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Tourism Management EssayAn immenseness- public presentation analysis of hotel endurance instruments in the Hong Kong hotel manufacturing a comparison of business and empty travellers Raymond K.S. Chu, Tat Choi*Department of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Peoples Republic of China Received 16 December 1998 accepted 3 February 1999Abstract utilize an ImportancePerformance epitome (IPA), this paper probed business and leisure travellers perceived importance and performance of six hotel selection factors in the Hong Kong hotel industry. The six hotel selection factors identied were function Quality, Business Facilities, Value, Room and Front Desk, Food and entertainment, and Security. Both business and leisure travellers held the same perceptions towards all the six hotel selection factors.The IPA grids illust tempod that the Value factor fell into the boil down Here quadrant Service Quality, Room and Front Desk and Security in the go for Up the Good Work quadrant and Business Facilities and Food and Recreation in the Low Priority quadrant. Room and Front Desk and Security were gear up to be the determining factors for business and leisure travellers, respectively, in their hotel survival of the fittest selection. Implications for Hong Kong hoteliers and researchers were discussed. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. each rights reserved. Keywords ImportancePerformance Analysis Hotel selection factors Business and leisure travellers1. Introduction 1.1. The Hong Kong hotel and tourism industry Hong Kong has long been Asias most popular tourist coating. The total visitor arrivals for 1996 reached a record of 11.7 million, representing a remarkable 14.7 per penny growth over 1995, with HK$84.5 billion (US$10.8 billion) owing into the Special Administrative Regions economy in foreign deepen earnings. The 14.7 per cent growth rate in 1996 out-performed the wo rld average of 4.5 per cent, as well as the average growth rates for East Asia/Pacic and South Asia, with 7.9 per cent and 4.0 per cent respectively (WTO, 1997). In addition, approximately 8 per cent of Hong Kongs GrossDomestic Product (GDP) is attri bargonlyable to tourism (HKTA, 1998). However, since the beginning of 1997, Hong Kongs inbound tourism industry has experiencedan unprecedented decline. As illustrated in Table 1, the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) revealed that the numbers of visitors declined from 11.7 million in 1996 to 10.4 million in 1997, representing a 12 per cent fall (HKTA, 1998). The fall in visitor arrivals has been aggravated by the regional currency turmoil, which has made Hong Kong an expensive destination to travel in comparison with different Southeast Asian regions (Poole, 1997).The depreciation of the Thai baht, the Indonesian rupiah, the Malaysian ringgit, and the Philippine peso has inevitably attracted international travellers who prefer to s eek bar recognise visits to these cheaper destinations. Hong Kong is now considered less(prenominal) vacation-friendly than previously as high ination has driven up prices. In 1989, 60 per cent of travellers rated shopping in Hong Kong as above average in place for money, but in 1993 the number fell be small(a) 45 per cent (HKTA, 1998). In the early 1990s, Hong Kong suered from a relatively high ination rate of about 10 per cent per annum as a result of an increase in labour and land costs.This paper attempts to find out both the importance and performance of hotel selection factors in the Hong Kong hotel industry using the ImportancePerformance Analysis (IPA) model. More specically, the paper intends to compare perceptions of business and leisure travellers, in terms of importance and performance of hotel selection factors. By identifying the needs, desires and expectations of dierent segments, hoteliers will be in a better position to develop tailor-made marketing strategies to cater for their target customers and to get through belligerent advantages.Source Adapted from A Statistical Review of Tourism, Hong Kong Tourist Association (1998).2. Literature review cent per annum in recent years (Hueng, 1997). The locomote cost of accommodation in Hong Kong and the dwindling number of shopping bargains are continuously aecting the Hong Kong tourism industry (Brevetti, 1995). Such price ination threatens Hong Kongs temper as a Shopping Paradise. Looking at the visitor prole, in particular at a comparison of business and leisure travellers, there appears to take away not much signicant change between the two groups. The leisure segment has constituted almost 60 per cent of total visitor arrivals to Hong Kong over the last(prenominal) ten years, while the business segment contributed up to 30 per cent of total visitor arrivals over the same period (see Table 1). Regarding the hotel industry in Hong Kong, room rates adjudge long been considered as the prime factor that adds to the cost of a trip, contributing to tourism downturn (Beck, 1997 Schloss, 1997). Schloss (1997) reported that Hong Kong hotels are much expensive to stay in than in Tokyo hotels, even when they oer discounts.Beck (1997) mentioned that Hong Kong hotels are too expensive and that thehigh cost is the single factor that continues to aect tourism in Hong Kong seriously. Research studies grant shown that satisfaction with hotel properties, including services, facilities and price, appears to be one of the major factors leading to the success and repeat patronage of the destination (Shih, 1986 Stevens, 1992). To be successful in business, one must understand how customers perceive the product or service attributes, their importance and performance when compared with other competitors. The importance of world competitive and oering competitive advantage has been recognised for some years. In the hotel environment, where competition dominates, hoteliers must study the strengths and weaknesses of the product or service they provide and accurately dene their importance and performance.To maintain Hong Kongs present status as one of the worlds most attractive tourist destinations, hoteliers 2.1. ImportancePerformance Analysis ImportancePerformance