeat visit intentions was proposed through a comprehensive review of the literature. Richins’ Consumption Emotion Set (1997) was modified to make it suitable for application in the lodging industry. The modifications were based on the participants’ responses to each emotion descriptor in the pilot test. Surveys were completed by graduate students and faculty members, undergraduate students at a Midwestern university, and conference attendees. Of 259 surveys returned, 248 responses were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using factor analysis and a series of regression analysis. Positive and negative consumption emotions were found to have a significant effect on customer satisfaction and repeat visit intentions. Results also provided evidence of a significant association between customer satisfaction and repeat visit intentions. Customer satisfaction was found to be a full mediator in the relationship between customers’ positive and negative consumption emotions and repeat visit intentions. The loss aversion of the prospect theory was empirically supported in the formation of customers’ repeat visit intentions since results indicate that negative emotion has a greater influence on customer satisfaction and customers’ repeat visit intentions. Results support the importance of considering the impact of customers’ emotions on post-purchasing behaviors when developing better marketing and service strategies to achieve higher occupancy rate and retain customers.