A Comparative Genre Analysis of Boutique Hotel Webpages in Thailand and New Zealand

<p>This study analyses the characteristics of boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand as a genre. The study has four main objectives: 1) to identify moves and steps of English boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand, 2) to examine visual images presented on boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand, 3) to compare and contrast the move structures and visual images of these websites, and 4) to explore contextual factors which influence the variation between move structures and the representation of visual images of these websites. Despite the increasing popularity of boutique hotels, there exists almost no research analysing these webpages as a genre. While studies have presented a general overview of the appearance and the popularity of the boutique hotel phenomenon, textual and visual analysis of boutique hotels remains under-investigated. Moreover, cross-cultural studies of hotel webpages are also limited. Bhatia’s (1993) and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) frameworks were adopted to investigateand analyse the genre of boutique hotel webpages. Bhatia’s (1993) model was used to explore textual and ethnographic perspectives. Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual analysis model was adopted to examine the ways in which visual images are depicted and organised in these hotel online advertisements. In addition to textual and visual analysis, interviews with hotel owners, managers, web designers, and web audiences were conducted. The purpose of these interviews was to explore the intentions and practices influencing the shape of the design and organisation of the hotel websites as a genre. Finally, using the frameworks of Bhatia (1993) and Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), the analysis of move structures and the visual design between the hotel webpages in the Thai and New Zealand datasets were compared. This analysis shows minor variations across the two datasets in both textual and visual elements. The differences in terms of move structures between these two cultures are subtle, conforming to the same conventionality inherent within the respective genre, as it connects to their social context and functions. Consequently, my analysis opposes the notion that genre is cultural, proposed by Crossley (2007); Hyland (2000); and Mauranen (1993). In regards to register analysis, the web designers in both cultures used similar distinctive lexico-grammatical features to persuade and engage the web audiences such as the personal pronoun you and we, imperatives, adjectives. Only the use of adjectives exhibits major differences, which reflects the uniqueness in a provision of services and facilities within these two countries. This study posits that the influential factors responsible for variation between these two datasets are a result of how the websites market their hotels and how the hotels operate. However, the interview data with the hotel owners and web designers did not clearly illustrate how they establish generic conventions and develop distinctive lexico-grammatical features. My participants suggested that they used their intuition or consulted other hotel webpages, in which they share a similar theme or concept when they developing their webpages. In regards to the visual representation, the findings show that the depiction of the visual elements across the two countries generally does not differ. Rather, they seem to be reflect a homogeneous genre because they conform to the same practices. That is to say, the designs of thehotel webpages have their own integrity, in which the web designers usually follow. From a genre perspective, these similarities in terms of a representation of move structures and visual images between these two cultures are seen as either a recurring situation or reproduction of generic conventions of a particular genre, which is considered as a social action within a discourse community.</p>

A Comparative Genre Analysis of Boutique Hotel Webpages in Thailand and New Zealand

