Tourism and Hotel Management: A European Case Study

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Running Head: RESEARCH PROJECT
How hotels can influence tourism rate at tourists’ destinations in
European nations: Focus on Metropole Hotel Switzerland,
Imperial Hotel UK and W Barcelona

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RESEARCH PROJECT
Abstract
Hospitality is one of the significant parts of the travel industry and is principal for the travel
industry supply. It is significant for the general population to rest and recharge amid the travel
and the hotels must help in these angles. Travel Industry needs to comprehend its significant job
in GDP development of an economy. The hotels go about as a wellspring of solace and renewal
and this is significant, as individuals need to be happy amid their voyage and appreciate certain
exercises, which are just accessible in lodgings. Metropole lodging Switzerland, majestic inn UK
and W Barcelona are significant hotels chosen for this investigation to watch the fulfillment of
tourists from these hotels. The objective of this examination is to gather recommendations for the
lodgings, which can be actualized by the executives of these hotels to expand traveler's
fulfillment and the travel industry rate. Questioners and interviews are a piece of this examination
procedure. The outcomes will uncover that hotel management can control factors like nature
travel, arrangement of guide and home like condition to vacationers to expand the travel industry
rate.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction.....................................................................................................................5
Background of the study...............................................................................................................5
Aims and objectives.....................................................................................................................5
Research questions.......................................................................................................................5
Research objectives......................................................................................................................6
Approach and Methodology.........................................................................................................6
Chapter preview............................................................................................................................6
Chapter 2: Literature Review...........................................................................................................8
Overview......................................................................................................................................8
Attraction of customers................................................................................................................9
Customer management and satisfaction.....................................................................................10
Chapter 3: Research Methodology.................................................................................................11
Research philosophy...................................................................................................................11
Research design..........................................................................................................................11
Research approach......................................................................................................................12
Data collection and analysis.......................................................................................................12
Sampling size and technique......................................................................................................13
Ethical considerations.................................................................................................................13
Chapter 4: Analysis and Findings...................................................................................................14
Analysis:.....................................................................................................................................14

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Discussion:.............................................................................................................................22
Qualitative:.................................................................................................................................23
Analysis:.................................................................................................................................24
Chapter 5: Critical Appraisal, Recommendations & Suggestions for Further Work.....................25
Chapter 6: Conclusions...................................................................................................................26
Chapter 7: Reflection......................................................................................................................27
Reference List:................................................................................................................................28
Appendix:.......................................................................................................................................31
Questionnaire:.............................................................................................................................31

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Accommodation is one of the major aspects of the tourism industry and is fundamental for
tourism supply. It is important for the people to rest and replenish during the travel and the
commercial accommodations help in these aspects. The location of the hotel always has a
significant impact on the tourists visiting a destination (Ali et al. 2014). The urban tourism
industry is benefiting from the information about how people travel from one place to another
and they place themselves in such a way that they can attract the nodes of tourist activity and use
the clusters erratically throughout the world. The increase in tourism is affecting the economic
growth of the countries and therefore, the government is trying to introduce increased tourism so
that the GDP can be increased extensively. The hotels act as a source of comfort and
replenishment and this is very important as people want to be comfortable during their journey
and enjoy certain activities, which are only available in hotels (Ali et al. 2016). A place without a
hotel is not attractive, as people cannot stay there, especially during the night or during bad
weather. The accommodation for the tourists acts as an important function for both urban and
rural tourism and it provides the tourists with the opportunity to stay for a long time and enjoy the
locality or attractions, while their spending offers to the regional prosperity. The accommodation
and the hotels act as the basic aspect for the exploration of the non-urban and urban environment
for the tourist and this tendency provides the regional areas with peripheral opportunities to
expand and intensify the need of the tourists and find relevant information relying on the
attraction and establishment of urban tourism initiatives (Jiang and Kim 2015).
Aims and objectives
The aim of the study is to provide knowledge how hotels and their management at different spots
all across the Europe continues influencing the tourism rate in the tourist destinations.
Research questions
 What measures must be taken by the European hotels to attract foreign tourists?

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 What changes are required in architecture, design, facilities and menu to target customers
from distant regions?
 How important it is to align hotel management with national goals of tourism?
 Can hotel management contribute to exploring potential markets of tourists outside
Europe?
 What matters the most in satisfaction of international tourists?
Research objectives
1. To facilitate relationships between economic growth and tourist rate
2. To investigate the relationship of hotel maintenance with tourism rate
3. Find out much hotel repute and brand image is important to attract customers
Approach and Methodology
The focus of the study will be on gathering primary data so that the researcher can gather first-
hand information about the topic and use those large samples in different ways to generate data
and satisfy the objectives of the research. Firstly, a quantitative research method will be applied
to generate data and statistical information will be derived to understand the impact of the hotels
on the tourism rate and the level of satisfaction and expectations of the customers. This will also
help to understand the impact of the hotels on the tourists of the tourist destinations. Qualitative
data collection will also be done to understand the behaviours of the customers and the factors
that influence the customers to stay in a particular location and the relationship with the hotels. It
will also show the impact on economic growth and the rate of tourism with respect to the
European Nations. This research will focus on the three hotels, the hotel Metropolis in
Switzerland, the Imperial Hotel of UK and W Barcelona in Spain. The collection of the data will
be analysed through the observational methods and statistical data, which can help to understand
easily the factors that influence tourism and the behaviour of the customers. The research will be
high-priced and it will be including a large sampling size for the same.

