Business Commons^™

Salesperson-Customer Dyads In The Casino Gaming Industry: How Sales Competencies And Relationship Lifecycles Influence Customer Satisfaction And Account Profitability, Alicia Lechtenberger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Developing extraordinary relationships between sales personnel and customers is essential to corporate success. To meet the increasing demands of customers within the hospitality industry, corporations must ensure they pair customers with salespeople who are highly competent, possessing refined and adaptable skill sets that directly increase customer satisfaction and account profitability. Corporations spend billions of dollars annually on hiring and training salespeople; yet, salespeople often quit or miss their quota targets. Considering this industry-wide business problem, the purpose of this dissertation study was to determine how sales competencies influence customer satisfaction and account profitability while taking into consideration the duration of …

Alleviating Labor Crunch In Singapore's Hospitality Industry, Chuah Peini

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The acute shortage of manpower in hospitality workforce has been a persistent problem in Singapore throughout these years which adversely affects both the managerial and lower-skilled occupational groups of employees. The pandemic has further accelerated human resource issues across the country in 2020. It particularly hits the hospitality industry hard since hotel businesses are highly human-centric and the unprecedented world event has adversely resulted in severe manpower leakages and a dilution of talent pool. This paper will analyze the reasons, severity and impact of the manpower shortage within the hospitality industry in Singapore, focusing on service quality. Lastly, the author …

The Emergence Of Serviced Apartments/Apart-Hotels And Opportunities Post Covid-19, Ding Jie Ang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Serviced apartments are becoming more mainstream as people become more aware of this asset class. Since the onset of Covid-19, people have opted for serviced apartments instead of a hotel for self-contained, typically with more space with a living area, kitchen and access to laundry facilities throughout the pandemic. Combined with lower operating costs, higher profit margin, and lower cost per key at development revealed the financial resilience of this asset class as most serviced apartments operated at a higher occupancy than hotels. With renewed interest from developers and owners keen to build or convert their existing properties to serviced …

Insights On Factors Influencing Startup Failure In The Hospitality Industry, Shivangi Khurania

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Hospitality businesses and innovative startups have faced extremely high failure rates. The author provides insights on the factors that impact startup failure in the hospitality industry after performing a deep analysis on innovation frameworks such as the diffusion of innovation theory, the theory of disruptive innovation, and the ten types of innovation framework. Not only that, the author also provides insights based on their own personal experience and knowledge gained through education at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. The research explored in this paper revealed that startup failure is not based on one factor alone and how leaders in …

Methods For Teaching Mindfulness Within The Workplace, Gerrel March

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over the past few years, the world has been shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic and technological advancements that have contributed towards work-life imbalances. Now more than ever, organizations are focusing on improving mental health and well-being. This understanding holds value towards the hospitality industry as employee wellbeing has a direct link towards consumer experience. Considering the nature of the business, employees endure distress resulting from emotional labor, long work hours, etc, understanding how organizations can improve well-being is critical. This paper attempts to make significant contribution towards understanding both individual and organizational outcomes of mindfulness, best practices, and potential limitations …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Online Food Delivery Apps, Lauren Morell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The restaurant industry continues to change as Online Food Delivery apps (OFD) continue to gain more popularity because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The food delivery market has grown over 52% since the start of the pandemic. Online food delivery app platforms like DoorDash, UberEats, and Postmates began to offer delivery over the past decade, rapidly growing with the help of ghost kitchens. Consumer behavior factors and intention to use OFDs have changed as more advanced app technology becomes available, and as the restaurant industry navigates the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Many consumers favor mobile delivery apps overall convenience and perceived usefulness. …

Payment Profiles: Using Payment Transaction Data To Identify And Characterize Gamblers, Kasra Ghaharian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Payment providers in the gambling industry facilitate transactions, allowing customers to transfer money to and from wagering accounts. Payments transaction data is information that is captured from these transactions, including, for example, the type, amount, time, and location. How this data may be used for gambling harm minimization and prevention has garnered significant interest, particularly due to accelerated payments modernization in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this study, I explored the utility of payments transaction data to categorize subgroups of gamblers in order to identify individuals who may be at-risk of harm. I benchmarked six cluster analysis methods …

