TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 KEY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACED IN MANAGING ACCOMMODATIONS
2.2 DIMENSIONS OF MARKETING CHALLENGES FACED BY NEWLY AFFILIATED HOTELS
2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF HOTEL TOURISM BUSINESS
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN
3.3 STUDY POPULATION
3.4 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
3.5 DATA FOR THE STUDY: INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.1 INSTRUMENTATION
3.5.2 VALIDITY OF INSTRUMENT
3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 DATA ANALYSIS (QUESTIONNAIRE)
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATION
REFERENCES
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The fast expansion of hotel chains in last decades has been observed throughout the whole hotel industry. They have always attracted researchers’ attention being a phenomenon by themselves (Dabeva, 1998; Gee, 1994; Harvey, 2007; Ivanov and Zhechev, 2011). Usually the most often examined topics cover the nature of international hotel groups (Burges, 1995, Dabeva, 1998), political and socio-economic aspects of their development (Gee, 1994), contracts and types of affiliation (Cunill, 2010; Ivanov and Zhechev, 2011), operations and human resources management (Gomes, 2005), as well as marketing issues (Cai, 2004, Daun, 2006). Nevertheless, hotel managers’ perspective is a little bit neglected in research. As chains’ central management usually impose their rules and standards to the members as “trustworthy”, result of previous experience, hotel manager’s position and efforts to integrate them in the hotel management remain out of the sight. In fact, the hotel managers of newly affiliated hotels should pass through a long process of adapting the existing working standards to the new ones. Generally, the process of adaptation encompasses hotel operations, marketing and sales, and human resources management.
Both developed and developing countries have used hotel and tourism for various reasons, ranging from the economics to the political. This can be explained by the nature of the countries’ internal social, economic and political conditions. Developed countries, for example, have used tourism primarily to tackle problems with regards to issues in employment as a result of de-industrialization, while developing countries have diverse reasons to use tourism as a strategy towards development.
Developing countries have used tourism to generate highly sought after foreign exchange to address the problems of trade imbalance many of them are facing. In many cases, tourism has been one of the biggest contributors to the local economy. Apart from this, tourism has been used as a mechanism to co-integrate and unite countries that have multi-ethnic population. It is also used as a platform where public money is invested in order to enhance the socio-economic wellbeing of deprived local population. The propagation of tourism is another method of trying to achieve international status. The status symbolizes the country’s ability to stand on the global stage.
Many researchers concentrate on the centralized management of the international hotel groups, as a main factor, influencing operational and marketing performance of a property (Espino-Rodriguez, 2006). Brewer (2003) examines how the too strong control the franchisor or the chain management exercises may lead to negative impact on the whole property. Velo (2006) pays special attention on difficulties, deriving from cultural diversity when imposing
Western style standards in new markets, where local customs still play significant role. In this regard, Harvey (2007) recommends not to lose touch with local roots and like in many industries managers must ‘think globally and act locally’. After analyzing different units, belonging to one hotel chain, Antony (2004) identifies, that the various management styles in each hotel may result in different styles of service and quality, although both properties apply same chain’s standards. He highlights the important role of the individual hotel manager and his personality for the success of the hotel and, respectively, the chain.
Sustainability is currently a key topic in the hospitality industry. International hotel companies are promoting actions to make their hotels more sustainable and reduce their impact on the environment. However, they still have limited tools to constrain their structures to respect their sustainability standards.
One idea to reinforce the value of a brand’s sustainability policies would be to include sustainability clauses within the operating agreements signed between the brands and their properties, defining which measures can be included (meaning the ones that can be measured and monitored) and how they can be regulated.
Energy is one sustainability issue that can be monitored and easily controlled and reduced. Moreover, even if energy costs represent a small percentage of hotel’s operating costs, their reduction can provide significant increases in revenue, especially in the current economic climate where energy prices are increasing along with consumption. In terms of environmental impacts, energy is the most important source of CO2 emissions for hotels, which is a critical topic in today’s sustainable challenges. Indeed, tourism is more than ever a key issue for the environment. Its carbon impact on earth is currently of 2 percent, but will soon increase to 3 percent due to the fast growing tourist demand, going from 25 million travelers in 1950 to 1,035 million in 2012, and forecasted to reach 1.8 billion in
2030 according to the UNWTO, urging the tourism industry to take sustainability measures. Therefore, this study focuses on the Challenges facing small hotel operators in Ogun state Nigeria, A case study of Abeokuta North LGA.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The accommodation/lodging business is a very unique industry. Keiser (1989) mentioned that the uniqueness of lodging operations includes service as its product, which is intangible and cannot be stored; it is labour intensive; it requires special human resources; and it emphasizes consistency of service and high productivity. Clearly, the rapid growth in the number of accommodations in Sabah poses different challenges to small and medium sized accommodation (SMSA) operators in many ways. Previous studies reported limited financial assistance, competition or overcapacity, lower room occupancy rates and lack of government support as challenges identified by the hotel operators (Quah and Chan, 2008; Zapalska and Brozik, 2007; Saleh & Ndubisi, 2006; Joubert, 2004; Gu, 2003; Nuntsu and Tassiopoulos, 2002; Sharpley, 2002; Yeoh & Chan, 1998). Nevertheless, it is not certain that these challenges are applicable to small and medium-sized accommodation (SMSA) in Ogun State Nigeria. Furthermore, there has been little discussion about the hotel industry, especially that on small and medium-sized accommodation (SMSA), with regards to its operational issues in Ogun State Nigeria. These problems necessitates the need to carry out a study on the Challenges facing small hotel operators in Ogun state Nigeria, A case study of Abeokuta North LGA.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general objective of this study is to examine the Challenges facing small hotel operators in Ogun state Nigeria, A case study of Abeokuta North LGA. The specific objectives include the following:
1. To ascertain if lack of fund is a challenge facing Hotel operators at Abeokuta North LGA.
2. To find out the implication of competition on the performance of Hotels in Abeokuta North LGA.
3. To examine if poor management and human resource is a challenge facing Hotel operators in Abeokuta North LGA.
4. To determine the challenges facing the marketing sector of Hotels in Abeokuta North LGA.
5. To investigate the influence of the challenges facing Hotel operators in Abeokuta North LGA on their productivity.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The relevant research questions related to this study include the following:
1. Is lack of fund is a challenge facing Hotel operators at Abeokuta North LGA?
2. What is the implication of competition on the performance of Hotels in Abeokuta North LGA?
3. Is poor management and human resource is a challenge facing Hotel operators in Abeokuta North LGA?
4. What are the challenges facing the marketing sector of Hotels in Abeokuta North LGA?
5.