Business Commons^™

Media Effect On Resident Attitude Toward Hosting The Olympic Games: A Cross-National Study Between China And The Usa, Qiulin Lu

Theses and Dissertations

News media helped individuals think about and understand the impacts of hosting the Olympic Games, enabling them to clarify or construct their own opinions toward an Olympic bid. The purpose of this study was to explore to what extent the public opinion of hosting the Olympic Games was affected by the newspaper media content to which the public was exposed. Based on social exchange theory, social representation theory, and agenda setting theory, two research questions were proposed: (1) Do different news media contents about the impacts of hosting the Olympic Games lead to different attitudes among the local residents? (2) …

An Integrative Model Of Muslim Students' Religiosity And Travelling Behavior To Gaming Destinations, Dawood Sulaiman Al Jahwari

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars in the tourism industry are continuously looking for new knowledge related to travel behavior, motivations, and the preferences of the main tourist segments. Demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural variables can all influence the demand for travel. Despite numerous studies on most of the demographic and socioeconomic variables, scholars have paid very little attention to religiosity with regard to travel decision-making. Specifically, no researchers have investigated the role of Islamic religiosity in predicting Muslims’ destination choice decisions. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the role of attitudes, subjective norms, travel motivations, Islamic religiosity, self-efficacy, travel constraints, constraints negotiation strategies, …

Servant Leadership And Related Issues In Chinese Hotel Industry, Yiqing Wang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Because of the economy growth and the Open Door Policy, Chinese hotel industry was under a huge expansion. Since more and more western customers are visiting and Chinese customers are having more hotel experience abroad, the service Chinese hotels used to provide dose not meet the standard anymore. So the managers and leaders need to find an appropriate approach to encourage their employees to improve the service to their customers. This research went through over 40 articles about Chinese hotel industry and Chinese culture and found out that servant leadership style should be the best approach to engage the employees.

Factors Affecting Guest Satisfaction In The Restaurant Industry Of South Mississippi, Kinsey M. Eiland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect guest services in the restaurant industry of South Mississippi as examined from the line level employee. This satisfaction can include things in the servicescape (e.g. noise level, parking availability) as well as the service support that a waiter receives from their coworkers and supervisors. By combining a research model that examines the guest server exchange with a typical guest satisfaction questionnaire, the researcher developed a two part internet survey to be administered to both restaurant patrons as well as line level employees working in the restaurant industry. The …

Transformational Leadership Increases Self-Determination And Positively Impacts Hospitality Frontline Employees, Xiao Zhang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper presents literature by exploring the role of self-determination theory between the relationship of transformational leadership and hospitality employees’ well-being. It integrates the present research on leadership style, needs theory and well-being and provides useful and meaningful information for executives and organizations who are dedicated to improve employees’ well-being.

An Investigation Into The Effect Of Consumer Experience Tourism On Brand Loyalty And Purchasing Behavior, Robin M. Back

Doctoral Dissertations

Brand loyalty and repeat purchase intentions are accepted as important and inextricably intertwined phenomena in contemporary marketing literature, with many studies pertaining to this area. In order to achieve customer loyalty, it is important for companies to create strong bonds between their products or brands and consumers. Consumer Experience Tourism (CET) has been increasingly used as a strategic marketing tool in an attempt to strengthen such bonds, particularly by producers of frequently purchased consumer staples such as food and beverages. With no studies to date identified as having tested the effects of CET on medium to long-term consumer brand loyalty …

Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) Advertising And Consumer Responses In The Lodging Industry: Functions Of Green Marketing Motive And Appeal Type, Donghwan Yoon

Doctoral Dissertations

Hotel chains are increasingly engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR) marketing to fulfill their social responsibilities. This study primarily aimed to contribute to the hospitality marketing literature and derive findings from the applied theoretical frameworks that would provide practical information for hotel CSR marketers. The study introduced three theoretical concepts: the information-processing model to provide a comprehensive framework of the attitude formation process, the attribution theory to explain the different effects of CSR motives, and the hierarchy-of-effects model to explain the relational effects of affect, cognition, and conation on consumer responses. In this sense, the study was conducted to test …

