Editorial

Citation

Teare, R. (2006), "Editorial", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 18 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm.2006.04118caa.001

Editorial

This issue contains articles on eight different topics:

1. 1.

   customer service;

2. 2.

   business development;

3. 3.

   accounting practices;

4. 4.

   food service suppliers;

5. 5.

   management contracting;

6. 6.

   branding;

7. 7.

   crime and tourism; and

8. 8.

   UK pub operations.

In the opening article, Jay Kandampully proposes a customer-centred business model for the hospitality industry, with three steps. Its implementation is designed to enable a user organization to think about its corporate intent (step 1), strategic direction (step 2) and its core capabilities (step 3).

In their article “Growth strategies in the Spanish hotel sector: determining factors”, Enrique Claver, Rosario Andreu and Diego Quer identify some of the motives that underpin the types of growth strategy followed by hotel companies operating in Spain. Their study reveals that initial profitability, size, age and the indebtedness level of firms are the most commonly cited determinants of growth.

Sharlene Anderson and Chris Guilding explore the nature and potential of competitor focused accounting (CFA) practice in a large hotel setting. The most commonly reported use of CFA relates to the practice of sensitizing staff to competitors’ strengths.

Sinead O’Connell, Maeve Henchion and Alan Collins investigate Irish hoteliers’ customer service requirements of their food suppliers. Findings indicate that for short shelf-life products, the frequency of deliveries and the ability to carry out emergency deliveries is the ideal service level. Enhanced value is created by lower prices, especially in the case of long shelf-life products. Small food suppliers were thought to provide better overall product quality and to be more responsive in terms of product delivery than larger suppliers. The smaller suppliers were perceived to be weaker on pricing, product range and innovation.

Veerades Panvisavas and Stephen Taylor present a comparative study of management contracts as used by international hotel firms in Thailand and the USA. Although the practical applications were similar, they found that where differences occurred, they mostly relate to the relative lack of experience of Thai owners in dealing with international hotel firms. The study therefore highlights the influence of hotel management contract practices (as developed in the USA) on the relatively young hotel market in Thailand.

In the Research in Brief section, Winfried Daun and Raffaela David review the ways in which premium hotel brands address the ongoing challenges relating to communicating their value proposition, using industry examples to demonstrate the difficulties involved in building and sustaining a brand position. Ibrahim Ajagunna examines the problem of crime and harassment in Jamaica, together with the consequences for sustaining tourism development. Finally, John Pratten presents a Viewpoint paper on the value of the British pub to its community stakeholders, especially as it relates to public image in the context of the problems arising from the evolving drinks culture in the UK.

Richard Teare