Chinese hotel guest perception of international chain hotels under the same hotel brand in different travel destinations

Abstract

A qualitative approach was employed to examine how Chinese hotel guests perceive international chain hotels in different travel destinations (i.e. China and abroad) under the same brand. A total of 13,204 reviews were retrieved from online hotel review Web sites, namely DaoDao.com and Ctrip.com. Content analysis of the reviews showed discrepancies in the perceptions. Chinese favoritism toward the West affected the perception of hotel service quality. Empirical results revealed the belief that hotel services in Western cities and Hong Kong are better compared with those of hotels in China. However, the perception in terms of location, rooms and facilities, cleanliness, and value was mainly affected by the experience during the actual hotel stay. No noticeable influence of Chinese favoritism was found.

Keywords

Chinese hotel guests perception international hotel chains Chinese favoritism hotel review Web sites

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alden

Steenkamp

JEM

Batra

(1999) Brand positioning through advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: the role of global consumer culture. Journal of Marketing 63(1): 75–87.

Ananth

DeMicco

Moreo

. (1992) Marketplace lodging needs of mature travellers. The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly 33(4): 12–24.

Arlt

(2006) Chinese tourists behaviour in ‘Elsewhereland’. In: Conference Proceedings: Tourism in Asia Conference, Leeds Metropolitan University, 10–12 June, Leeds, England.

Bulchand-Gidumal

Melián-González

López-Valcárcel

(2011) Improving hotel ratings by offering free Wi-Fi. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology 2(3): 235–245.

Cai

Wang

(2014) Budget hotels planning to grow overseas units. Available at: http://www.legendholdings.com.cn/en/NewsCenter/MediaReports.aspx?tid=5e2961d8-3bbc-4b10-b0d7-07b89625342a (accessed 13 May 2015).

Cheang

(2013) How Chinese tourists are shaping world’s retail and travel sectors. South China Morning Post. Available at: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1226073/ (accessed 13 May 2015).

ChinaTravelGuide (2015) China Outbound Tourism in 2014. Available at: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/2014statistics/outbound.htm (accessed 11 July 2015).

China Travel Trends (CTT) (2012) Essential China Travel Trends-2012 Year of the Dragon edition. China Travel Trends. Available at: http://www.chinatraveltrendsbook.com/dragonedition/ (accessed 13 May 2015).

Choi

Lehto

Morrison

(2007) Destination image representation on the web: content analysis of Macau travel related websites. Tourism Management 28(1): 118–129.

10.

DaoDao (2013) DaoDao. Available at: http://www.daodao.com (accessed 15 July 2015).

11.

De Chernatony

Segal-Horn

(2003) The criteria for successful services brands. European Journal of Marketing 37(7/8): 1095–1118.

12.

Dolnicar

Otter

(2003)Which hotel attributes matter? A review of previous and a framework for further research. In: Conference Proceedings: Asia Pacific Tourism Association 9th Annual Conference (eds Griffin

Harris

), Sydney, Australia, 6–9 July 2003, pp. 176–188. Sydney: University of Technology Sydney.

13.

Euromonitor International (2012) Boomers as consumers. Available at: http://www.euromonitor.com/boomers-as-consumers/report (accessed 13 May 2015).

14.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (2013) Service culture. Available at: http://www.fourseasons.com/about_four_seasons/service-culture/ (accesssed 13 May 2015).

15.

Ger

Belk

Lascu

(1993) The development of consumer desire in marketizing and developing economies: The cases of Romania and Turkey. Advances in Consumer Research 20(1): 102–107.

16.

Gries

(2004) China’s New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy. London: University of California Press.

17.

Ryan

(2008) Chinese clientele at Chinese hotels-preferences and satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management 27(3): 337–345.

18.

Wang

(2015) Cultural identity and consumer ethnocentrism impacts on preference and purchase of domestic versus import brands: an empirical study in China. Journal of Business Research 68(6): 1225–1233.

19.

Heung

VCS

(2000) Satisfaction levels of mainland Chinese travelers with Hong Kong hotel services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 12(5): 308–315.

20.

Huang

Cai

(2015) Modeling consumer-based brand equity for multinational hotel brands–When hosts become guests. Tourism Management 46: 431–443.

21.

Hsu

(2014) Brand evaluation of foreign versus domestic luxury hotels by Chinese travelers. Journal of China Tourism Research 10(1): 35–50.

22.

