Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly

You work the overnight shift in a large hospital. During your break at 3 :00 AM, you go to the lunchroom, get out a plastic card, and insert it into the console of a food-vending machine. An entree menu appears on the screen of the console, and you punch the "hamburger" button. Using universal computer graphics, the machine next presents a menu of possible accompa niments : cheese, relish, lettuce, tomato. You choose "the works" by pushing a button for each option. Next you see a menu of side orders. Since you're in the mood for fries, you punch in that choice, and the terminal prompts you to specify either a large or a small or der. It is 3:00 AM, after all, so you choose small. The side-order menu reappears, but you aren't interested in onion rings or any of the other choices, so you press a button for the drink menu. After selecting orange juice, you press "terminate" because you don't want even to see the dessert menu. With your order complete, the machine begins preparing food, and soon serves -simultaneously -your

A new hospital meal program offers patients more than nutritious food choices for every meal of every day —it also lays the groundwork for better eating habits in patients' daily lives

U.S. hotels have a reasonably solid panoply of safety and security equipment—but there also are surprising gaps.

Because the market is so crowded, hotels will have trouble competing on quality. Instead, hotels may be faced with nothing more than old-fashioned price competition.

This article and the one that follows report on the issues and implications of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While both articles provide similar overviews of that legislation's most important elements, Part I focuses on employers' preparations and implementation and Part II focuses on the costs of compliance

The emotions a guest feels during a hotel stay are critical components of satisfaction and loyalty.

Most hotel revenue-management systems require inputs of the forecasted demand by rate category and length of stay. A test of four different approaches to obtaining a forecast (fully disaggregated, aggregating by rate category only, aggregating by length of stay only, and aggregating by both rate category and length of stay) found that the fully disaggregated forecast produced the lowest error. Aggregating by rate category almost always resulted in a lower error measure than either aggregating by length of stay or aggregating by both rate category and length of stay. The results of this study showed that a purely disaggregated forecast (even though it meant forecasting smaller numbers) strongly outperformed even the best aggregated forecast. All aggregation approaches resulted in higher forecast error than a fully disaggregated method regardless of the error measurement used. The forecast is the most important driver of any revenue management optimization approach. Hotels should forecast at a detailed level if the true benefits available from revenue management are to be achieved.

Because benefits may accrue to both the employed and the employer, leasing workers can be a better alternative than actually hiring employees

Aparthotels are full-service hotels that are financed in much the same way as condominiums. Investors “purchase” one or more of the aparthotel's units, and return on that investment is calculated on either annual rentals or as a fixed percentage of the initial investment

As food-service operators address the challenges of labor issues, governmental regulations, litigation, and debt structuring, only the most capable and qualified leaders will be truly successful

This study of food-service managers shows that, within the next ten years, many top managers plan to retire early from their corporate jobs (although some plan to keep working). Hospitality firms should plan now to fill the gap created by such turnover

By having a plan to recover from a catastrophe, your property can be up and running again in a hurry

A description of how one club identified and responded to golf's shift from being a booming, expanding market to a more-or-less steady source of customers

Long-term, family-style ownership has helped The Homestead maintain its century-old traditions. But adherence to tradition hasn't prevented the resort from moving in new directions. In fact, innovation is a Homestead tradition

A comparison of salaries paid for jobs in the hospitality industry versus those in other industries showed that the hospitality positions on average paid less for comparable positions. The only exception was that both the hospitality industry and the comparison group (N = 140) paid about the same amount for low-level jobs—probably due to minimum-wage laws. For upper-level positions, however, the comparison showed a noticeable difference between the two groups. To assess the extent to which jobs are comparable, the author compared the knowledge, skills, and abilities (or human capital) needed for each set of jobs. For jobs in the midpoint of the human-capital scale, hospitality-industry wages averaged about 85 percent of wages paid in other industries. Hospitality-industry wages fell even shorter at the top of the human-capital scale, standing at an average of 78 percent of compensation for top positions found in the sample of other industries. As a practical matter, such pay disparities encourage the best-qualified candidates to choose employment in other industries.

