Deep Learning Based Customer Preferences Analysis in Industry 4.0 Environment

Customer preferences analysis and modelling using deep learning in edge computing environment are critical to enhance customer relationship management that focus on a dynamically changing market place. Existing forecasting methods work well with often seen and linear demand patterns but become less accurate with intermittent demands in the catering industry. In this paper, we introduce a throughput deep learning model for both short-term and long-term demands forecasting aimed at allowing catering businesses to be highly efficient and avoid wastage. Moreover, detailed data collected from a business online booking system in the past three years have been used to train and verify the proposed model. Meanwhile, we carefully analyzed the seasonal conditions as well as past local or national events (event analysis) that could have had critical impact on the sales. The results are compared with the best performing forecast methods Xgboost and autoregressive moving average model (ARMA), and they suggest that the proposed method significantly improves demand forecasting accuracy (up to 80%) for dishes demand along with reduction in associated costs and labor allocation.

Impact of Financial Management Practices on Sustainable Growth of SMEs: A Case of Catering Organizations in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province

The study was conducted to establish the impact of financial management practices on the perdomance of SMEs in Zimbabwe. The problem statement identified lack of business growth of SMEs. The objectives of the study were to establish the impact of financial management practices on the sustainable growth of SMEs. The study was based on a sample of 101 SMEs from the Catering Industry that were selected through random sampling. Data analysis was done through SPSS version 2.2. The findings revealed that SMEs used mostly four financial management practices: capital budgeting, working capital management, Capital structure, and financial reporting analysis. The challenges faced by SMEs in implementing prudent financial management practices were mainly poor management skills, lack of business registration and lack of financial literacy skills. The results of the study implied that most challenges faced by SMEs were internally localised. The study recommended a model for growth of SMEs in which the government was the major supporter of SMES through financial literacy training and provision of financial support. SMEs were recommended to use equitable financial management practices.

Cooperator or supporter: how can cross-boundary Macau–Zhuhai metropolis promote regional tourism together?

PurposeThis study initiated an investigation of how the Macau–Zhuhai tourism cooperated and discussed how Macau and Zhuhai could join hands to develop tourism in the region. The study demonstrated an approach for destination marketing organizations to explore online tourist-generated content and to understand tourists' perceptions of the destination image (DI).Design/methodology/approachA total of 1,291,057 reviews (535,317 for Macau and 755,740 for Zhuhai) were collected, analyzed and examined to determine how the DI s of Macau and Zhuhai changed during the period of 2015–2019 based on tourist-generated content on travel websites (TripAdvisor, Ctrip.com and Qyer.com) through a text-mining approach.FindingsThe result revealed that Macau and Zhuhai were in a hybrid of competition and collaboration on tourism DI s. First, Macau and Zhuhai competed in hotel and catering industry. Macau was appealing to international tourists and provided high-end and prestigious offerings; while Zhuhai was impressed by cost-effective accommodation and food. Second, Macau diversified industrial structure with diverse “Tourism, Leisure and Recreation” and “Culture, History and Art” more than Zhuhai did. Meanwhile, Macau should balance the different demands of international and Chinese tourists. Third, complementary potentials were found in natural resources, urbanization technology and tourism innovation and related projects.Practical implicationsThe research provides valuable insights for policymakers and industrial managers on their endeavors to develop DIs. Policymakers should be able to develop supportive mechanisms and tourism facilitators to promote industrial collaboration and mutual DIs. Managers could refer to the components in the changing DIs and identify the developmental gaps and cooperation potentials in their targeted areas.Originality/valueThe research fulfills the gap in regional tourism studies on Macau, in which the evaluation on synergetic influence and neighbor effect from Zhuhai has been underexplored. Facilitated by up-to-date data mining techniques, the study contributes to both DI and coopetition literature in tourism marketing; and this should inspire further studies on the antecedences of DI changes, resolutions to the competing interests and DIs of different stakeholders in different forms of strategic cooperation in regional tourism. The employment of DIs is an explicit demonstration of tourists' immersion and values attached to the destination, providing effective cues on the status of coopetition.