<p>This study analyses the characteristics of boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand as a genre. The study has four main objectives: 1) to identify moves and steps of English boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand, 2) to examine visual images presented on boutique hotel websites in Thailand and New Zealand, 3) to compare and contrast the move structures and visual images of these websites, and 4) to explore contextual factors which influence the variation between move structures and the representation of visual images of these websites. Despite the increasing popularity of boutique hotels, there exists almost no research analysing these webpages as a genre. While studies have presented a general overview of the appearance and the popularity of the boutique hotel phenomenon, textual and visual analysis of boutique hotels remains under-investigated. Moreover, cross-cultural studies of hotel webpages are also limited. Bhatia’s (1993) and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) frameworks were adopted to investigateand analyse the genre of boutique hotel webpages. Bhatia’s (1993) model was used to explore textual and ethnographic perspectives. Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) visual analysis model was adopted to examine the ways in which visual images are depicted and organised in these hotel online advertisements. In addition to textual and visual analysis, interviews with hotel owners, managers, web designers, and web audiences were conducted. The purpose of these interviews was to explore the intentions and practices influencing the shape of the design and organisation of the hotel websites as a genre. Finally, using the frameworks of Bhatia (1993) and Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), the analysis of move structures and the visual design between the hotel webpages in the Thai and New Zealand datasets were compared. This analysis shows minor variations across the two datasets in both textual and visual elements. The differences in terms of move structures between these two cultures are subtle, conforming to the same conventionality inherent within the respective genre, as it connects to their social context and functions. Consequently, my analysis opposes the notion that genre is cultural, proposed by Crossley (2007); Hyland (2000); and Mauranen (1993). In regards to register analysis, the web designers in both cultures used similar distinctive lexico-grammatical features to persuade and engage the web audiences such as the personal pronoun you and we, imperatives, adjectives. Only the use of adjectives exhibits major differences, which reflects the uniqueness in a provision of services and facilities within these two countries. This study posits that the influential factors responsible for variation between these two datasets are a result of how the websites market their hotels and how the hotels operate. However, the interview data with the hotel owners and web designers did not clearly illustrate how they establish generic conventions and develop distinctive lexico-grammatical features. My participants suggested that they used their intuition or consulted other hotel webpages, in which they share a similar theme or concept when they developing their webpages. In regards to the visual representation, the findings show that the depiction of the visual elements across the two countries generally does not differ. Rather, they seem to be reflect a homogeneous genre because they conform to the same practices. That is to say, the designs of thehotel webpages have their own integrity, in which the web designers usually follow. From a genre perspective, these similarities in terms of a representation of move structures and visual images between these two cultures are seen as either a recurring situation or reproduction of generic conventions of a particular genre, which is considered as a social action within a discourse community.</p>

Postoccupancy evaluation of historic buildings after their adaptive reuse into boutique hotels: an experience from Yazd, Iran

PurposeIn the early 2000s, a wave of new practices concerning the adaptive reuse (AR) of historic buildings into boutique hotels began in Yazd, Iran. This study presents the findings of a postoccupancy evaluation (POE) of adaptively reused historic buildings into boutique hotels. It aims to explore and prioritize the main factors of architecture's physical aspects in the adapted buildings.Design/methodology/approachIn order to carry out a POE, hotel guests' written reviews from online international and national travel platforms were analyzed. According to this preliminary analysis, a questionnaire was designed and randomly distributed among 300 hotel guests. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS software. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce a set of indicators into the main components.FindingsThe findings revealed that “preliminary physical feasibility study and evaluation of building's functional potential” is the most important component with a weight of 0.709. Then, “adaptive reuse design” and “quality of building conservation” are placed with a weight of 0.232 and 0.058, respectively. The results show the mere attention of practitioners to architectural restoration rather than adapting historic buildings into boutique hotels in Yazd. Also, the lack of a specific framework for this purpose is felt in Iran.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could evaluate the architectural aspects of historic buildings that have been converted into various functions from the main users' views.Practical implicationsThis research's main contribution is to recommend guidelines for more user-friendly boutique hotels. This includes principal components and their sub-indicators that should be considered in the AR process of historic buildings by conservators, investors and hoteliers. Also, the extracted factors can be implemented for boutique hotels' improvements in operation because they determine the order of priority from the users' viewpoint.Originality/valueThis study introduces a new application of POE in the field of conservation of heritage assets and the hospitality industry; it focuses on the evaluation of the users' feedback regarding the architectural aspects of adaptively reused historic buildings into boutique hotels based on original empirical data.

Impact of Substantive Staging and Communicative Staging of Sustainable Servicescape on Behavioral Intentions of Hotel Customers through Overall Perceived Image: A Case of Boutique Hotels

Customers have become very sensitive regarding the innovative evaluation of services. Due to competition in the hospitality industry, it is a challenge for hotel marketers to understand customers’ behavior. There is scant research in the hotel industry of Pakistan and especially on boutique hotels. This research seeks to measure the relationship between substantive, communicative elements of the sustainable servicescape and behavioral intentions (word of mouth) in a boutique hotel setting. However, the mediating effect of the overall perceived image is examined between these constructs. Responses of boutique hotel visitors were collected from Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Murree. Data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results display that both substantive and communicative servicescape elements positively affect the perceived image of customers, which has a positive influence on behavioral intentions such as word of mouth (WOM). Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Social media marketing influence on Boutique Hotel customers’ purchase intention in Malaysia