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Chapter preview
The chapter introduction will introduce to the project report and will help the researcher to direct
and reason the way it is produced. It will also show the aims and objectives of a project and will
show the overview of approach and methodology in brief. The literature review will be showing
the data that had been used in previous journals for secondary research, which can help to
conclude the overview of the main theme and will concentrate on the options present that can
make the particular project work irrelevant. The chapter research methodology will be identifying
the methodology that is used for the research and the way in which the research has been planned
to conduct the project work appropriately, within time and stipulated budget. It will also help to
understand the perspective of the work and will be focusing on the desired outcome using
specified methods. The chapter analysis and findings will show, interpret and analyse the results
and the findings gathered and will offer a clear description and explanation of the processes that
can help to converge to the necessary outcomes. The critical appraisal will compare the
theoretical predictions and the alternative systems and the chapter conclusions will be
summarising what has been done in the project and the results will be drawn.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview
According to Guttentag (2015), the accommodation itself does not attract tourists but they
provide the people with support services that act as the core element to the tourism industry,
which again helps to improve the condition in the industry and allow the visitors to enjoy the
locality and the attractions by contributing their spendings to the local economy. Tussyadiah and
Pesonen (2016) says that it is the tendency of the urban establishments to capture the peripheral
opportunities from the industry intensifies the need among the tourists so that they can rely on
these establishments during the course of the journey and help to generate the motivation among
the tourists for travelling. The modern accommodations are helping the tourists with the desire to
undergo a greater level of tourism product at a particular establishment or locality and provide
them with the assistance that is apt for a decisive tourism outcome. Pons et al. (2014) argues that
the hotel industry manages its operations in such a way that it can reflect the vital components of
any business product and allows itself to a position with vogue and creativity that can increase
the accessibility to different properties like transport, infrastructure and information technology.
Gössling and Lane (2015) says that the location of the hotel industries can increase the appeal
and accessibility principally and can help companies in the decision making so that they can
become an integral part of the tourism infrastructure and this is because, without proper
hospitality and services, tourists will not visit a destination at all. Pace (2016) states that
accommodation is the largest sub-sector of the tourism industry and is generally diverse and
large, this is associated with the characters of the transport industry, international tourism,
regional tourism and national tourism. According to Tussyadiah and Zach (2017), it helps to
attract more investment in the tourism product and acts as an element to the wider economic
development strategies that can play a primary role in the development of a sustainable and
successful tourism product. Dredge et al. (2016) opines that in addition to the other services, the
accommodation also helps to influence additional sales opportunities through good hospitality
services and complex tourism methods that can help to anticipate the generation of considerable
profit from the customers, just like in the case of casinos and bars, and gather extensive revenue
from those sources.

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Attraction of customers
According to Carter et al. (2014) Fortanier and Van Wijk (2010), the accommodation
competitiveness has increased in several places where tourists arrives the most and it had been
seen that these accommodations can respond to the wide customers' demands and can influence
them to come back to the place again for better hospitality service. Mueller and Kaufmann
(2011) contradicts that it has been important for the hotels to maintain the design and the
infrastructure so that it can attract more customers and can respond to the wide customer
demands. Customers in the modern day world are having wider demands and therefore, the
vision, mission of the hotel has to be changed according to the trends in the market, and they
cannot ignore the arrangement as well (Ayuso 2016). Increase in tourism has eradicated
economical crisis of several regions and has been acting as strength however, several factors
affect different parts of the year. It has been seen in Switzerland that several factors like the
political condition and the structure of the tourism industry decreased international tourism but
had increased the domestic plans. This means that the behaviour of the customers depend on the
behaviour of the industry and varies according to the standards or the patterns as well (Barros and
Alves 2014).
Fang and Law (2016) states that several countries are associated with domestic tourism and
therefore, the prices for hospitality industries are less and have a positive impact on the
development of the industry in a sustainable manner. On the contrary, Law et al. (2015) says that
in most of the countries, it has been seen that a proper digital advertisement campaign is
attracting many customers and customer relationship management has been one of the major
factors that are attracting the customers from all over the world. Some factors like the loyalty
programs and digital marketing is allowing the companies to act as a benefit to the tourist
destinations (Tsiotras et al. 2016). Boniface et al. (2016) states that the customers are attracted
because of the hospitality, as these companies provide them with services that make the travel
better and help them to replenish and provide them with the motivation to travel. Becker (2016)
also preach that registration of the competition services on the online travel agencies has also
attracted people to the hotels and the introduction of latest technologies like virtual reality has
influenced the stay of the tourist positively, helping in the extensive attraction of tourists in the
tourism industry of the European Nations.

