1984 research outputs found
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Preferences and Attitudes of Chinese Outbound Travelers: The Hotel Industry Welcomes a Growing Market Segment
Get PDFNumbering more than 70 million, the market of outbound Chinese travelers is already large and continues to grow. A survey of Chinese travel operators paints a picture of their clients as a focused group of travelers who seek to experience diverse aspects of the world’s cultures on trips while also making the best possible use of the time available. To that end, China’s travelers prefer such hotel room amenities as a pot to make hot water for tea, and a double sink with a separate vanity. A buffet breakfast is also high on the list, as another time saver. Most travel organizers book their clients in full-service urban hotels, because the travelers want to be close to shopping, attractions, and activities, while resorts are less popular. Although China’s outbound tourists have primarily been visiting nearby Pacific-region destinations, their target destinations are expanding to Europe and the United States, among other locations. While tour package price is always a consideration in deciding where to go, a particular problem for the Chinese travelers is the difficulty of obtaining U.S. visas. While China’s travelers would prefer planning their own independent trips, the reality is that package tours are the most practical for the foreseeable future. The world’s hotel chains have taken notice of this important market, and have developed concepts and amenities specifically intended to improve the guest experience for Chinese travelers
2013 Industry Leader Profile: Gerald D. Hines
Get PDF[Excerpt] Gerald D. Hines founded his namesake firm in Houston in 1957. Since then, the company has steadily grown into a global leader in real estate investment, development and management, and is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world, with offices in 104 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.8 billion. The firm has developed, acquired and managed properties totaling more than 488 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments
Jian Ye Li: Assessing and Managing Risks in International Real Estate Development
No full textThis case focuses on a USD $108.6 million mixed-use development project in Shanghai, China from the perspective of a U.S.-based private equity firm. The firm has been presented with an opportunity to coinvest in the project alongside a state-owned Chinese development entity and an international development firm active in the Asia- Pacific region. The case is centered around risk identification and analysis and provides students with an opportunity to explore all of the major risks that are encountered by developers and investors in both domestic and international real estate development projects. The protagonist of the case is Guy Fulton, a young real estate professional who has been tasked with weighing the various risks against the return projections for the project and who must devise a strategy with regard to proposed joint venture arrangements with the other project participants. In doing so, Guy must navigate a complex assortment of development issues and determine how his firm can proceed with the project while still satisfying the investment objectives and risk tolerances of the fund and its limited partners
One Good Turn: What Every Operator Should Know About Restaurant Plumbing
No full textWater and sewer costs are climbing across the country. Choosing the right equipment or fixtures and making sure they are installed and operating correctly will help improve your bottom line and be friendlier to the environment
Revenue Management: Advanced Strategies and Tools to Enhance Firm Profitability
Get PDFMuch of the past research on revenue management (RM) has focused on forecasting and optimization models and, more recently, on adaptation of RM to the specific needs in various industries, such as restaurants, car rental, transport and even health care services. Surprisingly, although many industries have become increasingly customer-focused, the customer seems to have been relatively forgotten in this stream of research. Our intent in this monograph is to help explore the role of marketing in RM in more depth
Strategic Price Positioning for Revenue Management: The Effects of Relative Price Position and Fluctuation on Performance
No full textEmerging price optimization models systematically incorporate competitor price information into the derivation of optimal price points. While consideration of competitor pricing at this tactical level is essential to maximizing short-term revenues, the long-term impact of competitive price positioning on revenue performance should not be overlooked. This study examines the effect of two key dimensions of strategic price positioning - relative price position and relative price fluctuation - on the revenue performance of 6998 US hotels over an 11-year period. It finds that revenue performance is strongest for hotels that price higher than the competition and maintain a consistent relative price over time. Implications for revenue management practitioners are discussed
The Relationship between New Venture Entry Mode and Firm Performance
No full textGrounded in the knowledge-based view of the firm, this paper compares the performance outcomes from different modes of new venture entry. Data from new hotels entering the United Kingdom between 2006-2010 was used to explore how entry mode (i.e., franchised or independent) impacts post-entry firm performance. Controlling for market demand and market segments, this study found that affiliation with a franchise made it easier for new owners to ramp up revenues in the first six months if the service had a high level of operational complexity (e.g., full-service hotels). After this initial benefit period no significant performance benefit accrued to branded frill-service hotels. In contrast, hotels that offered less complex services obtained higher levels of performance when relying on independent status vs. brand affiliation between six and twenty-four months after entry. Implications of the results are offered in the context of determining the value of explicit versus tacit knowledge obtained from external sources versus going it alone as an entrepreneur
Diversification Benefits of REIT Preferred and Common Stocks: A Long-Run Empirical Analysis
Get PDFWe study the diversification benefits of REIT preferred and common stocks. Taking the view of a long run investor, we conduct our analysis using data from 1992 to 2012. We examine optimal mean-variance portfolios of an investor given access to different classes of assets and establish five main results. First, preferred stock provides significant diversification benefits to all equity investors. Second, preferred stock appears to be a bond substitute. Third, preferred stock provides a venue for risk reduction for constrained investors who have access to bonds. Fourth, REITs provide an important value dimension to investors. Finally, REITs allow long only investors the ability to form higher total return portfolios than they otherwise would have been able to attain
Using the Ethical Principles of Union Organizing to Avoid Card-Check Neutrality and Corporate Campaigns
Get PDFIn the summer of 2013, after protracted negotiations, Hyatt Hotels and unite/here reached a landmark labor agreement. Of note in this agreement is the commitment by both parties to a process that leads to what they term “fair elections” for future labor representation. The concept of what represents a “fair agreement” has been a subject of debate, proposed legislation, and litigation for decades. In this paper, we explore a different concept of fairness. Rather than allow years of discord to limit the parties’ options, the proposal is to have both parties communicate under consistent standards, without intimidation and unrest. Our goal in presenting this proposal is to create an environment where all parties to a union representation decision have the opportunity to be heard fairly and, most critically, the employees are able to choose whether they wish to be represented in a free and fair election. That is, those employee groups who wish to be represented have the opportunity for collective bargaining, while those who do not want to be organized are not forced into representation