Реферат: Analysis Of Hotel Case Study Essay Research

6. Human Resources

This classification scheme was taken form the work of Chon and Olsen (1987). As it is further described in Appendix I, these categories were divided into sub categories to increase the specificity of the research. In addition, each article was assigned a specific weight according to its length, in order to make a more accurate assessment of each article’s importance. However, it is difficult to find an appropriate measure of article space in a web page. Most articles in Hotel Online have very similar lengths and number of paragraphs. The most convenient measure found by the author was the number of “Page Downs” that it took to reach the end of the article (using a 14″ monitor with a display of 600 by 800 pixels). The weights were assigned as follows:

Table 2: Weight Assignment

Number of Page Downs Weight

1 to 2 1

3 2

4 3

5 plus 4

The total number of postings analyzed was 747 articles. This number is so substantial due to the daily nature of this online service. After these articles were analyzed, categorized and weighted, statistics were obtained to determine the major themes dominating the internet space of Hotel Online (see Appendix II for detailed statistics obtained in the research process).

III. Findings and Discussion

The first major finding of the research process was the fact that the majority of the news posted in Hotel Online relates to the U.S. national industry environment. The actual distribution of national vs. international topics is described in Table 3.

Table 3: Distribution of National vs. International Environment

Environment % of Hotel Online Space

National 88.75%

International 11.25%

Another major finding of the study was the predominance of topics related to the specific environment over the general environment (see Table 4). These two characteristics of Hotel Online slightly limit its usefulness as a complete environmental scanning tool.

Table 4: Distribution of General vs. Specific Environment

Environment % of Hotel Online Space

General 26.41%

Specific 73.59%

General Environment

With respect to the general environment, it has to be acknowledged that Hotel Online provides just a small amount of information. As it was just mentioned, the service is dominated by articles referring to the specific environment. In addition, the postings classified under general environment categories usually referred to industry-specific information (see Figure 1 for major trends in the general environment). Nevertheless, several major trends in the general environment were identified.

a. Socio-cultural environment:

In general, the trends identified in the Sociocultural environment of the industry can be summarized as increasing importance of the elderly in travel due to the aging of the general population, increasing willingness to travel, increasing acceptance of casino and gaming operations and increasing concern for safety in travel and lodging.

The aging of the American population is not news to anyone. It is a process that started with the appearance of the “baby-bust” generation, a period in which birth rates decreased considerably. Improvements in life

expectancy also contributed to this trend. The major trend identified in this project is the increasing response of the hospitality industry to this shift in customer needs. Some companies and destinations are specializing in

catering to the elderly traveler. As an example, Oregon coastal towns are taking advantage of their country-style, relaxing atmosphere to attract senior citizens. Lodging establishments in the area have adapted to serve the special needs of this group and are experiencing economic benefits in the process. It is important that all operators in the industry realize the increasing importance of this particular segment of the market. A recent

study concluded that mature travelers consider assurance, reliability, tangibility, responsiveness and empathy to be the most important customer service factors in a hotel. Operators must make sure that the service

provided emphasizes these characteristics when dealing with older guests. The implications on human resource management are obvious. Employees must be trained to provide a level of service that meets the expectations of this segment of the population.