To conserve energy is to save money, ensure the ability to deliver guest services, and contribute to the community and environment

The original view of ecotourism as specialized adventures experienced by a small group of hardy travelers is expanding to include so-called “soft” ecotourists, who are far more numerous and seek more services than the “hard” ecotourists. Many contemporary travelers are interested in the natural environment, but also in the comforts and easy travel afforded by the mass-tourism infrastructure. The author argues that the two are not necessarily in opposition. In fact, the revenues available from large groups of soft ecotourists may be the key to providing the financing to protect natural areas, as well as bolstering political support for maintaining natural preserves. One model for the heavy use of natural areas is to concentrate most of the activity in a small section of the attraction where site-hardening and site-softening strategies are used to manage large visitor numbers. Finally, as more tourists embrace ecotourism principles, mass-tourism operators will see the value in operating in an environmentally friendly way.

This simple study reveals significant differences between students' perceptions of the industry's training programs and what's actually out there. Such misunderstandings may lead to job dissatisfaction, discontented new managers, and unnecessary turnover

This inside look at an actual marketing plan will show you how to build yours and give you ideas for where to look for business. Only the names have been changed to protect the property

Are restrictive purchase requirements a boon to the industry, or are they not in keeping with the industry's philosophies? Here's the case for an approach to discounting that provides a rational method of price segmentation

As part of the redesign of Cornell's professional master's degree program, people with an interest in graduate business education were surveyed about the skills they consider important for career succes.

Renovating a historic hotel instead of tearing it down may not only make economic sense, but can also attract travelers who appreciate the character that comes with age.

Your hotel can improve operational efficiency, increase employee productivity, and improve guest satisfaction through empowerment. Here's how

Here's one way to incorporate experiential learning into a freshman-level course. The course is designed around a business-group experience, whereby student-conceived and student-managed companies practice management principles by actually producing goods or services for a real market

Applying yield-management principles to rate structures is complicated by what consumers perceive as unfair practices

A June 2000 study of 510 tourists examined their image of Thailand as an international travel destination and assessed the effects of the destination's image on the likelihood of the travelers' returning there. Using several statistical analyses, the study indicates that Thailand has a positive image as a rich cultural, natural, and historical travel destination. At the same time, however, Thailand's image is tarnished by pollution, prostitution, and deterioration of some tourist attractions. On balance, most tourists surveyed indicated that they would consider a return visit to Thailand. The only truly unsatisfied customers were certain tourists who had found themselves on a “free” tour that promoted shopping and other types of spending, yet left them in poor restaurants and hotels.

A study of more than 400 food-service managers found that well over one-fourth of the respondents intended to leave their position in the near future—with at least half of those planning to depart the food-service business entirely. Even among the managers who were reasonably content with their jobs in the near term, two out of five thought it was unlikely that they'd stay with their company for five years. The top reason given by the respondents for wanting to leave was salary and benefits. Given previous studies of reasons for turnover, the authors examined the extent of a connection between turnover intention and the following factors: job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and interrole conflict, and such demographic variables as age, tenure, race, and gender. Three of those factors had a significant effect on respondents' intent to leave in the short term: intrinsic job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and age. In each case, the higher the value of the variable (more satisfaction, greater age), the less likely the chances of turnover. Satisfaction also played a significant part in expectations of long-term turnover.

From state-run lotteries to full-scale casinos on riverboats and Native Americans' reservations, legalized gambling has become commonplace in the U.S. since 1983

Hotel operators can gain room sales via the “silicon highway” by making certain their electronic listings for travel agents are complete and up-to-date. Moreover, in the near future, guests will make direct bookings via their own computers

The innkeeper's duty to protect guest property has been extended to the parking lot in some states.