Analysis (IPA) conceptually underlies the multi-attribute models that date back to the late 1970s. Martilla and James (1977) applied the IPA technique to analyse the performance of the automobile industry. Hawes, Kiser and Rao (1982) and Hawes and Rao (1985) utilize the IPA concept in retirement communities and wellness care applications. Sethna (1982) found the IPA technique to be a valid and powerful technique for identifying service property areas that require remedial strategic actions. The underlying premise of the IPA technique is that customers level of satisfaction with the attributes is mainly derived from their expectations and judgment of the products or services performance.IPA has become a popular managerial tool that has been broadly used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of brands, products, services and retail establishments in various industries in recent years (Chapman, 1993 Cheron, McTavish Perrien, 1989). Hemmasi, Strong and Taylor (1994) measured the service quality of hospital services using IPA as an alternative to the traditional SERVQUAL instrument devised by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988). While Evans and Chon (1989) used the IPA to formulate and evaluate tourism policy, Keyt, Yavas and Riecken (1994) and Hsu, Byun and Yang (1997) adopted the IPA technique in restaurant positioning.Lewis (1985) used the IPA as a competitive analysis technique to identify tourists perceptions of the hotel industry. Lewis and Chambers (1989) reported the eective use of IPA by the Sheraton Hotel in monitoring customer satisfaction. Almanza, Jaeand Lin (1994) used the IPA matrix to determine means for improving customer satisfaction. Martin (1995) examined se rvice providers perceptions of customers expectations of quality service in the hotel industry using the IPA technique. In an increasingly competitive environment, a determination of the strengths and weaknesses of a fetch high levels of performance in relation to these activities. In the Low Priority quadrant, attributes have low importance and low performance. Although performance levels may be low in this cell, managers should not be overly concerned since the attributes in this cell are not perceived to be genuinely historic. Limited resources should be expended on this low priority cell. Lastly, the Possible Overkill quadrant contains attributes of low importance, but of relatively high performance.Respondents are satised with the performance of the organisations, but managers should consider present eorts on the attributes of this cell as being overutilised (Evans and Chon, 1989 Hemmasi, Strong Taylor, 1994 Keyt et al., 1994 Martilla James, 1977 Martin, 1995). Fig. 1. Impo rtancePerformance Analysis grid. quarter-circle I Attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, but performance levels are fairly low. This sends a direct message that improvement eorts should concentrate here. Quadrant II Attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, and at the same time, the organisation seems to have high levels of performance on these activities.The message here is To Keep up the Good Work. Quadrant III Attributes are with low importance and low performance. Although performance levels may be low in this cell, managers should not be overly concerned since the attribute in this cell is not perceived to be very important. Limited resources should be expended on this low priority cell. Quadrant IV This cell contains attributes of low importance, but relatively high performance. Respondents are satised with the performance of the organisations, but managers should consider present eorts on the attributes of this cell as being overutil ised.2.2. Perceived importance and performance of attributes Attribute importance is generally regarded as a persons general assessment of the signicance of an attribute for a product. Many studies have attempted to analyse customer satisfaction in terms of both expectations that relate to certain important attributes and judgments of the attribute performance (Myers Alpers, 1968 Swan Coombs, 1976). However, there appears to have been diverse conclusions made about how one should relate attribute importance and performance. The concept of importance is viewed by customers the same as satisfaction (Barsky, 1992 Rosenberg, 1956). When a customer perceives an attribute as important, the customer will believe that the attribute will play a signicant role in inuencing his or her product survival (MacKenzie, 1986).More recently, the term importance has been used to refer to the perceived importance of an attribute and its eect on product or service quality (Carman, 1990). Lilien, Kotle r and Moorthy (1993) dened the term important attributes as those considered important by consumers, and that the various brands or products are perceived to dier. Hemmasi et al. (1994), however, stated that performance lies in customer perceptions of performance of the attribute.Thus, the more favourable the perception of performance, the greater the likelihood of the choice from among similar alternatives. Therefore, it is strategically important for hoteliers to understand and to identify the product (or service) attributes perceived by customers as important, and to examine how customers perceive these product (or service) attributes. It is also very likely that a customers favourable post-purchase experience may lead him or her to repurchase if the customer is satised with the hotel performance. 