Increasing hotel responsiveness to customers through information sharing

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate customer responsiveness in the hotel industry, and the role of market orientation including both internal and external information sharing. Design/methodology/approach Based on a review of the supply chain management and marketing literature, a conceptual model was constructed and tested based on a survey of European hotel managers using PLS path modeling. Findings Market orientation seems to be an important basis for cross‐functional and inter‐organizational information sharing. Information exchange, both internal and external, can explain over 50 percent of customer responsiveness, as perceived by hotel managers. Research limitations/implications The study mainly focused on European four‐ and five‐star hotels. The final sample is considered representative, but relatively small (50 respondents). The observed importance of information sharing warrants further investigation. Practical implications While many hotel managers may focus on cleanliness, comfort of rooms, quality of food and friendliness, it seems that both internal and external information sharing are important antecedents of customer responsiveness, and hence satisfaction and loyalty. Originality/value This paper, by combining marketing and supply chain management concepts into one model, offers new insights into the hotel business. Customer responsiveness can be improved through market orientation and information sharing.

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