Breaking into emerging international hotel markets

Abstract

Purpose -This paper examines some of the most difficult barriers that hotel chains must overcome when trying to expand internationally. It argues for the importance of the role of well educated hotel management trainees and new graduates in this process. Design/methodology/approach -The methodology was to compare the problems faced by three major international hotel chains (Mövenpick, Kempinski, and Radisson) when expanding into emerging markets with those of a "base case": The Moscow Aerostar Hotel. Data were obtained through interviews and processed in a comparative manner, contrasting it with the contents of the main case. Findings -Having identified the common issues that the companies interviewed had to resolve when expanding, which skills educators in hospitality management should enhance in order to produce professionals who are mentally equipped to face current and future challenges with regards to the internationalisation of hotels were determined. Practical implications -The recommendations arising from this piece will be of use to educators in hospitality management when designing programmes of study and curricula to meet the needs of the labour market. Equally, it will warn practitioners of the common problems to be faced when breaking into international hotel markets based on the experience of colleagues in the industry. Originality/value -Both practitioners and educators in the hospitality domain will benefit from the synthesis offered in this paper, as it puts together convergent views on what currently worries major players in the field during this time of challenging, but unavoidable globalisation.

Entrepreneurial approaches to the internationalisation of Portugal’s hotel industry

“…Another important contribution of the study is the confirmation that in the international expansion of the hotel business the proactive attitude is relevant, in line with evidence provided by previous research (Hutchinson et al, 2007;Niñerola et al, 2016;Velo and Mittaz, 2006;Pine and Qi, 2004).…”

“…Such a scenario indicates the need to further develop research efforts in the hotel industry sector as to 'why' question, beside 'where' and 'how' options during internationalisation (Niñerola et al, 2016;Velo and Mittaz, 2006;Pine and Qi, 2004). The literature demonstrates that several factors such as firm characteristics and environment do influence the internationalisation decision (Mejri and Umemoto, 2010), but a lack of knowledge exists regarding the factors that drive exporting attitudes (Wood et al, 2015).…”

Impact of a firm's commitment to learning and open-mindedness on its organizational innovation among Russian manufacturing firms

“…According to Velo and Mittaz (2006), open-mindedness is a crucial attribute if a firm is to develop new organizational forms to be successful in international markets. In their study of the hospitality business, they concluded that open-mindedness was one of the key abilities that helped a firm to find new organizational forms and adapt to a new international environment.…”

Hospitality Fresh Graduates’ Competency and Hotel Job Offer Decisions

“…In addition, Velo and Mittaz (2006) stated that an employee who are able to address problems faced by customers in an instant will be beneficial on both personal and organizational level. Not much can be expected from a fresh graduate in terms of skills and competency but the their ability to try and apply what they have learn into practice is highly appreciative (Gbadamosi et al, 2015).…”