Negative Customer Reviews And The Online Decision-Making Process: The Role Of Construal Fit, Minji Kim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Consumers seek out online reviews to aid their decision-making, particularly when purchasing products and services online. Given their power to influence consumer behavior, online reviews have been extensively studied in various settings. While much research has focused on what determines the performance of online reviews, limited research has focused on why a particular review receives more or less attention from consumers. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how consumers with different mindsets respond to online reviews framed at different levels of construal. Applying the construal fit principle, this research predicts that consumers more fluently process online …

Predicting And Mitigating Reactance Impact On Attitude And Behavioral Intention, Matthew Ryan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

At times messaging may be of an instructive nature that can be perceived as an attempt to threaten or limit an individual’s freedom. This freedom limitation can range from individual choice to physical requirements. How a message is framed, or positioned, is very important. In certain instances, even when the message has the best intentions, if framed incorrectly can have the opposite, or boomerang, effect on people. This state is known as psychological reactance. When invoked, consumers will act in a way that eliminates the threat of freedom to restore balance. Such a state can also lead to negative implications …

A Development Of A Game-Theoretic Artificially Intelligent Neural Network Revenue Management Forecasting Model, Fatemeh Binesh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this dissertation is to create and test a risk induced game-theoretic price forecasting model. The models were tested with datasets from 3 Upper Midscale hotels in 3 locations (urban, interstate and suburb), one hotel from each location. The data was obtained from STR, a leading hospitality marketing company which consolidates all of the daily hotel data from hotels in the United States. Multiple error measures were used to compare the accuracy of models. Three LSTM models were proposed and tested; LSTM model 1 that relied on ADR to forecast ADR, LSTM model 2 that used ADR, supply, …

Cost Of Attendance And Competitive Balance In The Ncaa Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Michelle Calica Coyner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) justifies its power and regulatory structure as necessary to promote competitive balance. Despite this, there is limited research on the efficacy of NCAA policies that were implemented with the intention of supporting more parity in Division I conferences. This study examined whether the 2015 cost of attendance (COA) policy was associated with competitive balance in various groups within the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Through the lenses of the Matthew Effect and policy design theory, this study aimed to understand how NCAA policies may hurt or help inequality in college sport. Although not all …

Constructing The Perfect Girlfriend: Gender, Class, Race, & Performativity Of Paid Intimacy In Nevada Brothels, Christina Parreira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

While most research on commodified intimacy, especially in the sex industry, has explored gender dynamics, sex work researchers are beginning to also explore intersectional dynamics in the industry. But little research has examined whether or how workers may navigate these dynamics differently through the ways in which they understand and perform service labor. Much research has explored commodified intimacy in different settings, but very little attention has been paid to the different ways that workers in the same setting perform intimacy. In this dissertation I ask how do different performances of intimate service in the brothels- the girlfriend experience (GFE) …

Mobile Sports Betting Marketing Plan, Scott Flinn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

From day one, the hospitality industry in Las Vegas has been innovating and evolving to develop one-of-a-kind experiences for customers from all around the world. Over the decade's hospitality corporations have been shaped through mergers and acquisitions with the end goal of growing land-based assets, improving income statements and balance sheets for shareholders, and trying to own every dollar that a tourist spends while in the city (Bussman, 2021).

Factors Influencing Service Robot Adoption: A Comparative Analysis Of Hotel-Specific Service Robot Acceptance Models, Ying Dong

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The market for service robots is expected to expand significantly owing to the increasing relevance of service automation under the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the growing managerial interest in robotic applications in the hotel industry, current robotic research has been mostly conceptual with limited robot data on hand. In light of this issue, this paper will conduct a comparative analysis of hotel-specific service robot acceptance models between the Service Robot Acceptance Model (sRAM) and the Service Robot Integration Willingness (SRIW) framework. By identifying key elements of each service robot acceptance model, this paper puts an emphasis on investigating …

Building Customer Loyalty With Millennials In The Gaming Entertainment Industry, Daysha Catchings

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper discusses how to build customer loyalty between Millennials and casinos. Although research has indicated that casinos are losing the interest of the Millennial consumer, it is recommended that casinos do not give up on this demographic. The Millennial generation is massive, accounting for a fourth of the U.S. population. Entering the workforce at rapid speed, this generation has a large amount of spending power and is willing to pay more for a product that is deemed valuable. This paper intends to lay the groundwork for an exploratory research study on customer loyalty and Millennials in the gambling and …