Hsu

Assaf

(2012) A customer-based brand equity model for upscale hotels. Journal of Travel Research 51(1): 81–93.

23.

InterContinental Hotels Group (2014) Explore hotels and destinations. Available at: http://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/hd (accessed 13 May 2015).

24.

Intercontinental Hotels Group (2015) The future of Chinese Travel. Available at: http://www.ihgplc.com/chinesetravel/ (accessed 11 July 2015).

25.

Johnson

Vanetti

(2005) Locational strategies of international hotel chains. Annals of Tourism Research 32(4): 1077–1099.

26.

Kandampully

Juwaheer

(2011) The influence of a hotel firm’s quality of service and image and its effect on tourism customer loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration 12(1): 21–42.

27.

Kau

Lim

(2005) Clustering of Chinese tourists to Singapore: an analysis of their motivations, values, and satisfaction. International Journal of Tourism Research 7(4/5): 231–248.

28.

Kaynak

Kara

(2002) Consumer perceptions of foreign products: an analysis of product-country images and ethnocentrism. European Journal of Marketing 30(7/8): 928–949.

29.

Knutson

Stevens

Wullaert

. (1991) LODGSERV: a service quality index for the lodging industry. Hospitality Research Journal 14(3): 277–284.

30.

Kwek

Lee

(2015) How “Face” Matters: Chinese Corporate Tourists in Australia. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 32(1–2): 120–140.

31.

Langfield

(2014) Sheraton’s record expansion targets emerging market growth. CNBC. Available at: http://www.cnbc.com/2014/03/10/sheratons-record-expansion-targets-emerging-market-growth.html (accessed 12 July 2015).

32.

Laforet

Chen

(2012) Chinese and British consumers’ evaluation of Chinese and international brands and factors affecting their choice. Journal of World Business 47(1): 54–63.

33.

Law

Cheung

(2010) The perceived destination image of Hong Kong as revealed in the travel blogs of mainland Chinese tourists. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration 11(4): 303–327.

34.

LeBlanc

Nguyen

(1996) An examination of the factors that signal hotel image to travellers. Journal of Vacation Marketing 3(1): 32–42.

35.

Legohérel

Hsu

Daucé

(2015) Variety-seeking: using the CHAID segmentation approach in analyzing the international traveler market. Tourism Management 46: 359–366.

36.

Leung

Law

Lee

(2011) The perceived destination image of Hong Kong on Ctrip.com. International Journal of Tourism Research 13(2): 124–140.

37.

Lai

Harrill

. (2011) When east meets west: an exploratory study on Chinese outbound tourists’ travel expectations. Tourism Management 32(4): 741–749.

38.

Mikhaylov

Laver

Benoit

(2012) Coder reliability and misclassification in the human coding of party manifestos. Political Analysis 20(1): 78–91.

39.

Min

(1997) Benchmarking the quality of hotel services: managerial perspectives. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 1 4(6): 582–597.

40.

Mok

DeFranco

(2000) Chinese cultural values: their implications for travel and tourism marketing. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 8(2): 99–114.

41.

Nielson

(2014) Why intercontinental hotels group wants to expand in China. Market Realist. Available at: http://marketrealist.com/2014/08/why-intercontinental-hotels-asset-light-strategy-drives-growth/ (accessed 12 July 2015).

42.

O’Cass

Grace

(2004) Exploring consumer experiences with a service brand. Journal of Product & Brand Management 1 3(4): 257–268.

43.

O’Connor

(2008) User-generated content and travel: a case study on TripAdvisor.com. In: O’Connor

Höpken

Gretzel

(eds) Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2008. Vienna: Springer, pp. 47–58.

44.

Overby

Woodruff

Gardial

(2005) The influence of culture upon consumers’ desired value perceptions: a research agenda. Marketing Theory 5(2): 139–163.

45.

Parasuraman

Zeithaml

Berry

(1988) SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality. Journal of Retailing 64(1): 12–40.

46.

Pine

Phillios

(2005) Performance comparisons of hotels in China. International Journal of Hospitality Management 24(1): 57–73.

47.

Pine

(2004) Barriers to hotel chain development in China. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 16(1): 37–44.

48.

Pine

Zhang

(2000) The challenges and opportunities of franchising in China’s hotel industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 12(5): 300–307.

49.

Plowright

(2015) Per capita spending falls as travellers pay out more on experiences and less at the shops. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/044217d2-ed01-11e4-a81a00144feab7de.html (accessed 11 July 2015).