The Financial, Social, And Environmental Impacts Of Sustainable Practices On The Las Vegas Hospitality Market, John Brady

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sustainability is important to Las Vegas hospitality organizations because they operate in an environment with constrained resources. Water supply is one such constrained resource and Lake Mead is and has been far below its normal level. This lake provides the potable water supply for Southern Nevada. Southern Nevada, which is anchored by Las Vegas, worked to reduce their water consumption by 32 billion gallons between 2002 & 2014 (Southern Nevada Water Authority, 2015). This pattern tells me that Las Vegas is aware of the footprint they leave on the environment and look for ways to reduce said footprint. This is …

Food Waste At Retail, Erin G. Killeen Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food waste at retail represents forgone sales and embodies store management and disposal costs. Fresh produce is the largest contributing sector to food waste at retail and bulky, seasonal products are an added challenge when stores experience a high waste event. In order to improve, retailers need to better understand the costs of food waste, as well as how management strategies can impact these costs.

Using pumpkins as an example of bulky, seasonal products, a twofold research project was conducted to better understand contributors to, and costs of food waste at the retail level. In part one, using data from …

Analysis And Implications Of Guest Attitudes Towards Queuing In Theme Parks, Austin Lemaster

HIM 1990-2015

Queue lines are a fundamental inevitably of the modern theme park. Parks have begun to introduce various systems for combating the normal queue, some of which are at no extra cost to guests and some of which are an extra cost. These systems feature a variety of methods by which guests can bypass the normal queue and enter one featuring a minimal wait. Parks have also started to introduce elements within queues that make waiting in them easier and change guests’ perception of time, thus making the waits seem shorter. This thesis attempts to determine the attitudes of guests towards …

Considerations For Implementing A Hotel Revenue Management System, Akram Mahesh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To fully understand and implement a revenue management system, hotel managers will need to research all aspects of a system, its requirements, and the hotel’s requirements to ensure that they are implementing a system that will work best for their property. This kind of research requires finding information in literature that is scattered in many locations. An owner or manager of a small to midsize hotel would need to invest a lot of time and energy into this process. Unlike giant companies like Marriott or Hilton, small to midsize independent hotels do not have the manpower to research and implement …

The Impacts Of A Smoking Ban On Gaming Volume And Customers' Satisfaction In The Casino Industry In South Korea, Sojeong Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A growing number of countries have legislated smoke-free policies in enclosed public areas and have extended the policies to hospitality facilities. However, some states and countries exempt gaming areas from the smoking law fully or partially. Anti-smoking policy is controversial for a number of reasons, such as smokers’ strong opposition, government ordinance, public health, and economic anxiety. Casino management may worry that a smoking ban policy will result in a significant decline of casino revenue because the break for smoking may interfere with continuing play.

This thesis examined a smoking ban impacts on gaming volume and customers’ satisfaction in the …

Methods Of Teaching Social Intelligence And Its Impact On Service Quality, Martee Fischman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Current literature on social intelligence was reviewed and analyzed and most was focused on the general understanding of social intelligence and methods of measurement. There is little literature that connects social intelligence to the business world and none that focuses on the hospitality industry. It is important to fill the gap in research because social intelligence could have a significant impact on service quality, which in turn affects revenues. The current literature provides a good foundation, but more research is needed in the hospitality industry to determine the impact social intelligence actually has on service quality. Experimentation utilizing several measurement …

A Study On Employee Engagement Program In Full Service Hotel, You Han

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Relationship Between Revenue Management And Hotel Loyalty Programs, Melissa Elizabeth Buckley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Loyalty programs are a staple of the hospitality industry. As time progressed, there has been a shift among the structure of loyalty programs to not only reward the large spend of casino players, but also to compensate other frequent travelers of the hotel. As hotels continue to offer increasing benefits and compensation while reevaluating the tier structure of loyalty programs, research was necessary to discover if these loyalty programs are extracting the maximum revenue per guest and creating overall revenue for the hotel.