Shaping Success For Mobile Applications Of Integrated Resorts, Krista Larsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As smartphones have become indispensable in society, it has become critical for integrated resorts to develop mobile applications ("apps") that serve as a marketing tool and an enhancement in the customer's travel journey. This research reviews the features of existing mobile travel apps, in addition to areas of opportunity for future innovations regarding this platform. Based on this research, this study recommends best practices for an integrated resort's mobile app. The findings of this study can be leveraged as a resource when developing and maintaining mobile apps within the hospitality industry to provide an optimal guest experience throughout the entire …

Data Analytics In Hotel And Integrated Resort Brands: An Evaluation Of Past Literature And Proposed Research For The Future, Luke Andrew Walocko

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Data analytics in hotel and integrated resort brands is a growing strategy implemented to support business decisions designed to generate revenue or save costs. This study utilizes a literature review of data analytics related publications to provide recommendations on future research topics to improve the quality of literature related to data analytics in hotel and integrated resort brands. The study is not limited to hospitality specific research and uses research from all industries to identify gaps in publications for hospitality scholars to explore. Three proposed research questions for future exploration were composed based on the comparison of literature written for …

Utilizing Gamification To Enhance Customer Engagement And Loytalty In The Hospitality Industry, Xiaoting He

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gamification involves the engagement of game elements and designs in non-game contexts. There is a need to increase the effectiveness of the conventional loyalty program, and implementing gamification has become a popular concept. Gamified hotel loyalty programs differentiate hotels from their rivals by increasing customer engagement and, ultimately, customer loyalty. Despite prior research on the effectiveness and functions of gamification, under what conditions gamification can enhance enagement lacks further investigation. This study draws on the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to develop a framework linking gamification elements with users' psychological needs, where customer engagement is enhanced when the game elements successfully satisfy …

An Assessment Of Hotel Guests’ Perceptions Of Preventive Safety Measures In The Era Of Covid-19, Un Hyeok Ko

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the era of COVID-19, hospitality was one of the industries that was most severely impacted by the virus. Spread of the virus was rapid enough to force hotels to close properties worldwide, and hotels were required to adopt safety measures and protocols in order to re-open or remain open. New types of measures, some never seen before the pandemic, were created and implemented throughout the hotel industry.

The main purpose of this study is to assess guests' perception of preventive safety initiatives and measures in the era of COVID-19 and to determine their level of satisfaction with such measures. …

The Effect Of Perceived Justice And Organizational Embeddedness On Employee Morale And Voluntary Turnover Rate After Layoffs In The Hospitality Industry, Jungjoo Bae

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that reduce the detrimental impact of layoffs. This research found that damaged employee morale and increased turnover intention of survivors after layoffs can cause more adverse impact on companies where layoffs were conducted. Also, it was found that perceived justice and organizational embeddedness can reduce the possibility of having destructive outcomes after layoffs. Additionally, the moderating impact of organizational embeddedness on the effect of perceived justice on employee morale and turnover intention was researched. Data were gathered from junior and senior undergraduate students majoring in hospitality management with at least …

The Frontier Of The Labor Movement: Latinas And The Longest Strike In Twentieth-Century Las Vegas, Maribel Estrada Calderón

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

After the mid-twentieth century, the American labor movement began to decline. Across the U.S., Union memberships and the rate of work stoppages decreased. In the hospitality-industry-driven city of Las Vegas, Nevada, however, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 more than doubled its membership. In 1989, the Elardi family purchased the Frontier Hotel and Casino and began to eliminate workers’ benefits. Led by the Culinary Union, workers went on strike on September 21, 1991, beginning one of the longest strikes in twentieth-century Las Vegas. Latina workers played critical roles in organizing and maintaining this successful, six-year-long battle against the Elardis. Positioning …

Factors Influencing Golfers' Intention To Use A Direct Booking Website, Junghoon Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To find out golfers’ perceived value of a direct booking website, an extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT 2) model is adapted to test out golfers’ behavioral intention when they book a tee time via a golf course’s website. The influential factors are Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating conditions, Hedonic Motivation, and Price Saving Orientation that predicts golfers’ behavioral intention to use. A sample has chosen through the screening questions that the target sample, who are an adult at age 18 or older, have played golf at a public golf course over the last …

Measuring Quality Of Virtual Event: Scale Development And Validation, Sung-Eun Kim