50.

Rauch

Collins

Nale

. (2015) Measuring service quality in mid-scale hotels. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 27(1): 87–106.

51.

Rivers

Toh

Alaoui

(1991) Frequent-stayer programs: the demographic, behavioural, and attitudinal characteristics of hotel steady sleepers. Journal of Travel Research 30(2): 41–45.

52.

Roth

Romeo

(1992) Matching product category and country image perceptions: a framework for managing country-of-origin effects. Journal of International Business Studies 3: 477–497.

53.

Seo

Buchanan-Oliver

Cruz

AGB

(2015) Luxury brand markets as confluences of multiple cultural beliefs. International Marketing Review 32(2): 141–159.

54.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (2014a) Sheraton hotel directory: all hotels. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/directory/hotels/all/list.html. (accessed 13 May 2015).

55.

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts (2014b) Overview. http://development.starwoodhotels.com/brands/sheraton (accessed 13 May 2015).

56.

Shi

(1997) A divisible search model of fiat money. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society 65(1): 75–102.

57.

Shoval

McKercher

. (2011) Hotel location and tourist activity in cities. Annals of Tourism Research 38(4): 1594–1612.

58.

South China Morning Post Editorial (2013) China’s tourism law will benefit everyone. South China Morning Post. Available at: http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1236226/chinas- tourism-law-will-benefit-everyone (accessed 13 May 2015).

59.

Stringam

Gerdes

Jr (2010) An analysis of word-of-mouse ratings and guest comments of online hotel distribution sites. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 19(7): 773–796.

60.

Swanson

Chen

(2015) The impact of perceived service fairness and quality on the behavioral intentions of chinese hotel guests: the mediating role of consumption emotions. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 33(sup1): 88–102.

61.

Tepeci

(1999) Increasing brand loyalty in the hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 11(5): 223–230.

62.

The Economist (2014) How the growing Chinese middle class is changing the global tourism industry. Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/international/21601028-how-growing-chinese-middle-class-changing-global-tourism-industry-coming (accessed 11 July 2015).

63.

The Peninsula Hotels (2013) About Us. Available at: http://www.peninsula.com/Peninsula_Hotels/en/default.aspx#/Peninsula_Hotels/en/About_Us/Corporate_Executives/ (accessed 13 May 2015).

64.

The Ritz-Carlton (2013) About Us. Available at: http://corporate.ritzcarlton.com/en/About/GoldStandards.htm/ (accessed 13 May 2015).

65.

TripAdvisor (2013) About TripAdvisor. Available at: http://www.tripadvisor.com/PressCenter-c6-About_Us.html (accessed 13 May 2015).

66.

Tse

Hobson

(2008) The forces shaping china’s outbound tourism. Journal of China Tourism Research 4(2): 136–155.

67.

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2013a) The Chinese Outbound Travel Market – 2012 Update. Madrid: United Nation World Tourism Organization.

68.

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2013b) UNWTO Tourism Highlights. Madrid. United Nation World Tourism Organization.

69.

Wang

Chen

(2004) Consumer ethnocentrism and willingness to buy domestic products in a developing country setting: testing moderating effects. Journal of Consumer Marketing 21(6): 391–400.

70.

Wang

Vela

Tyler

(2008) Cultural perspectives: Chinese perceptions of UK hotel service quality. International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research 2(4): 312–329.

71.

Whitla

Walters

PGP

Davies

(2007) Global strategies in the international hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management 26(4): 777–792.

72.

Winit

Gregory

Cleveland

. (2014) Global vs local brands: how home country bias and price differences impact brand evaluations. International Marketing Review 31(2): 102–128.

73.

Xiao

(1999) New development strategies of Chinese joint-venture hotels. China Tourism News, B1.

74.

Xiao

O’Neill

Wang

(2008) International hotel development: a study of potential franchisees in China. International Journal of Hospitality Management 27(3): 325–336.

75.

Law

(2009) The impact of online user reviews on hotel room sales. International Journal of Hospitality Management 28(1): 180–182.

76.

Zemke

DMV

Neal

Shoemaker

Kirsch

(2015) Hotel cleanliness: will guests pay for enhanced disinfection? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 27(4): 690–710.

77.

Zhang

(1996) Chinese consumers’ evaluation of foreign products: the influence of culture, product types, and product presentation format. European Journal of Marketing 30(12): 50–68.