2.3. Hotel attributes in hotel choice selection Those attributes directly inuencing choice are determining(prenominal) attributes they may arouse consumers purchase intentions and die rentiate from competitors oeringsproducts or services importance and performance seems an required constituent of success.The interpretation of the IPA is graphically presented on a grid divided into tetrad quadrants. Fig. 1 illustrates the IPAgrid. The -axis reports the customers perceived importance of selected attributes, and the X-axis shows the products (or services) performance in relation to these attributes. The four identiable quadrants are Concentrate Here, Keep Up the Good Work, Low Priority and Possible Overkill. In the Concentrate Here quadrant, attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, but performance levels are seen as fairly low. This sends a direct message that improvement eorts should concentrate here. In the Keep Up the Good Work quadrant, attributes are perceived to be very important to respondents, and at the same time, the organisation seems to(Alpert, 1971). The services and facilities oered by a hotel, or hotel attributes, are those feat ures of products or services that lead consumers to choose one product over others (Lewis, 1983).Wuest, Tas and Emenheiser (1996) dened perceptions of hotel attributes as the degree to which travellers nd various services and facilities important to customers satisfaction. Atkinson (1988) found that cleanliness of the accommodation, followed by safety and security, accommodation value for money, courtesy and helpfulness of sta were identied as top attributes for travellers in hotel choice selection. Wilensky and Buttle (1988) mentioned that personal service, physical attractiveness, opportunities for relaxation, standard of services, appealing image, and value for money were signicantly evaluated by travellers.Rivers, Toh and Alaoui (1991) examined the hotel selection decisions of members and non-members of frequent guest programs. Their results showed that convenience of location and overall service received the highest ratings. Ananth, DeMicco, Moreo and Howey (1992) surveyed 510 travellers, asking them to rate the importance of 57 hotel attributes in hotel choice decision. The results showed that price and quality was rated as the most important attribute across all age categories, followed by attributes related to security and convenience of location. LeBlanc and Nguyen (1996), in particular, examined the ve hotel factors that may signal a hotels image to travellers. These ve factors were physical environment,corporate identity, service personnel, quality of services and accessibility. They suggested that marketing eorts should be directed to highlight the environmental cues in order to attract new customers.An extensive review of the literature for the hospitality industry suggests that attributes such as cleanliness, location, room rate, security, service quality, and the reputation of the hotel have been considered by most tourists in hotel choice decision (Ananth, DeMicco, Moreo Howey, 1992 Atkinson, 1988 Barsky Labagh, 1992 Cadotte Turgeon, 1988 Kn utson, 1988 LeBlanc Nguyen, 1996 Lewis, 1984,1985 Marshall, 1993 McCleary, Weaver Hutchinson, 1993 Rivers, Toh Alaoui, 1991 Wilensky Buttle, 1988).2.4. Hotel attributes as perceived by business and leisure travellers Many studies have looked into a comparison between business and leisure travellers in their hotel selection criteria. These studies indicated that the important attributes aecting business travellers hotel choices were cleanliness and location (Lewis Chambers, 1989 McCleary et al., 1993 Taninecz, 1990), whereas security, personal interactions, and room rates were considered as important by their leisure counterparts (Clow, Garretson Kurtz, 1994 Lewis, 1985 Marshall, 1993 Parasuraman et al., 1988). Taninecz (1990) found that cleanliness,comfort of mattresses and pillows, and quality of towels received the highest ratings from business travellers. Lewis and Chambers (1989) and McCleary et al. (1993) also found that location was the most important factor inuencing ho tel selection by all business travellers. However, they argued that a hotels catering facilities were not important in hotel selection, as there are often many alternative dine choices nearby.Leisure travellers seem to be more concerned with room rates and value in their initial hotel selection (Lewis, 1985). Parasuraman et al. (1988) found that the quality of personal interactions with employees was a critical component of the service quality evaluation. Employees service quality has been cited as important to leisure travellers when selecting overnight accommodation (Parasuraman et al., 1988). Knutson (1988) mentioned that leisure travellers were mainly concerned with a hotels safety and security. This concern might stem from the idea that leisure trips often involve families, and these travellers have a high sensitivity to what may occur more or less them when their familiesare involved. Marshall (1993) and Clow et al. (1994) revealed that security was cited as one of the most i mportant criteria in selecting a hotel. Tourists want to be safe and unspoilt in their accommodation, and are willing to pay for this.The safety and security system may dierentiate one property from its competition, hence becoming a competitive strategy that helps a hotel to gain tourists condence and trust. Ananth et al. (1992) found that leisure travellers were likely to express concern with regard to a hotels reputation and name familiarity. Other studies have suggested that some hotel attributes are seen as important by both business and leisure travellers. Knutson (1988) examined the dierences between business and leisure travellers in an attempt to determine the attributes that initially attract these two types of travellers to a hotel, and that forge them back.Her ndings suggested that the following factors were considered by both business and leisure travellers when selecting a hotel for the rst time or for repeat patronage (1) clean, comfortable, well-maintained rooms, (2 ) convenient location, (3) prompt and courteous service, (4) safe and secure environment, and (5) friendly and courteous employees. Lewis (1984,1985) tested 66 hotel attributes to determine the basis of hotel selection by 1314 business and leisure travellers in six hotels.The ndings showed that location and price were the determinant attributes for hotel selection for both business and leisure travellers. Cadotte and Turgeon (1988) examined data from members of the AH MA (American Hotel Motel Association) on the relative frequency of 26 categories of congratulate. Survey results found that the ve most frequent compliments were (1) helpful attitude of employees, (2) cleanliness of establishment, (3) neatness of establishment, (4) quality of service, and (5) employee knowledge of service.