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As more hotel companies progressively internationalize their operations, the composition of their top management teams becomes more diversified. This necessitates the understanding of whether variations in strategic behavior and philosophy among these executives exist, which can be partially explained by differences in their national cultures. This article investigated the potential influence of masculinity on strategic behaviors by comparing hotel executives from three countries, the U.S., Thailand and Turkey. The findings indicated that executives associated with masculine cultures tended to use less involvement of others and less rationality in strategy development than their counterparts from feminine cultures. No differences were found regarding emphasis on content of strategic goals and openness to strategic change. Managerial implications and directions for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality is a price determinant in most products. However, establishment of a quality evaluation for the consumer is not an easy proposition. In the hospitality industry, fortunately, room quality evaluation and price information are readily available for consumers from published consumer guides. The Mobil Travel Guide is one of the more popular sources of hotel information available to consumers. The Mobil Travel Guide awards "stars" based on the level of quality their investigators deem appropriate. To investigate the relationship between quality and price in the hospitality industry, this study analyzes hotel managements' pricing behavior before and after a quality rating change by the Mobil Travel Guide. Data is gleaned from the Guide in several provinces and states in Canada and the United States from the relatively stable economic growth period of 1991 through 1999. The results reveal that hotel organizations raised prices before gaining a "star" and lowered prices before losing a "star." The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of this pricing pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explains how value-based performance measures may be used to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and profitability of hospitality establishments in the U.S. Examples of commonly used traditional financial measures; Findings from a survey of hotel managers that support the potential value of economic value added-type measures to hotel management; Suggestions for implementation.