Advances in technology now allow hotel operators to “remember” every guest's preferences through guest histories. However, few hotels are making use of the mountain of data that hotel guests leave behind

With recent court decisions and new legislation, more employees have gained the right to sue and the limits to awards have been removed

After two financial restructurings in the 1980s, Holiday Inn was spun off from its former corporation and purchased by Bass PLC. With that new management at the helm, the turmoil caused by financial and market forces should be behind the chain, which is still one of the largest in the world

After three years of lagging prices and revenues, the lodging industry has begun to catch up on profits—thanks mostly to cost cutting. The problem now is that the cost-cutting well has gone dry, and improved profits require improved prices

Here's an easy way to use a computer spreadsheet as a menu-analysis tool help you get a handle on food costs and profits

Here's how to calculate contribution margins for the three meal periods, for different menu categories, and for individual menu items—as well as for the operation as a whole. The procedure is a useful method for analyzing menu items and builds on the portfolio analysis inherent in other menu-analysis methods

The crucial element in a strategy for boosting restaurant revenues may be to relate prices to the length of time guests spend at the table. But, as the Witch of the West told Dorothy, the issue is how to do it.

Hotels can apply revenue-management systems to their function spaces—and boost the revenue contribution from those spaces.

A look at the extent of service improvements to be gained through investments in technology and expanded facilities and programs

Spas are a popular amenity in upscale and destination hotels. They can also be a revenue center. Here are some of the considerations for marketing and operating your spa

Increasing surveys' response rates can substantially enhance the accuracy of interpreted findings. Here are proven, ready-to-use suggestions for encouraging survey returns while keeping costs in line with traditional survey techniques.

Relatively simple conservation actions plus affordable energy-management technologies should be the first steps taken by those interested in reducing energy usage and costs.

Almost 20 years later, the late D. Daryl Wyckoff's ideas and findings regarding service quality still have merit, as confirmed by this commentary by one of professor Wyckoff's colleagues. Building on Wyckoff's examples and illustrations, this article expands on his notion of service management—for example, by noting the success factors of Baldrige-award winners, and the usefulness of gap analysis (e.g., customers' expectations versus the service actually delivered). The fact is that quality-improvement efforts need to be continuous rather than considered a one-time fix. Quality is an ongoing process that many managers describe as a journey rather than a destination. Quality requires hard work, a lot of attention to detail, and money to implement. All the evidence suggests, however, that those willing to make the investment will reap the rewards.

The complexities of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act can pose administrative headaches and legal liability for managers unaware of its provisions. Worse, managers have no legal precedents to guide their FMLA decisions.

Jet lag is a bane of international travel, robbing travelers of the full enjoyment of their destination for the first day or two after arrival. However, by understanding the jet-lag mechanism, hoteliers can help their guests overcome jet lag's worst effects. The key strategy is to assist travelers in reorienting their circadian rhythm (i.e., their internal clock), to the new time zone. While providing early check-in is helpful, the recommended tactic is to encourage travelers to “get on the clock” of their destination, even if that means helping the guest to stay awake for an extended time. The point of that tactic is to enable guests to get a good night's sleep on the destination's clock, rather than that of their origination point. To that end, bright light during daytime is just as helpful as full darkness (and an absence of other disturbances) at night. Certainly, it is essential to ensure that the room's environment and the bed is comfortable. Making it possible for guests to exercise or to be physically active in some manner is helpful. Alcohol and caffeine are not helpful, because they disturb sleep patterns. Although hoteliers should not encourange inappropriate muse of medications, some guests may use over-the-counter antihistamines to help ensure drowsiness at appropriate times.

Although productivity is inherently difficult to measure in food-service operations, a simple approach relating number of chefs to meals produced gives a reasonable indication of the benefits of using cook-chill technology and prepared vegetables.

A well-conceived business plan allows senior managers to address strategic issues to manage the company effectively.

Cuba attracts nearly a half million foreign tourists annually, but that figure represents less than 4 percent of the total arrivals to the Caribbean. Since U.S. citizens can't travel to Cuba, Cuban tourism relies on Europeans, Canadians, and Latin Americans. The number of visitor arrivals has increased by almost 75 percent since 1990, which in turn has generated foreign exchange in excess of $500 million. But Cuba today is a onedimensional destination with a single competitive advantage over any other island destination in the Caribbean except Haiti: namely, Cuba is inexpensive. Most of Cuba's lodging products are basic brick-and-mortar structures built on beaches. They have few amenities, simple F&B options, limited recreational activities and nighttime entertainment, and no shopping opportunities. While money for new hotel projects is extremely tight even for the best of projects, it's unlikely Cuba will attract large-scale development until its tourism infrastructure is expanded.