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Customer management and satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is one of the major concerns of the tourism industry and it is important to
gather feedback about the products and services offered by the companies so that changes can be
made to enhance the activities to increase success for the company (Xiang et al. 2015). Moutinho
and Vargas-Sanchez (2018) states the tourism industry strives on customer relations and
therefore, they have to maintain, create and identify the dedicated customer base in the
competitive market. Therefore, it is important to introduce customer relationship management so
that they can solve the core customer problems and deliver them with the best quality, the lowest
price and a friendly approach that can make a difference in the industry (Vellas 2016). It has been
important for the modern companies to provide the customers with extended customer service so
that they can get an edge over the other companies and increase the value towards the services.
Khan et al. (2017) states, with the help of customer relationship management, the company can
be able to enhance the aesthetic value of services and build an opportunity that can introduce
interpersonal relations with the customers. Prebensen et al. (2018) argues that CRM has been a
single database that has helped many companies like the Hilton Hotel, The Grand Oberoi and The
Hyatt International to increase the sales and the productivity. This is because it can blueprint the
structure in which the company will work and take the context of customer preferences to help
the company create offers that are more lucrative for the customers (Gmelch and Kaul 2018).
CRM has also resulted in customer retention and has helped to introduce meaningful strategies
that can develop an interest in the products of the company. Moutinho and Vargas-Sanchez
(2018) affirm that CRM has also helped in the customisation of the products and services so that
they can meet the demands of the target market. It has been responsible for providing the
customers with better customer support and assistance through phone, email and chat.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research philosophy
Research philosophy is associated with the nature, source and development of knowledge and
reacts to the beliefs in which the data will be used, collected and analysed systematically.
Research philosophy is of several kinds and they are pragmatism, positivism, realism and
interpretivism. Pragmatism is associated with mixed or multiple method designs which consist of
both qualitative and quantitative data whereas positivism is a highly structured method using
large samples, again focusing on quantitative and qualitative aspects of analysis and measurement
(Kumar 2019). Realism is it the one in which the methods are chosen according to the subject
matter. Interpretivism is associated with small samples and in-depth investigations, which are
generally qualitative. Positivism will be used in the study, as it will help to provide the factual
knowledge gained through observation and the researcher will be able to use both qualitative and
quantitative data collection method for the same (Silverman 2016). The rule of the researcher will
be limited to interpretation and data collection and the research findings will be quantifiable and
observable. This philosophy will be depending on the statistical analysis and in providing and
empiricist view to the knowledge of human existence. It can also provide an ontological view to
comprise observable, discrete event that can be interacted in a regular and determined manner
(Flick 2015).
Research design
Descriptive research will be used in the study, as it will help to determine and identify the current
issues and problems of data collection and describe a situation completely without employing the
method. This research design will be used as it can relate to the fact and employ a number of
variables, however, use only one variable to conduct a descriptive study (Flick 2015). This
design can help in the description, explanation and the validation of the research findings through
observation and statistical analysis of the result. This research design can help to analyse non-
quantified issues and topics and help to observe the phenomenon in the unchanged and natural
environment (Kumar 2019). It can also integrate the qualitative and quantitative methods of data
collection and make the process less time consuming than other experiments.

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Research approach
The research approach is one of the broad steps and processes that are used extensively for the
data collection as well as the steps that can make the process an effective one. The research
approaches that are in practice can be divided into three types, inductive, deductive and
abductive. The meaning and the ways in which these affect the research, varies from each other
in an extensive manner. The deductive approaches are one of the most common approaches that
are in practice. The deductive approach enables the researcher to use the existing theories and the
models for making the research process a successful one. One of the significant advantages of
this is that this helps the researcher to avoid confusions during the entire research (Kothari 2016).
The inductive approach on the other hand mainly relies on developing a set of theories and the
models throughout the research. Unlike the deductive research, in most of the cases, this creates
confusions and hence is avoided. The abductive approach on the other hand has been developed
as a solution to these approaches. The abductive approach is nothing, but a combination of
inductive and deductive approaches (Kumar 2019).
For this particular research, the deductive research approach has been chosen. The particular
approach will help the researcher to use the existing theories and models related to the research
and hence have been selected for the process. Considering the immense complications that are
associated with the process, the inductive research approach has been avoided.
Data collection and analysis
Data collection can be referred to as the process of collecting information from the relevant
sources to find the answer to the problem, test the hypothesis so that the researcher can evaluate
outcomes, and answer the research questions (Quinlan et al. 2019). This study will be focusing
on the primary data collection methods as it is fast and effective and it can gather first hand
experiences of the customers and the stakeholders of the companies. Both quantitative and
qualitative data collection method will be used and in the quantitative data collection method,
mathematical calculations will be used in various formats whereas in qualitative research
methods observations and the words will be used to get the results. The qualitative study will be
used for greater understanding of the topic and questionnaires with closed-ended questions will
be created for the quantitative data collection method.