The purpose of the study was to uncover the relationship between revenue management and hotel loyalty programs. …

The Influence Of Tier Level Of Hotel Loyalty Programs On Guest Perceptions And Tolerance For Service Quality, Eunjin Choi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the impact of hotel loyalty program membership and tier levels on guest perceptions and tolerance for service quality in major U. S. hotel chains. A sample of 315 hotel loyalty program members and non-members were surveyed via an online self-administered survey sent by Qualtrics. The survey used a three-column format asking the adequate level of expectations, desired level of expectations, and perceptions to test survey respondents’ zone of tolerance and perceived service quality using SERVQUAL dimensions. Guest satisfaction was measured by American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). A nine-point Likert scale was applied for the measurement of service …

A Process For Optimal Resource Allocation For Integrated Resorts, Benjamin Mammina

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For anyone involved in the development of casinos or Integrated Resorts the process of planning a successful project can be rather cumbersome, arbitrary and lacking of business data to make sound financial decisions. This study will organize that process to reduce those difficulties and identify those Resources needed to provide optimal results for return on investment (ROI), total investment (TI) and overall size of the project (SF).

To determine the size of an Integrated Resort (IR) owners and developers tend to look at the building characteristics of competing or admired projects and then set their Resource parameters such as: 2000 …

The Impact Of Hotel Website Quality On Customer Reservation, Chen Tan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study focuses on the discussion of the relationship between the website design and customer reservations in Las Vegas, specifically, how important the website quality is to hotels and how the features affect the Internet bookings. Since the online market is growing and becoming more and more competitive, hotels are investigating an effective way to keep customers making reservation directly through the hotel’s own website, such as providing lowest guarantee rates, promoting loyalty points and cooperating with online travel agents. Consumers expect websites that are informative, attractive and engaging. Usability, security, personalization, usefulness, responsiveness and information content are the dimensions …

An Analysis Of Empirical Research Of Social Media And User-Generated Content In The Hospitality Industry, Didi Fan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hospitality remains highly competitive industry where establishments are always pushing new efforts to positively attract and retain consumers more so than the others. In recent years, the most significant trend in reaching to consumers is through social media. The research dives into great detail in the interactions and cause and effect between consumers and hospitality in social media such as the effect of user generated content. The research produces more details and ideas than simply engaging in social media helps hospitality establishments. The information was attained from a large content analysis of previous research, studies, surveys, experiments, statistical and quantitative …

The Economic And Social Effects Of Casino Development In Macau, Christopher Benton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explores the economic impacts that took place in Macau after the gaming monopoly ended in 2002, as well as the resulting social effects to the local region. The broader research on casino gaming was analyzed, and was then compared to the social and economic impacts that took place in Macau. Specifically, economic indicators such as employment and GDP were evaluated, along with social issues such as problem gambling, crime, and educational attainment. Many countries, specifically Asian countries, are now entertaining the idea of introducing casinos to their local communities in an effort to try and replicate the type …

Too Drunk To Gamble? Dram Shop Liability For Gaming Debts., Jeffery Benson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The service of alcohol to high-end gamblers may hinder your ability to collect unpaid debt. Gamblers have opted to use the legal theory of Dram Shop, to reduce, if not eliminate unpaid debt. Their position is that they were too drunk to gamble and therefore not responsible for their debts. Gamblers have been largely unsuccessfully using Dram Shop laws; however the casino executives should make themselves familiar with the legal precedent to ensure total liability protection.

The Effects Of Gaming Taxation On Capital Investment In Gaming Businesses, Jeremy Pollock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Microeconomic theory generally supports the idea of an inverse relationship between taxes and capital investment. The gaming industry however does not operate on a free market equilibrium of supply and demand. Regulation and taxation of this industry can distort competitive forces and, as a result, investment decisions. Forces are described herein which either strengthen or weaken this inverse relationship, as well as how they affect the value of the limited number of casino operating licenses which states grant. Higher tax rates are generally shown to result in small-scale properties, which cater to a narrow base of consumers. In contrast, low …

Customer Delight: How Do We Achieve It? Customer Service And Exceeding Expectations, Katherine Landahl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Customer loyalty is one of the greatest marketing goals of any organization. Traditionally, the key to loyalty has been satisfaction. More recently, consumer delight has been linked as having a stronger connection to loyalty. This paper explores through a literature review, the connections between customer service, loyalty, satisfaction, and delight through the lens of the experience economy. Then, recommendations are provided for academics and hospitality professionals alike on how to delight customers through future research and front-line employee policies and procedures.