As of January 2020, global social media users have exceeded 3.8 billion, accounting for 49% of the world’s total population. Internet and social media have become an indispensable part of people’s daily lives worldwide. However, most previous research only focuses on social media marketing in other businesses, and there is less research about the development of boutique hotel social media marketing. This study investigates the relationship between different social media marketing practices and customers’ purchase intention in Malaysia’s boutique hotels. The article also explores how to properly conduct social media marketing to increase the customer purchase intention of boutique hotels and promote the boutique hotels’ development in Malaysia. The non-probability random sampling technique 309 response was collected from Malaysian social media users using an online survey. Findings of the research found out that factors including marketing activities and eWOM significantly impact customer purchase intention of the boutique hotels in Malaysia through the mediating variable perceived usefulness and the mediating variable perceived trust. The study offers implications for the development of social media marketing in boutique hotels.

Kvaliteta organiziranog heritage hotelskog proizvoda suvremenog hotelijerstva

Sažetak: Kvaliteta u suvremenom hotelijerstvu je ultimativni cilj ali i standard vrijednosti koji doprinosi konkurentnosti malih heritage boutique hotela u Hrvatskoj. Cilj rada je analizirati pozicije elemenata kvalitete kroz percepciju potrošača putem Internet rezervacijskog servisa Booking.com te sagledati pozicije zadovoljstva gostiju kroz ocjenjivanje ponude kategoriziranih i nekategoriziranih heritage hotela. Cilj je vezan za svrhu istraživanja, procjenu važnosti kategorije u usklađenju kvalitete integralne ponude malih i srednjih hotela sa kreativnim konceptom povijesne tematizacije i vrednovanja baštine. Istraživanjem se analiziraju realne ocjene kvalitete, kako ukupno tako i u pojedinačnim elementima s posebnim osvrtom na kategoriju percipirane vrijednosti za novac. Podržani kvalitativnom i kvantitativnom metodologijom zaključci istraživanja predstavljaju platformu za buduća promišljanja o važnosti unaprjeđenja hotelske usluge. Ključni elementi kvalitete koje turisti vrednuju trebaju ići u korak s atraktivnošću koncepta ponude i sinergijski doprinijeti ostvarenju konkurentnosti. Abstract: “Quality in modern hospitality is an ultimate goal, but also a value standard which contributes to the competitiveness of small heritage boutique hotels in Croatia. The aim of this paper is to analyse the positions of elements of quality through the perception of consumers who use the Internet booking service Booking.com, as well as to consider the positions of guest satisfaction through the grading of heritage hotels’ categorised and uncategorised offers. The aim relates to the purpose of the research, the estimate of the importance of the category in harmonisation of the integral quality of small and medium-sized hotels with the creative concept of historical theming and heritage validation. By the research, realistic quality assessments are analysed, both aggregately and in individual elements, with a special reference to the category of perceived value for money. Supported by the qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the research conclusions represent a platform for future consideration of the importance of improvement of hotel services. The key quality elements assessed by tourists should be in line with the attractiveness of the concept of the offer and should also contribute to the realisation of competitiveness.

An Investigation of Entrepreneurial Motivation: Boutique Hotels in Northern Thailand

Purpose – entrepreneurship scholars have argued extensively that the phenomenon of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial motivation cannot be studied in isolation from their broader socioeconomic environment. This study addresses this gap by examining the entrepreneurial motivation of hotel entrepreneurs in Northern Thailand. The study also investigates how various mediating factors and motivations to start a business shape tourism entrepreneurs' behaviour in relation to growth strategies. Design/ Methodology/ Approach – qualitative research was conducted in Northern Thailand 2012 and the follow-up study in 2019. Purposive and snowball sampling strategies were used. The primary data collection method was semi-structured interviews. Findings – the study identifies the coexistence of both lifestyle and growth-oriented entrepreneurs. The results show that the entrepreneurial decision to enter the hotel industry was not solely determined by the entrepreneur's own actions, but significantly by the family. The role of family in business creation is directive and not facilitative. Business growth was a desirable strategy for both lifestyle and growth-oriented entrepreneurs. Originality of the research – study shows that entrepreneurial motivation cannot be properly understood if it is studied in isolation from the wider socio-economic context. Moreover, it challenges the prevailing classification of tourism entrepreneurs into lifestyle-oriented and growthoriented.