Behavior Strategy Analysis Based on the Multi-Stakeholder Game under the Plastic Straw Ban in China

Since 1 January 2021, China has banned nondegradable disposable straws in the catering industry. To promote the enforcement of the ban of plastic straws and improve the relationship between economic development and environmental protection, based on the evolutionary game method, this paper constructs the game model from the supply side and the demand side, respectively. Subsequently, through the dynamic equation, stable system evolution strategy is obtained. Furthermore, simulation is conducted to test the influence of the main parameters in the model on the evolution of system strategy. The results show that (1) the change of the government strategy mainly depends on its regulation costs and revenue, while the production strategy of a company is affected by the government and consumer strategies. (2) From the perspective of enterprise supply, government subsidies can promote technological innovation and develop new plastic straw substitutes. However, government penalties have little effect on violating enterprises. In addition, from the perspective of enterprise demand, with the collaboration of enterprises and consumers, it is easier for enterprises to carry out technological innovation. (3) Consumer acceptance of the substitutes for disposable plastic straws as well as online comments have a decisive influence on the enterprises’ selections for research and development (R&D) strategies.

Systematical business analysis for Haidilao based on the customer's preference and SWOT model

Haidilao has created a model for China's catering service industry. From corporate management to brand building, it embodies its indelible emotional marketing. This article analyzes the development of Haidilao and investigates the methods for how to satisfy the customers. This research captures the detailed behavior of Haidilao to keep more customers participation. Then, this study establishes the SWOT model to Haidilao and giving insights about Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This article also introduces the most opportunity for this firm is that with the development of society, China's economy has developed rapidly. This would bring many new urban people and mobile people emerging and catering industry products. In the future, more quantitative analysis will be conducted for the company's business development.

TECHNOLOGIES FOR TRAINING SPECIALISTS IN THE HOTEL AND CATERING INDUSTRY IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF LIFELONG LEARNING

This article is relevant, as staff training in the context of lifelong learning increases the value of travel services for customers, providing added value in the hotel and catering industry. The purpose of the paper is to study the technologies of training specialists in the hotel and catering industry in the context of lifelong learning for the formation of the life cycle of an employee in the hospitality industry. The research methodology is based on statistical analysis of indicators for distribution. The results demonstrate that there are differences in the technologies for training specialists in the hospitality industry in terms of such characteristics, as: the provider of educational services, the initial educational level, the position held by the specialist and the status in the society. The practical value of the research lies in the possibility of using the existing methodology of the life cycle of training a specialist in the practice of hotel and catering industry.

Cardiovascular and Self-Reported Recovery in Two-Shift Systems

Recovery is necessary to maintain workers’ health and efficiency. Shift work has been associated with delayed recovery processes. The objective of this study was to examine the cardiovascular and self-reported recovery measures of German shift and day workers in the hotel and catering industry. Furthermore, it aimed to clarify to what extent shift groups differentiate given additional factors that influence recovery (ability to relax, lifestyle). The sample group consisted of 64 alternative shift workers (two-shift system with a low proportion of night work) and 96-day workers employed in the hotel and catering industry. Blood pressure monitoring was conducted for 24 hr during a working day, including the phases of work, leisure, and sleep, to assess cardiovascular reduction during leisure and sleep. The blood pressure status was measured over the course of a 4-day self-assessment period. Self-reported measures, including quality of sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), work-life balance (WPC), ability to relax (FABA), and lifestyle factors (physical activity, smoking, drinking), were assessed through questionnaires. Sixty-one participants (36%) were hypertensives. There were no significant effects of cardiovascular recovery regarding the reduction of blood pressure for the calculated differences between WORK – LEISURE, WORK – SLEEP, and LEISURE – SLEEP among shift and day workers. Shift workers reported a significantly less favorable work-life balance ( p = .017), a decreased ability to relax ( p = .001), and less regular physical activity ( p = .003). The workload within the two-shift system of the hotel and catering industry seems to have a lesser effect on cardiovascular means than on self-reported measures of recovery. The decisive factor is the ability to relax, which means psychological detachment from work. To enable a comprehensive recovery, an optimally designed recovery cycle is necessary for shift systems.

Effects of Rural Restaurants’ Outdoor Dining Environment Dimensions on Customers’ Satisfaction: A Consumer Perspective

The catering industry is one of the important industries that promote rural tourism development. Hence, rural restaurants have high research value. However, few studies have examined rural restaurants and their outdoor dining environments (ODE). In this study, from the perspective of consumers and using exploratory factor analysis, three ODE dimensions (quality and facilities, image and atmosphere, and landscape elements) were proposed that affect customers’ satisfaction with rural restaurants. Moreover, the differences between different customer groups in terms of the various dimensions were analyzed. The research results provide management recommendations and fundamental knowledge for rural restaurant managers and rural restaurant designers and articulate different consumer groups’ expectations with regard to rural restaurants.