Competency Based Learning In Hospitality Education And Its Impact On Future Leadership Skills, Colleen S. Wong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the past five years, hospitality educational programs have seen a distinct decline in enrollment from year to year (Oakley, 2016). Upon reflection of this decline, there could be many reasons, which caused a consecutive downward trajectory regarding enrollment. First, individuals are finding that a formal degree is not required for entry-level positions in the hospitality industry. Second, people are utilizing technology and videos to substitute for formal education and are finding success in the entry-level hiring process. Third, this generation does not see the value in formal education for entry-level employment. True as that might be, trends have shown …

Evaluating E-Relationship Marketing Features On Hotel Mobile Apps, Xiaolin Lu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The advent of technology has changed the course of marketing in both the academic and the business field. Given the increasing number of mobile transactions, hotel companies have launched mobile applications (apps) as an alternative e-relationship marketing (e-RM) channel. This study modified a progressive five-level e-relationship building model. The model was employed to evaluate e-RM features of the top 10 hotel companies’ mobile apps. The results indicated that these hotel companies maintained e-RM feature sophistication at the lower levels (Basic and Reactive), but relatively speaking, they did not utilize e-RM features extensively at the higher levels (Accountable, Proactive and Partnership). …

An Analysis Of Technology Applications In The Restaurant Industry, Muhittin Cavusoglu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the utilization of Front of House and Back of House technology applications by U.S. restaurants across different types of restaurants along with their level of IT management style, and the importance of these technology applications to the restaurants' operations. This study used secondary data. The survey data collected from 500 randomly selected restaurant technology managers who are current subscribers of Hospitality Technology Magazine as of January 2013. Response rate was 27.2% and these sample groups represented 67,299 restaurant units. The data analysis was organized into 3 parts (descriptive, factor analysis and independent …

Setting The Standard: A Study Of The Walt Disney Resort Service Model, Kelsey Freeman

Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Administration

Companies are constantly seeking new ways to keep up with the changing expectations of customers. In the hospitality industry customizing guest service to each individual guest is a step that can be taken to create lasting relationships. The Walt Disney Resorts are worth examining for their high rate of return. The purpose of this study was to analyze the best practices and success of personalizing guest experience at the Walt Disney Resorts. The researcher used a case study checklist to gather information about the efforts Disney makes to customize guest experiences.The study found that allowing guests to customize their vacation, …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Conditions Associated With Increased Risk Of Fraud: A Model For Publicly Traded Restaurant Companies, Elizabeth Yost

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central focus of this dissertation study is to understand the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the factors that contribute to increased risk of fraud in order to determine why fraud may occur despite the imposed regulation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The main premise of the study tests the application of the fraud triangle framework constructs to publicly traded restaurant companies during the time period of 2002-2014, using proxy variables defined through literature. Essentially, the study seeks to identify the factors that may provide the optimal criteria to engage in fraudulent or opportunistic behavior. The fraud triangle theoretical framework …

The Effects Of Environmental Consciousness And Menu Information On Consumers’ Perceptions Of Restaurant Image And Purchase Behavior Related To Local Foods, Daniel A.G. Remar

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability initiatives have become increasingly important and relevant to the foodservice industry. Despite the fact that consumer demand for sustainable restaurant practices has grown substantially over the last 10 years, consumers’ pro-environmental attitudes and behavioral intentions are not always turned into concordant behavior. Though foodservice operators continue to make progress in developing new methods and strategies for implementing sustainable practices into operations, getting consumers to behave in accordance with their demand is a major challenge.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to determine if consumers’ attitudes towards local food, widely considered a sustainable restaurant practice, are congruous with their …