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The unprecedented global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has led to a critical reconsideration of the way humans work and live. In turn, true paradigm shifts are arising across diverse industries based on remote and online communication. Undoubtedly, traditional in-person events are transforming into virtual events through more innovative platforms and safer experiences. The market for virtual events is considerably expanding and promising; thereby, the demand for research on the nature and dynamics of virtual events is increasingly growing. However, research on virtual events and virtual event quality (VEQual) is still in its infancy and has lagged behind, resulting in a …

A Study On Mukbang User’S Consuming Behavior, Hyo Geun Song

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The main focus of this study is to examines what factors influence the tendency towards the Mukbang, and to understand the effectiveness of Mukbang. The specific purpose of this research is to examines how do the motivation of watching Mukbang affect the gratification obtained after watching Mukbang and what is the impact of the Mukbang on the utilitarian/ hedonic shopping values among Mukbang users and how do the perceived utilitarian and hedonic shopping values influence the user’s purchase intention. To find motivations of watching Mukbang, interview was performed. Five factors were developed from a interview of the responses to the …

Gambling Behaviors Among Vip Hosts In Macao, Tiange Xu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many studies have shown that casino employees are at-risk gamblers, but limited research on this topic has been conducted in Asia. Given the unique gambling setting of Macao, it would be meaningful to investigate the gambling behaviors among VIP Hosts, who play an important role in the gaming market. Specifically, the present study examined the relationship between problem gambling, cognitive distortions, and potential risk and protective factors. The author used a snowball technique to recruit participants and an online survey to collect data. A total of 41 responses were included in the data analysis. The results showed that VIP Hosts …

Managing The Performing Arts Center: Best Practices For University-Based Performing Arts Centers, Lori Cobo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

University-based performing arts centers are an asset not only for the institutions where they exist, but also the community that it serves. This thesis takes a brief look at the following topics; reporting structure, billing practices, presenting, and student tickets/fees. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Performing Arts Center has been a part of the university since 1976 and the focal point of this paper. Nineteen other similar institutions were surveyed with results from eleven others used as comparison. University-based performing arts centers can and should be seen as a strong financial partner for the institution.

Exploring The Airline Passengers’ Preferences Of Inflight Foods, Eun Min Hwang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

To keep up with a rapidly expanding aviation industry, it is critical for airline marketers to incorporate most preferred service elements to enhance the passengers’ inflight experience. To attract the valued passengers, the current study focused on inflight foods and included the attributes that address the trends of healthy and environmentally sustainable foods. Usingconjoint value analysis, the study investigated the differences on participants’ preferences and importance of inflight food attributes with their demographic profiles and travel characteristics. The research found that health and taste attributes were found to be the greatest importance of inflight foods and suggested the optimal inflight …

A Nomological Network Analysis Of Innovation In Hospitality Education And Industry, Robert H. Rippee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The development of a theory of innovation for hospitality innovation finds heightened importance due to the COVID-19 Pandemic that has unleashed a devastating and sustained disruption on global hospitality and tourism. The problem for research is that the industry lacks a taxonomy for research on innovation in hospitality. This study addresses the gap in understanding the nomological relationship between innovation constructs and the observable manifestations of innovation in the hospitality industry. This study used an emergent basic qualitative design of a phenomenon through data collected in three phases. Two large samples of literature and a series of focus groups comprised …

The Short And Long-Term Effectiveness Of Online Sales Promotion Type And Fit In Hotels, Esra Topcuoglu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sales promotion is an important component of the marketing mix and is used by marketers to communicate the company brand and products with their target consumers. Hospitality marketers adopt different sales promotion techniques for satisfying different organizational and customer needs including managing room inventory, boosting sales, differentiating the company brands, and making the consumer decision making process easier. The main focus of this research is to understand the effectiveness of different online hotel sales promotions. The specific purpose of this study is to investigate the short and long-term effects of online hotel sales promotion type (SP type) and sales promotion …

An Examination Of The Role Of Online Reviews For Niche Restaurant Segments: Casino Buffet Restaurants, Tevfik Demirciftci

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation applied hygiene factor (two-factor theory) and rational choice theory to investigate the factors which influence satisfaction for iconic, niche casino buffet restaurants, determine if the factors that impact satisfaction also impact WTP in the same direction and with the same weight, and examine the relationship between those items mentioned in online reviews and WTP in a buffet setting. Two studies were conducted to discover the key attributes of the casino buffet restaurant. In the first study, a qualitative-text analysis-was made to discover satisfiers and dissatisfiers for casino buffet restaurants. In the second study, a quantitative analysis -conjoint analysis-was …